Case Study: McDonald's drives awareness and engagement for Black Music Appreciation Month with PadSquad rich media

How interactive rich media drove awareness and engaged a diverse audience for Black Music Appreciation Month

McDonald’s partnered with PadSquad to celebrate Black Music Appreciation Month across its Southern California and Washington D.C./Baltimore local business units. The challenge was to build awareness of the holiday and educate audiences on the history and contributions of Black musicians in a way that went beyond standard banner advertising.

PadSquad developed bespoke rich media ads in a social-media-style “story” format, featuring interactive bubbles that let users explore the history of African American music, genres like hip hop, and a Vevo-integrated playlist. The campaign stopped the scroll and delivered average exposure times of 14 seconds in D.C./Baltimore and 16 seconds in Southern California, 60% above benchmark, while generating engagement rates of 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

McDonald's