McDonald’s Deutschland is strategically realigning its creator and influencer marketing and has appointed We Are Era as its lead agency. The RTL Group company, which specializes in the “community economy,” prevailed over competitors in a multi-stage selection process and will now be responsible for all national creator marketing activations for the German subsidiary of the US fast-food company. In addition, We Are Era will oversee the conceptual and strategic development of McDonald’s Deutschland’s corporate influencer program.
According to the company, the decisive factor was an approach that views creator marketing not as a reach-driven tool, but as a cultural connection between brand and community. The company positioned itself not only with expertise in understanding the topics that matter to communities, but also in how to reach them emotionally through cross-platform storytelling.
‘Communities as active co-creators’
“McDonald’s is organically part of our guests’ everyday lives on many social platforms. Together with German content creators, we want to further develop our brand in innovative ways based on the ‘Share the Pen’ principle,” says Stijn Mentrop, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s Deutschland. “We Are Era brings the strategic and creative expertise needed to successfully lead our creator strategy into the future.”
We Are Era’s approach builds on McDonald’s nostalgic and emotional brand strength not as a look back, but as cultural capital that can be translated into contemporary “creator narratives” and community activations. According to We Are Era, the concept is: “Creators as cultural translators, communities as active co-creators, and content that is not only seen but felt.” The goal is to create cultural moments together rather than chasing short-term trends – through formats and activations that foster a sense of belonging rather than simply attracting attention.
The company also announced that We Are Era will oversee McDonald’s Deutschland’s “Brand Ambassador” program going forward. In addition to selecting and integrating brand ambassadors for the company’s unique proprietary “Corporate Influencer” program into existing concepts, new partnerships as well as long-term content and formats are planned.
