McMilk Pairing Makes Everyone Happy

Berkeley, Calif. -- Milk has always been on the menu at McDonald's -- but milk has always faced enormous sales challenges anywhere outside the home, which is where more than 90% of it is consumed. "Kids tend to indulge when they go to restaurants, and milk is not an indulgence," according to Jeff Manning, executive director of the California Milk Processor Board. Restaurants tend not to promote it "partially because the profitability on Coke, or bottled water, or iced tea or even coffee is phenomenally higher. But we remain committed to building a food-service business."The Milk Processor Board received a golden opportunity to do so when Moroch & Associates, McDonald's regional agency in Sacramento, raised the idea of pairing the "Got Milk?" campaign and McDonald's breakfast and regular Happy Meals.The two organizations jointly developed P-O-P for the region's 155 McDonald's restaurants, including at least 300,000 paper tray-liners, paper stickers for the Happy Meal menu strips and 3-inch-square vinyl decals for the pay window and lobby door.The results of the campaign, which ran from April 15 through June 30 and was tied to radio and outdoor support, increased sales of Happy Meals by 23% during the period, while milk sales were up 21%, says Shelly King, public relations supervisor at Moroch. This success has encouraged several other regional McDonald's groups to follow suit. The Southern California region, headquartered in Woodland Hills, Calif., has picked up the promotion and is running the P-O-P in its 800 restaurants.Sue Mullins, director of marketing for the McDonald's Southern California region, says she is running the Got Milk? promotion only in the Breakfast Happy Meals, in conjunction with the launch of McGriddles. Got Milk?, she says, is a very recognizable slogan to which kids and adults respond. Manning says, "McDonald's has received and will receive a lot of positive press. As a parent, it really does make sense to put milk on a tray with a Happy Meal." In July, the joint campaign expanded virtually statewide, with McDonald's promoting it through September, and the San Francisco Bay Area soon to follow.The P-O-P will change from region to region, Manning says, because "every region has its own budgets and its own needs." For example, the five-county Los Angeles group, which comprises 562 restaurants, is distributing real estate sleeves for restaurants' outdoor areas, translites for menu boards, scrolling boards and drive-through menus, says Jaclyn Cruz of Davis-Elen Advertising, Los Angeles, that group's ad agency."The power of in-store merchandising is very great," says Mullins. "Truly, it can help guide consumer behavior." Mullins notes the partnership with Got Milk? isn't a response to child obesity statistics because generally, soda is not going to be served for breakfast. Yet she says there is a consumer trend out there: Companies want to meet the consumers' needs and make their food options as wholesome as they can be.Manning suspects parents have been drinking more milk, too. "It's a little hypocritical to say, 'You have to have milk with your meal, but I'm going to have an 84-ounce Coke,' " he says.Manning would love to see the campaign expand beyond California -- or see the general concept expand beyond McDonald's."Maybe somebody from Denny's might call," he says. "It doesn't mean it's promoted the same way. Do you not think that maybe Mrs. Fields should promote 'Got Milk?' Or Krispy Kreme? Those things are lethal without milk."If Manning's verbiage sounds, well, carbonated, there's a reason: "This is probably the first time milk in general has been promoted [in a restaurant setting]," he says. "It's a big deal for our industry. It shows we can compete with Coke."

McMilk Pairing Makes Everyone Happy

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