BTS and McDonald’s go on a worldwide tour

Future. After a successful partnership with Travis Scott and J Balvin, McDonald’s is giving its collab strategy a global encore… this time with BTS. The ongoing collaborations are part of McDonald’s new strategy of becoming more culturally relevant, even if it forces the brand to give up some creative control. It’s worked out so well that the chain is exploring collabs with fictional characters. Are McDonald’s-dedicated influencers next on the menu?

Big Marketing Meal
So what can you expect from BTS’ “Famous Meal?”

• “A 10-piece McNuggets, medium fries, medium Coke, and, for the first time ever in the United States, Sweet Chili and Cajun dipping sauces adapted from popular dips at McDonald’s South Korea.”
• The meal will be available in 50 markets around the world.
• Of course, there will also be limited edition merch, including “T-shirts, hoodies, flip-flops, as well as more quirky items like a robe and an umbrella.”
• But the merch is only available on the Weverse Shop app.

In addition, exclusive digital BTS content will be available on the McDonald’s app in the U.S

New Monopoly
Apparently, the Travis Scott and J Balvin collabs were so successful for McDonald’s that the chain’s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Morgan Flatley was able to rope in 47 other markets to join in the BTS partnership. And the strategy — ideated by creative agency Wieden + Kennedy New York — is something that  McDonald’s plans to continue doing for some time.

The Famous Meals are part of McDonald’s broader “Accelerating the Arches” strategy, which focuses on acquiring customers by “investing in new, culturally relevant approaches.” Internally, starting with Travis Scott was a risk because he didn’t embody the historically “family-friendly” quality McDonald’s tries to uphold. But the gamble paid off — sales boosted by 4.6%.