McDonald's "Night Classroom" and "Ride the Arches" Win at PANATA Awards

“We are truly honored by the recognition we received from this year’s PANATA Awards. Beyond the accolades, we are thankful to our customers and community partners   for embracing and supporting our initiatives. And as McDonald’s continues to grow in the country, our commitment to making real and meaningful impact will also grow.” ~Adi Hernandez, McDonald’s Philippines Assistant Vice President for Corporate Relations and Impact and Vice President of RMHC Philippines

McDonald's Philippines was the big winner at the recent PANATA Brand Effectiveness Awards 2024, held at the Seda Hotel Bonifacio Global City, winning multiple Gold Awards for its standout campaigns "Night Classroom" and “Ride the Arches.”

The Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) presented the awards, which were judged by a distinguished panel of experts from advertising, media, and academia. The PANATA Brand Effectiveness Awards 2024 were more than just a celebration of individual brand achievements; they also recognized the industry's collective progress. Already in its 15th year, the award emphasized brands' resilience in a difficult economic climate, as they continued to push boundaries and set new standards for consumer engagement.

"Night Classroom" won four Golds in the Corporate Sustainability and Trust category, Brand Effectiveness through Customer Experience, Disruptive Innovation, and Effective Use of Marketing Communication Channels (Single Medium-BTL) after being launched in 2023 and continuing this year. The initiative converted McDonald's party areas into dedicated late-night study spaces for both teachers and students, providing a safe and convenient learning environment.

On the other hand, the QSR behemoth received the Grand PANATA Award for “Ride the Arches,” the company's first campaign of its kind, which saw McDonald's transform its stores into cyclist-friendly gathering places complete with refueling stations, encouraging cyclists to bike and dine along scenic routes across the country. “Ride the Arches” was also awarded Gold in Marketing Communication Channel - Single Medium BTL, Gold in Customer Experience, Bronze in Corporate Sustainability and Brand Trust, and Bronze in Disruptive Innovation.

McDonald's also won Brand Team of the Year for “Ride the Arches,” with Barrameda taking home the Rookie Brand Builder of the Year award.

The PANATA Brand Effectiveness Awards recognized McDonald's Philippines' exceptional marketing prowess, with several other campaigns winning gold.

"Best Me at McDo,” "Our Best Everrrr Burgers,” "Lovin' All,” and "Kami Naman, Ma” all received Gold awards for their effective use of marketing communication channels, highlighting the brand's ability to connect with its audience through various media. Notably, "Kami Naman, Ma” was recognized for its excellence.

These additional victories demonstrated McDonald's dedication to innovation, sustainability, and building meaningful relationships with its customers through a variety of impactful campaigns.

Asia Pacific Tambuli Awards 2024

• McDonald’s Philippines named "Advertiser of the Year"
• "Night Classroom"

Grand Prix Award in the Champions for Humanity Category

Silver in the Builders of Society Category

• "Ride the Arches"

Silver in the Champions for Humanity Category

Bronze for Advocacy

• "I’m Lovin’ Me" campaign

Bronze award

• "Unlocking 60,000 Filipinos’ Best Selves" campaign

Silver

• "Lovin’ All" campaign

Bronze

 

2024 Kidlat Awards

• "Lovin’ All" by TBWA\ SMP

Gold in Creativity in Engagement – PR.

Gold in Creativity in Engagement – Social

• "Night Classroom" by Leo Burnett Group Manila

Gold in Creativity in Experience

Gold in Creative Commerce

Gold in Creative Effectiveness

Gold in Creative Strategy

• "Lovin’ All" film:

Silver in Classic Creativity – Film category.

• "Lovin Her" series by FilmPabrika Inc.

Silver in Film Craft – Direction, Casting, Low Budget Film.

• "Ride the Arches" campaign:

Silver for Creativity in Experience

• "Night Classroom"

Silver for Creativity for Good – Corporate Social Responsibility

A Gen Z Explains Her Gratitude for Her Position at McDonald's

“Nag-join po ako sa McDo noong nag-18 po ako. ‘Yun pong family ko, lima po kami na nakapagtrabaho dito. ‘Yung tito ko po nasa Australia na po at nagtatrabaho rin sa McDonald’s (I joined McDo when I turned 18. My family, including my aunt and uncle have also worked at McDonald’s. My uncle is now in Australia working for McDonald’s). Natutunan ko po sa McDo ay yung kailangan lagi kang ready at enjoy ko lang sa trabaho. Kailangan po mag-enjoy ka kada shift para maganda ang naibibigay mong service para sa mga customers (What I learned in working at McDonald’s is to be always ready and enjoy your work. Enjoying your shift allows you to give a better service to customers). Pag na-enjoy po nila ang experience nila, babalik-balik na po sila. Masarap po yun sa araw-araw na trabaho kasi naalala nila yung pangalan namin at nagpapasalamat sila samin. Kahit ganun kasimple lang, natutuwa po kami (When customers have an enjoyable experience, they would come back to the store repeatedly. This gives us a nice feeling, especially when they remember our name and thank us. Something as simple as that makes us happy).” ~Sheila May Azul

Sheila May Azul has over six years of experience working for McDonald's Philippines. She works at the quick service restaurant right now as part of a crew that is primarily Gen Z.

As a working student who is devoted to her studies, she hopes to follow in the footsteps of her former coworker and manager at McDonald's, who was recently promoted to a higher position.

She and the other members of her crew strive to satisfy customers each and every day.

Engaging the Gen Z Workforce

McDonald's Philippines firmly believes in the practice of empowerment and gratitude. For this reason, it started its "Salamuch Crew" program in November of last year, which encouraged gratitude from a variety of angles.

Through the Salamuch Wall, where they could post their thank-you notes, the Salamuch Box, where they could leave messages for the crew, and the Salamuch Crew Virtual Wall, a digital wall where they could share their Salamuch stories, customers were encouraged to show their appreciation for the hard work and service that the crew members had provided.

“Majority of our crew are Gen Z and there is a different way now in engaging these members of the workforce effectively. It has to be an experience for them and we needed to be creative in how we connect with them. There’s no better time to be part of the McDonald’s Philippines family because we are in a period of aggressive growth. In 2023, we opened 50 stores and this 2024, we’re aiming to open at least 60 new stores and that will continue for the coming years. With more stores that are opening means there are more people needed to run them, therefore we’re opening more employment opportunities for young Filipinos. With our aggressive growth means a bigger workforce and a responsibility for us to improve the employee experience. There are a lot of ways to engage the workforce and one of them is through recognition like Salamuch Crew.” ~Adi Hernandez, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Relations at McDonald’s Philippines

As of 2023, McDonald’s Philippines has 740+ stores across the country, with close to 60,000 crew, 95% of which are Gen Z.

Opportunities for Growth

“We believe if we recognize our crew and give them a better experience, they would do the same for our customers. We believe that if we do employee experience well, our customer experience would also follow.” ~Ben Marasigan, VP of Human Capital Group at McDonald’s Philippines

Last April 17, the Salamuch Crew program had its culminating activities in over 380 McDonald’s Philippines stores all over the country. One of the branches that hosted the festivities was McDonald’s Quezon Avenue-Ligaya in Quezon City.