STORE OF THE FUTURE

BRIEF

Once the undisputed king of fast food, McDonald’s was becoming stale due to falling sales, gloomy franchisee outlooks and eager competitors chipping away at the Mighty McDollar. 

Famous for setting the pace in contemporary eatery aesthetics, the sixty-year-old brand was modernising but losing some of its magic, so we had to act fast to adapt to changing tastes. 

STRATEGY

We had to rethink every aspect of the user experience to add distinctiveness, entertainment and immersion in the hope of transforming what had become a robotically streamlined model of convenience into a richly engaging theatre of destination. 

Ironically, we found inspiration in good old-fashioned fast food service. 

Inspired by a sense of fun, intrigue and nostalgia, we went back to the future with retro M style reimagined in a modern Australian way. And with research showing 55% of us affectionately refer to the company by its local slang name, what better way than Macca’s.

SOLUTION

There’s nothing more Aussie than wearing your sobriquet on your sleeve — or your front door. So from street to seat, we reinvented every touchpoint to be friendlier and more playful, whilst community heritage photos and a 'great outdoors' space complete with natural rock walls, lush reed planting and native timbers, enhanced the sense of Australiana.

To demystify the menu paradox, we created remote ordering kiosks, floor wayfinding, and a made-to-order ticketing and pick-up system. We redesigned the digital menu boards, front counter, cutlery — and even the wishing well — infusing every step with a new laidback tone of voice to match the availability of regionally-sourced ingredients like 100% Australian Beef.

EFFECTIVENESS

Capitalising on our love of a good diminutive nickname, Macca’s is as much an embrace of native vernacular as a coming of age for the Golden Arches down under.

With the world’s first McCafé opening in Melbourne in 1993, Australia has always been the most innovative market for McDonald’s. And that tradition lives on through our fast food foresight which has since inspired everything from ‘Create Your Taste’ in New York and San Francisco to ‘McDonald’s Next’ in Hong Kong, Singapore and soon…Sydney.

While geo-located branding allowed Macca’s to tap into a distinctively 'Ozzie' zeitgeist, the flagship fit-out provided an antidote to the Gruen Transfer with a simpler, quieter and more classic approach that continues to hero food, service and people.

Codenamed F1 for its high performance design and modular innovation, the Store of the Future piloted in Doveton Victoria in 2011, before going on to lead a global revolution in restaurant architecture.