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McDonald’s is making the most of the emerging cocoon-culture in Singapore

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By Amit Bapna, Editor-at-large

May 21, 2021 | 5 min read

The Drum looks into how and why global foodservice retailer McDonald's pivoted its go-to-market strategy in Singapore on the back of the emergence of the in-home consumer.

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McDonald’s Singapore launches ‘Night-In’ platform

Of the many offshoots of the post-pandemic life and the growing in-home economy, an important shift has been in the changed food habits of people, in terms of what they eat, how they eat and when they eat. The advent of this ‘cocoon culture’ which mirrors and celebrates the newfound joys of staying home, is being lapped up by brands to connect with an emerging customer base.

While the ‘cocoon culture’ by itself is not a new occurrence, it has caught on in a big way recently in the aftermath of the pandemic as people spend more time at home. Brands have realised that this more than ever in-home consumer going to be a large part of the consumer base and it would do them well to keep her engaged and happy. Brands across categories, from e-commerce to home and from lifestyle to food, are ramping up and even rebooting their offerings to meet the demands of this emerging consumer cohort.

Looking at this growing trend, McDonald’s Singapore recently unveiled its rebooted go-to-market strategy and has launched Night-In, a brand engagement platform to unlock the shifting demand in a covid-normal world. The idea behind the launch is to ensure the staying-in consumer the opportunity to savour McDonald’s favourites alongside friends and family, in the comfort of home. The QSR brand has partnered with Publicis Groupe to launch a campaign targeting the night-eaters and in the process showcase a different side of the familiar brand.

The lead 'Night-In' film: (45 sec)

15-sec film (targeted at Gen Z)

15-sec film (targeted at Millenials)

How the cocoon culture has helped the brand pivot its offering

A consumer study conducted by Publicis Groupe in partnership with Milieu Data to understand changes in consumer behaviour over the pandemic period analysed the weekend habits of almost 20,000 respondents from Singapore. Some interesting findings of the study showed that an overwhelming number of respondents in Singapore preferred staying in, with 79% indicating their preference to stay home and enjoy a quiet meal with the family. Even more surprising was that 83% of Generation Z respondents reacted positively to the idea of spending personal time at home alone.

While many felt a loss of freedom with the safety measures, the pandemic has also helped people rediscover the simple joys of staying home with family and friends, bonding over meals and activities, says Drina Chee, senior director, marketing and digital customer experience, McDonald’s Singapore.

“The ‘cocoon culture’ has increasingly become a preferred choice for many and this is where we fit in, by serving delicious food choices that spells comfort, familiarity and pleasure,” she adds.

Adding 'night in' to the brand’s USP of accessibility

With more customers choosing to spend their nights indoors, the brand had to anyways pivot to channels like McDelivery and Drive-Thru on top of takeaways from its 135 restaurants island-wide to serve its customers. While McDonald’s has always been about accessibility or round-the-clock convenience, with nights-in becoming a lifestyle of sorts, the brand found it a potentially exciting white space to filled in.

“With staying in increasingly becoming a preferred choice for many, particularly amongst gen-Z and young millennials, nights-in are the new nights-out”, says Chee.

Interestingly McDonald’s Singapore is the first market to tap into the launch of the Night-In in the APAC region.

Crafting the right creative moment

From a campaign point of view, “the challenging part is often around finding the perfect moment in culture where your brand can naturally live”, says Jennie Morris, CCO, Publicis Singapore.

It helped to get the moment with the ‘cocoon culture’ thriving in Singapore and McDonald’s striving to become a part of the joy that people derive from nights-in, she adds.

Keeping the focus on the millennial and gen-Z consumers, besides the main film, there are two shorter films addressing the respective demographics with a slightly nuanced creative treatment as well. The ‘Night-In’ campaign has been created in collaboration with director Roslee Yusof from Freeflow Productions.

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