McDonald’s brings back Szechuan sauce only for app users

McDonald’s is bringing back its popular Szechuan dipping sauce for a limited time, and this time it's encouraging its fans to be first to know about its upcoming return by responding to clues the restaurant chain began dropping on Friday. The sauce, which comes free with an order of Chicken McNuggets or can be purchased up to five at a time a la carte, can be ordered only through the McDonald’s app. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. McDonald’s U.S. restaurants will begin offering the sauce on March 31, “while supplies last.” The world's largest restaurant company did not indicate how much would be available but suggested inventories would last “for a few days” only. In 2017, fans of the brand and of the cartoon "Rick and Morty" were so eager to try the sauce upon its return that the chain quickly ran out and issued an apology. You spoke. We’ve listened. Lots more #SzechuanSauce and locations. Details soon. And that’s the wayyy the news goes! pic.twitter.com/ooIrbZBsOw— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 8, 2017 This will be the fourth time McDonald’s has made the Szechuan sauce available since introducing it in 1998 in marketing tied to Disney's "Mulan." McDonald's describes the sauce as “savory and slightly sweet” with hints of ginger, soy and vinegar. This time, the sauces come in golden foil-topped packs in five different designs. One is labeled Szechuan, while four others each carry two of the letters, together spelling “Szechuan” when collected. i know something you don’t— McDonald's (@McDonalds) March 18, 2022 On Saturday, McDonald’s turned on a Times Square billboard and ran social posts asking fans to text a cryptic number for information about a coming menu drop. The chain was expected to have informed respondents of the secret item's identity overnight Sunday via text message. The brand will also be sending periodic reminders via text to app users as the release date approaches. The stunt is meant to help McDonald’s attract consumers to download its app and sign up for its MyMcDonalds Rewards loyalty program. The program is helping drive repeat business and improves the company's relationship with consumers, executives have said, while generating first-party data McDonald's can use in additional promotions and research. McDonald's created the promotion with creative agency Wieden+ Kennedy New York. Golin, Boden, IW Group and Lee Street provided communication support, and Publicis Groupe led digital marketing. The chain is using Community.com to facilitate text messages between the app and its users. Boxer developed the special packaging. The company did not detail its spending on this particular promotion. McDonald’s executives say the loyalty program, which launched in the U.S. in July, has already attracted more than 30 million members—21 million of them are “active” members, who are using the app to earn rewards. The chain’s primary goal with loyalty this year is to build the size of its membership base, which would allow for more creative executions down the road, Kevin Ozan, executive VP and chief financial officer for McDonald’s, said earlier this month at the UBS Global Consumer & Retail Conference. “In future years, we can focus on things like gamification, subscription programs, all the other things you can do once you have a loyalty program. Because what it’s really about is not getting a lot of new customers, it’s about frequency and getting our existing customers to be able to come more often,” Ozan said, according to a Sentieo transcript. Ozan said digital frequency among loyalty members is 10% more than non-members. “We see increased customer satisfaction with our digital customers versus non-digital customers,” he added. “They like things we’re able to do. When they come through the drive-thru, we can greet them by their first name. Everybody seems to like that, both the crew and customers.”

McDonald’s brings back Szechuan sauce only for app users

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