



McFlop: How McDonald's Big Arch video went viral but failed to flip its sales story
A viral video clip of McDonald’s CEO Christopher Kempczinski eating the fast-food chain’s Big Arch burger has been memed and roasted across the internet. It surely cost him a little bit of his dignity. But that’s a small price to pay for the equivalent of millions of dollars in free publicity.
One advertising consultancy estimated that the episode generated some $18 million in brand value for McDonald’s this month alone.The social media frenzy, however, does not seem to have translated into a commensurate sales surge for the Big Arch, which features two quarter-pound beef patties and three slices of white cheddar cheese tucked between a toasted sesame and poppy seed bun. It’s one of the most expensive items on the menu, costing $10.09 at the McDonald’s around the corner from my office in New York.The company told the Wall Street Journal that early sales were beating expectations, but data provider Placer.ai found that foot traffic rose a modest 2.2% in the week of the Big Arch’s launch in the US on 3 March. “These results may suggest that consumers are becoming increasingly selective in their spending,” it reported.
The disconnect may in part reflect the K-shaped economy at work, which has further split consumers into haves and have-nots. That dynamic makes it more challenging for companies focused on mass consumption. And there is perhaps no brand that depends more on its ubiquity than the so-called Golden Arches.
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