McDonald’s approach to sponsorships in sports and entertainment has evolved from a wide array of partners that offer “short-term, unrelated … incentives” to fewer partners that the company can activate more deeply with today, said Neil Golden, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at McDonald’s USA, during a keynote address on the second day of the Sports Sponsorship Symposium.

“Think fewer ideas that endure rather than multiple ideas that fade,” Golden said.

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With that in mind, Golden explained McDonald’s screening process for sports and entertainment properties. He said the company looks for partners to meet key objectives, including: being relevant to key consumer segments; enhancing customers’ experience of the McDonald’s brand; being contemporary leaders in the world of entertainment; and providing a good return on investment.

“We assess the potential of any sports sponsorship in terms of media potential — that’s reaching customers in a way they’re most receptive, (and) activiation potential — that’s activation of our brand and not our property,” Golden said. “And, of course, we look for experience, which for me is a focus more on our restaurant experience than a focus on the (experience at the) stadium or the arena.”

McDonald’s serves more than 26 million people every single day, Golden said. He added that that’s more than the attendance for most major sports properties every year.

ACTIVATION:
For McDonald’s, activation is critical, Golden said. The company uses its sports sponsorships to promote everything from its value menu and Ronald McDonald House charity to new menu items and its Monopoly promotion.

“It surprises me how many times people ask me, ‘What’s your activation plan for the Olympics?’ Or ‘What’s your activation plan for the NBA?’ I say we don’t have one,” he said. “We have an activation plan for McDonald’s and the Olympics or NBA are a part of it.”

Golden also talked about the company’s recent activation efforts with two key properties in its sports portfolio — the Olympics and motorsports.

OLYMPIC ACTIVATION:
McDonald’s has been a global Olympic sponsor since 1996, when it became the first company to have a branded restaurant at the Olympics. Ever since, it has used the partnership to promote its relationship as the official restaurant of the Olympics, one that’s been feeding Olympians for decades.

The company activated that sponsorship this year with: packaging featuring Olympic athletes, promotion of its new chicken sandwich, a Web site (facetheglory.com) with downloadable coupons, employee incentive programs and its “Lost Ring” game, an online alternate-reality game.

Golden said that the “Lost Ring” promotion, which had more than 4 million players in 110 countries, was very successful and underscored how the company could engage consumers with an old sponsorship in a new way. He added that it would be something the company would likely do again.

“Gaming and social networking is an amazing trend,” Golden said. “It was a fascinating opportunity and customers were very engaged with it. We’re going to continue to work on ways to bring that kind of idea to life.”

MOTORSPORTS ACTIVATION:
Golden said the company’s approach to motorsports marketing has evolved, as well. It started in motorsports in 1993 and focused on drivers and teams, but its focus today has shifted to the cars and their paint scheme. 

In June it put a special paint scheme on its McDonald’s car promoting the anniversary of the Big Mac. In October at Talladega, it will use a paint scheme promoting its monopoly game, and at the end of that month it will use a paint scheme that promotes its Ronald McDonald House charity.

“Between NASCAR and the Olympics, I hope you can see how our sponsorships have and continue to evolve,” Golden said.