McDONALD’s NY TRI-STATE
McDonald's B-Boy Royale
Seeking to re-energize the McDonald's brand and gain new relevance with New York Tri-State millennials, we produced McDonald’s first ever “B-Boy Royale” – a breakdancing competition featuring dance battles, musical performances and extensive real-time social media integration.
The first event in 2013 received unanimously positive response from the public, the hip hop and breakdance community as well as local media; including a positive review from the New York Times that went viral. The unprecedented success of the program has led to “McDonald’s B-Boy Royale” becoming the largest annual breakdance tournament in New York City and a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO
Re-energize the McDonald’s brand and gain new relevance among millennials in the New York Tri-State area.
HOW WE DID IT
- Create a local breakdancing competition that stayed true to the art form’s NYC roots
- Feature award-winning dance teams
- Build relationships with Millennial influencers, leading b-boys and organizations to gain acceptance in the breakdance community; where corporate-sponsored events are traditionally shunned
- Place emphasis on supporting and empowering the community
WHAT WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT
- Sold-out show
- Earned total media impressions: 135M+
- Extended coverage in media and urban blogs
- New York Times – a positive review from dance critic, Brian Seibert, highlighting the diversity of performers; accompanied by a slide show
- Coverage in Ad Age, New York Post, ABC 7, CBS 2, FOX 5, PIX 11, WNYC and Hot97
- 99% positive-neutral sentiment across all media coverage
- #McDBBoyRoyale became a trending topic on Twitter on the night of the event
- Created McDonald’s New York Tri-State’s first multicultural millennial program that effectively reached both ethnic audiences and the total market
- Award-winning, receiving the PR News Platinum Wow! Award in 2015, which recognizes creativity and innovation
- McDonald’s USA interest in turning B-Boy Royale into a national total market program
When the dust settled, one crew took home the crown, but we proved we could connect to millennials and their influencers through authenticity and unbelievable dance moves. Do not try this at home… Or do try them, and enter next year’s competition.
