• by Staff Writers , September 5, 2008

Finalists - Online Media Branding

OMD: Craig Atkinson, group account director; Michael Solomon, group director; Colleen Kanaan, associate director of strategy; Diana Avendano, strategist; Sarah Reed, assistant strategist; Angie Russo, (former) associate director of strategy; Zach Pospisil, (former) digital strategist. Tribal DDB: Jaime Guerrero, account director; Britt Nolan, associate creative director; Jake Setlak, associate creative director.

McDonald's wanted to increase sales of Dollar Menu items by appealing to 18- to 34-year-olds on the lookout for a deal. So, it partnered with gaming site IGN.com to deliver IGN's "Game Guides" for free for an entire year. And it began to sponsor two new songs a week for the popular rockband.com gaming site; normally $2 each, tunes purchased through the McDonald's promotion cost just - you guessed it - $1.
A related microsite, Paul's Pad, included tips on thriftiness and info about the free game guide, and became the most-viewed McDonald's site, with more than 1 million page visits. Sales on rockband.com increased by up to 274 percent. Awareness and purchase intent scored increases in the double digits.