McDonald's HK buys out full page print ad to announce product discontinuation

McDonald's Hong Kong dropped a bombshell on Monday morning (4 September 2023) that it will discontinue certain coffee items on the menu and also bought print ads to make the move known. The announcement caused a fair bit of chatter and disappointment  among HongKongers.

McDonald's said on Facebook that it would stop selling its ground coffee (優質即磨咖啡) and roast coffee premium (優質濃香咖啡) from 6pm on Monday. While the caption stated that McDonald's coffee “retires”, it thanked its customers for their support over the years. The post has received over 9k reactions and 2k shares. 

According to The Standard, McDonald’s Hong Kong also took out a  full page cover ad on the front page of Headline Daily (頭條日報), announcing the "retirement" of its "Premium Roast Coffee" and "Ground Coffee". 

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Tina Chao, chief marketing and digital customer experience officer, McDonald's HK's said not only was its objective to be unmissable and become the talk of the town, but the brand also aimed to ensure that its media selection was relevant to the breakfast occasion itself.

"Therefore, instead of using a large quantity of channels and smaller placements, we opted for maximum impact in a timely manner. A full-page newspaper ad, radio spots, and the Cross Harbor Tunnel billboards are excellent ways to capture people’s attention during their morning commute," she said.

Apart from teasers on tunnel billboards and newspaper ads, the brand also amplified this anticipation through social media content and, finally, unveiled the news that all McDonald’s restaurants now serve McCafé coffee using the same channels and placements.

While the move smells suspiciously like a marketing stunt, Chao said the brand viewed this as a bold creative move aimed at generating intrigue and drawing attention to the upgrade in its coffee offering rather than a one-off publicity stunt.

"We were confident in taking such a bold direction because it was rooted in consumer research, which told us how well McCafé is received among coffee enthusiasts, not only for its taste but also for its value and convenience. This, in the first place, is why we made the decision to democratise this experience for all of Hong Kong," she added.

Chao said the brand is thrilled by the massive response the campaign has garnered, underscoring the deep connection between the McDonald’s brand and the people of Hong Kong. According to media intelligence firm CARMA, sentiments of social conversations are partially negative at 19.2% negative and 6.8% positive.

“While there are some comments asking if the coffee is not making money, others said given the culling of the products is so heavily publicised, it is an obvious marketing move,” said Divika Jethmal, regional marketing manager, CARMA Asia.

Keywords associated with McDonald’s now include the phrases “coffee, "breakfast” and “retire”. 

On the other hand, social monitoring firm Meltwater saw 10.8% negative, 17.8% positive and 71.3% neutral sentiments regarding McDonald’s decision to discontinue the two coffee items.

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on Facebook that netizens expressed their frustration and disappointment over McDonald’s decision to stop selling its ground and premium roast coffee. While some questioned who would visit the chain restaurants and have breakfast if they couldn't even get a coffee, some guessed that it was an advertising gimmick. 

On Monday afternoon, McDonald’s announced on Facebook that, it would replace some drinks from its coffee menu with its sub-brand McCafé starting today (5 September 2023) such as Americano, Latte and White Coffee. While McCafé products are currently available at selected locations, the "upgraded" coffee items will be available at all of McDonald's outlets across the city after the announcement.

The post has received over 1k reactions and 200 shares. While some netizens said the advertising gimmick is humourous, some said the news made them felt relieved.

Photo courtesy: Facebook group 麥當勞關注組（香港）HK

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