Need to Know
22 : 02 : 23

Sweden – In honour of its new fried chicken burger, McDonald’s Sweden has converted digital billboards into digital food trucks that give away coupons for a free burger.

Joining forces with creative agency Nord DDB, the fast food chain imagined a campaign inspired by the roots of fried chicken sandwiches: street food. McDonald’s chose to glam up regular digital billboards with its branding, a storefront design and wheels to turn it into a mock food truck. The installation invites passers-by to scan a QR code to receive a coupon for a free sandwich to pick up in the nearest McDonald’s restaurant.

‘Our new burger is inspired by the rustic and tasty street food culture, both in terms of how it is prepared and seasoned. Therefore, it felt fun to really go all in and create a food truck as well, but in a modern and digital way,’ said McDonald’s Sweden marketing director Staffan Ekstam.

As attention spans get shorter and shorter, in Advertising Must Speed Up To Survive we analysed how disruptive campaigns that mix the digital and the physical while targeting the right audience are necessary.

Global – Friends With Benefits (FWB) has introduced Welcome Home, a new kind of social networking app run by ‘friends’, aka token owners – with no ads or algorithms in sight.

FWB, a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that uses Web3 tools to foster culture and creative agency, unveiled a private social platform to expand its reach beyond events and its Discord presence. It designed Welcome Home as a space that belongs to a community of token holders who can then convene, collaborate and govern as they wish. The app is one of the first social media platforms owned and operated by a DAO. Without algorithms or ads, users are the only ones who can define the app’s future.

‘What happens when a community owns its own social network? What this app doesn’t have is dark patterns, mind-game algorithms and the need to juice your followers,’ explains Mike Bodge, head of product at FWB.

Friends With Benefits did not design its Anti-provocation Platform to onboard as many users as possible. Welcome Home is proudly intimate and human-scaled to promote safer and more fulfilling group dynamics.

Global – In a new report, B2B platform WeTravel shows travellers are booking their holidays much later than before the pandemic. Purchasing Habits: The Future of Travel Bookings and Payments surveyed professionals of the group travel business, tour operators and WeTravel clients.

The research claims travellers are committing to holidays with shorter lead times. Some 60% of tour operators say their clients now book their holidays less than three months before departure. In 2019, more than 50% of tourists booked their travel 6–12 months in advance. The businesses surveyed say consumers’ fears of cancellations and laborious refund processes are the reasons behind the shift.

WeTravel’s report highlights how the core demographic reaching out to professionals to plan their travel is ageing. In 2019, the average travel tour booker was 30, whereas in 2023 they are closer to 40. The highest growth in travel booking has also come from the 40–55 age group – followed closely by those over 61. In Baby Boomer Travel Market, we identified how adults over 55 who are pursuing knowledge, adventure and personal fulfilment are crucial targets for the travel industry.