tms supports the rollout of McDonald’s recent venture, CosMc’s
tms is pleased to support the rollout of CosMc’s, a new small-format, beverage-led concept from the McDonald’s universe.
CosMc’s first test-and-learn location opened in December 2023 in Bolingbrook, Illinois, with approximately 10 CosMc’s pilot locations set to open across the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas by the end of 2024.
CosMc’s has tapped into something special and we’re excited about this opportunity to test and learn with the team in what is going to be one of the most exciting brand initiatives of 2024.
Working in close partnership with McDonald’s New Business Ventures team and IAT partners – tms and Boxer Brand Design, tms’ embedded brand identity and packaging agency, tapped into their unique areas of expertise to deliver the new food and beverage packaging design, uniform design and merchandise consultation. Furthermore, tms sourced across all three areas and delivered the product photography concept and execution.
tms and McDonald’s bring Winning Sips back for a second slurp!
The Winning Sips promotion was bubbling with so much customer enthusiasm at McDonald’s in 2023 that it’s back for another year! Starting on March 13 and running until April 16 in the UK, the optimized Winning Sips 2024 promotion has a new gameplay, giving customers a guaranteed chance to win.
With the backdrop of the current cost-of-living crisis, tms’ strategy leveraged insights from research on the 2023 campaign to create an integrated campaign full of feel-good moments across various physical and digital touchpoints, from packaging to in-app communications. Introducing new digital elements like “Bonus Sip” to the 2024 campaign keeps consumers engaged and returning to McDonald’s, while also encouraging signups to MyMcDonald’s rewards.
To play, customers simply need to purchase a medium or large size promotional drink from McDonald’s and peel the game piece on the cup to reveal their instant prize of cash or free food. Those who did not win an instant prize will receive a code, allowing them to play via the McDonald’s app for the potential to win other prizes, including up to £10,000 cash, festival tickets, free menu items, and exclusive McDonald’s merchandise.
McDonald’s and tms partnered with Coca-Cola and McDonald’s to give customers access to more prizes, including exclusive Coca-Cola merchandise, providing people with even more chances to win!
To elevate the promotion, tms developed a new mechanic for this edition of Winning Sips called “Bonus Sip”. Bonus Sips allow customers to collect a digital stamp each time customers enter a new Winning Sips code in the app – if customers collect 7 stamps, they will unlock 1,500 bonus MyMcDonald’s rewards points. This is enough points for a medium drink, so customers can use these points to unlock another chance to win.
tms was able to cleverly level-up this campaign for 2024 with the addition of ‘Bonus Sip’ by making this promotion even more rewarding for customers and encouraging them to return. We are excited to see the continued success of Winning Sips for the second year in a row.
Working cross-functionally, tms utilized our technology, marketing, and sourcing capabilities to execute the creative concepts, in-app experiences, digital communications, packaging, and merchandise. The cups themselves were used as a promotional vehicle, a creative way to visually dial-up generosity and dramatize the thirst-quenching rush of a customer’s first sip through in-app virtual sips to win millions of feel-good prizes.
For readers in the UK, make sure to visit your local McDonald’s, and sign up for MyMcDonald’s Rewards in the McDonald’s app to reap the full benefits of Winning Sips!
Squishmallows Happy Meal® continued its musical adventure at McDonald’s US
Squishmallows have travelled to many different McDonald’s around the globe and completed one of their final stops in the US earlier this year! The Squishmallows Happy Meal® ran from December 26 to January 22, featuring fun-loving characters with their own unique music playlists.
The campaign contained twelve Squishmallows characters, including two US exclusive characters from McDonaldland, Grimace and the Hamburglar – each equipped with their own curated music playlist. Customers were invited to try and collect all plush toys in their region each with their own unique tags that provide insight into the toys’ personalities and music tastes. Customers could then scan the QR code from the box which directed them to happymeal.com and revealed the Squishmallows’ personalized playlists!
The Squishmallows Happy Meal® has taken the world by storm. We were excited to bring the program to our millions of fans in the US with fun new ways to collect and connect with the Squishmallows brand.
The Squishmallows US Happy Meal® was part of a global campaign which started in 2023, with Latin America concluding the adventure in February. Outside of the US, the digital campaign ran in Europe, Australia, and the APMEA regions. Different toy renditions were available in certain parts of the world, and playlists contained as many as three songs in countries where the digital elements were accesible.
To add to the Squishmallows fun, each US playlist contained two songs, courtesy of our licensing partner, Universal Music Group, who sourced the songs and secured their rights. Partnering with McDonald’s, tms was responsible for the digital activation of the campaign, and we created a digital mechanic using facial recognition technology to identify the Squishmallows and automatically direct customers to the appropriate playlist, allowing them to virtually jam out with their cuddly companions.
Seeing the globe’s reaction to the Happy Meal Squishmania and knowing the US market was eagerly awaiting the Happy Meal® x Squish drop really got the team excited to work on this program! Transforming the iconic red box into part of the Squish Squad made this brand collab feel complete for fans and ownable to Happy Meal. Such a fun and adorable program to work on!
To promote the campaign in store, tms designed and produced distinctive packaging elements. Our embedded brand identity and packaging design agency Boxer Brand Design created three different Happy Meal® boxes which all feature various Squishmallows motifs.
Another unique element we produced, outside of the actual plush toys, were opaque poly bags to hide the Squishmallows’ identities, creating an element of surprise and delight for customers once they opened their Happy Meal®. Lastly, we developed an extensive retail communications POP kit for the program including retail posters, merchandise inserts, activity sheets, and more!
Learn more about our previous Squishmallows Autumn and Squishmallows Halloween Happy Meal® campaigns on our website.
Huhtamaki, in collaboration with tms, wins 2024 FPA Innovation Award
We’re happy to announce that the McDonald’s Delivery Cuff, jointly developed by tms and our supplier partner, Huhtamaki, has just received the UK Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) Innovation Award. The FPA Product Innovation Awards were held at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, UK and recognized excellence in new innovative products created in the last 18 months. The awards were held at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England on March 7.
This award recognized the exceptional dedication and ingenuity of the Product Development Team and all those involved in crafting this innovative solution including our supplier partner, Huhtamaki. It not only met our client’s and customer’s needs, but also takes us one step further in helping McDonald’s achieve its 2025 Brand Goals.
Huhtamaki specifically won the Production Innovation – Front of House Award for McDonald’s Delivery Cuff. The Cuff is a revolutionary food delivery sealing solution created through a partnership between Huhtamaki, McDonald’s and tms, driven by McDonald’s need to enhance the security and sustainability of food deliveries. Composed of folded paper carton board and two adhesive strips on the reverse for tamper evidence, the Cuff is an effective solution for the secure delivery of McDelivery items.
The final solution highlights the great open partnership between McDonald’s, Huhtamaki, and tms teams that enables a product to go from concept to commercialization in a very short development period.
tms and Huhtamaki are proud to supply the future of food delivery with Delivery Cuff — where sustainability meets functionality for an unparalleled customer experience. This award serves as recognition for the circular and inventive solutions Huhtamaki and tms provide for McDonald’s and solidifies our spot as industry leaders in packaging. Learn more about the win and other category winners on FPA Awards.
tms transforms McDonald’s into the anime world of WcDonald’s for latest campaign
McDonald’s is transforming into the anime world of WcDonald’s and flipping customers’ worlds upside down with the introduction of the new WcDonald’s sauce! Running from February 26 to March 24, The WcDonald’s promotion is a global campaign, with an extra digital element available to US customers. The campaign commissioned expert artists from Japan, like Acky Bright, Studio Pierrot, and G Angle to illustrate the featured anime and manga content. Through a blend of weekly anime episodes, manga and immersive experiences, fans will be transported into the epic world of WcDonalds!
This is a groundbreaking campaign for McDonald’s. Partnerships from around the world brought to life an imaginative, energetic new world to be explored and experienced.
tms played a pivotal role with lead agency Wieden+Kennedy to make WcDonald’s a reality. As the hero product of the campaign, WcDonald’s sauce is a savory chili sauce sure to have everyone’s tastebuds sizzling with delight! tms’ embedded packaging design agency, Boxer Brand Design, customized the WcDonald’s sauce containers for the occasion, making the packaging pop by adding a metallic, holographic gold background to the sauce lid and using a bright red cup.
Customers are welcome to add the sauce to any order, but we can contest that the WcDonald’s sauce pairs beautifully with Chicken McNuggets, which have been transformed into Chicken WcNuggets with manga-inspired custom packaging developed in collaboration with artist Acky Bright. In a first for the brand, Boxer helped transform McDonald’s carry-out bags, featuring a manga comic drawn by Bright, but we didn’t stop there. Cups and fry cartons have also been adorned with the soon-to-be iconic WcDonald’s logo. Bright’s manga artwork can also be found on the back of your receipt!
In order to build a truly immersive customer experience at retail, tms commissioned our own specialized Japanese illustrator, G Angle, to produce illustrated food items like Chicken McNuggets, fries, drinks, and the WcDonald’s sauce that are executed authentic to the Japanese anime style and brings through a whole new approach to showcasing McD food products at the channel. This unique and never done before approach to food illustrations allowed us to create a clear and cohesive visual identity across all retail and digital touchpoints including menu boards, self-ordering kiosks, retail posters, and drive-thru elements.
tms is also bringing the world of WcDonald’s to life digitally with WcDonalds.com – a content-based website dedicated to the program, built by tms. WcDonalds.com gives US customers access to exclusive weekly content like anime episodic shorts and manga chapters, created specifically for the WcDonald’s program by Acky Bright and Studio Pierrot. To maintain as a program traffic driver, WcDonalds.com grants access to the program’s manga chapters and anime episodic shorts to only customers who scan the code on the program’s carryout bags after making a purchase. From there, customers will have full access to watch the anime episodic shorts, read the manga chapters, and learn more about all 22 individual characters featured in the program, including their names, biographies, images and birthdays.
This promotion only lasts one month, so make sure to go to your local McDonald’s to try the new WcDonald’s sauce. US customers, don’t forget to unlock the digital world of anime and manga content at participating McDonald’s while supplies last!
Dressed to impress: tms helps source more sustainable uniforms for McDonald’s US
As part of McDonald’s pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, they empower their partners and suppliers to innovate by exploring renewable energy, advancing the circular economy, and switching to more sustainable packaging and product options. tms took this challenge to heart, and our team worked with uniform partner, Way To Be, to find a more sustainable way to dress crew members in the United States every day, ultimately landing on designs made with CiCLO® technology.
tms worked with its supplier partners to produce a brand-new crew uniform that’s designed to prevent millions of pounds of microplastic from polluting the air, sea, and soil in our communities. Bonus points: they look great and are comfortable too!
Due to the textile, fashion, and uniform industries use of synthetic materials — namely plastic in the form of polyester — McDonald’s wanted to find alternative materials that were just as durable yet more environmentally sustainable. tms chose to source CiCLO® technology because it is a patented textile ingredient designed to mitigate fugitive synthetic microfiber pollution, one of the most prevalent forms of microplastic pollution in aquatic, atmospheric, and terrestrial environments around the globe. CiCLO® technology allows synthetic fibers to biodegrade at a rate similar to natural materials like wool, making it an effective circular solution that leaves behind nothing but natural elements.
.CiCLO technology was first introduced to tms from category supplier Way To Be in partnership with Intrinsic Advanced Materials. Starting with McDonald’s iconic apron, the team completed product development, in-restaurant wear tests and research within select McDonald’s restaurants. Successful results led to the systemwide introduction of the apron, as well as making additional uniform products with CiCLO technology available including graphic crewshirts and denim jeans.
After years of research and development, we are very proud of our suppliers’ focus and partnership as we successfully launch the uniform category’s first sustainable initiative for our shared client McDonald’s.
tms oversees the design and materials sourced to produce the uniforms manufactured by supplier partners Way To Be and Affinity (a Mi Hub Brand). This project is an example of the Better Future Blueprint in action, our framework which inspires us to join initiatives that create a better future for people, communities, and the planet. By offering solutions to our clients, we provide global powerhouses like McDonald’s with cutting-edge technology, creating a more sustainable future while simultaneously aligning with our own Corporate Social Responsibility values.
Read more about McDonald’s new crew uniforms with CiCLO® technology on McDonald’s Newsroom. Learn more about tms’ sourcing operations and the Better Future Blueprint on our website.
tms innovates McDonald’s UK first promo of the year, ‘Fry-anuary Rewards!’
tms and McDonald’s UK recently innovated the first MyMcDonald’s Rewards sales promotion of the year, ‘Fry-anuary Rewards.’ Running from January 3 until the end of the month, customers who purchase Medium or Large Fries and are signed up to MyMcDonald’s Rewards will have the chance to win a variety of entertaining prizes like a holiday with spending money, cinema tickets, cash, and more!
As lead agency, tms developed ‘Fry-anuary Rewards’ with the all agency group to deliver McDonald’s customers with feel-good prizes throughout the month of January. If a person purchases four Fries via the app throughout January, they are awarded 4,000 additional MyMcDonald’s Reward’s Points to incentivize participation, which was managed by eCRM agency Armadillo.
To kick off the year we have launched the MyMcDonald’s Rewards Sales Promotion ‘Fry-anuary Rewards’, bringing together the customers love of Fries and the chance to win prizes all throughout January! The option to earn 4,000 bonus MyMcDonald’s Rewards Points, in addition to winning great prizes is an all-around win for customers.
Charged with spreading much needed Feel-Goodness in January, tms has been at the heart of bringing this campaign to life. From concept to game mechanics, visual identity to prize pool partnerships, strategic lead to digital delivery and more, tms have woven all these elements into a compelling experience with an exciting but simple campaign, making entering easy and desirable for customers to take part.
This promotion ends January 31, so if you’re in the UK, head over to your local McDonald’s to participate in ‘Fry-anuary Rewards!’
tms honored for long-term partnership at McDonald’s India Supplier Symposium
tms was recently honored at the McDonald’s India Supplier Symposium for our unwavering dedication, shared achievements, and long-term partnership of 27 years with McDonald’s India. The symposium took place from December 4 to 6 in Goa, India to discuss McDonald’s future goals in the supply chain and sourcing categories, with suppliers from categories like food and beverage, equipment, and packaging attending the event.
McDonald’s highlighted tms for the key role we play in their supply chain and sourcing successes, garnering attention from McDonald’s clients and other suppliers alike. Our parent company, HAVI, achieved a significant feat by winning the most awards in the packaging category than any other company.
In the luminosity of this accolade, we derive affirmation for our unwavering dedication and draw inspiration for the journey that lies ahead. This achievement transcends mere recognition; it stands as a reflection of the collective spirit propelling our organization towards a purposeful and impactful future.
We are proud to be recognized by McDonald’s for our partnership, and this award invigorates our teams to continue streamlining best practices, sourcing quality ingredients and materials, and delivering the best possible customer experience.
Learn more about our global sourcing operations for McDonald’s on our website.
The Kerwin Frost Box dropped at McDonald’s
McDonald’s latest campaign featuring The Kerwin Frost Box has dropped around the globe. Kerwin Frost is a life-long McDonald’s lover as well as a creative director, DJ, street style icon, interview host, and artist from Harlem best known for his work within the fashion and music spheres.
This campaign merges his style with the iconic elements of McDonald’s brand. With The Kerwin Frost Box customers have their choice of a Big Mac® sandwich or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets® with medium World Famous Fries, a medium drink, and a McNugget Buddies collectible.
tms helped create an integrated Kerwin Frost Box experience for customers, leveraging our capabilities in packaging, product, and retail experience. This is the second program of this kind. Read about our work on The Cactus Plant Flea Market Box earlier this year.
tms’s embedded branding and packaging design agency Boxer Brand Design helped bring the box to life, while tms and HAVI managed the procurement of raw materials and box production. Designed by Kerwin Frost, the box artwork features The McNugget Buddies of Frost Way. Each of these champions self-expression differently through their unique outfits and stories — Kerwin Frost through limitless creativity and laughter, Brrrick through high-fashion, Darla through music, Waffutu through helping others in need, Don Bernice through entrepreneurship, and Uptown Moe through hometown pride.
The McNugget Buddies can be remixed and styled, swapping the outfits from one to another, encouraging customers to collect them all and get creative. Each comes with a collectible trading card with more info about who the buddy is. These collectibles and outfits were designed by Kerwin and produced by tms’ collaborative global teams.
Across retail touchpoints in-store and at drive-thru, we also crafted visual elements that integrate the box’s style to surprise and delight customers throughout their purchasing journey, communicate the new exciting box, unique collectibles and drive home craveability.
Head to your nearest McDonald’s to grab your Kerwin Frost Box before they’re gone!
@2023 McDonalds
tms and Boxer Brand Design bring a modern flare to McCafé holiday cups
tms brought holiday cheer to McCafé Holiday cups this season with a new festive and modern design! During the Holidays, McDonald’s wants to celebrate everyone with a design that is bold like McCafé drinks, simple like their menu, and colorful like everyone that visits McDonald’s. These festive cups bring holiday cheer with every sip and will be available from November 20 to December 29 in the US, making daily life a little more joyful.
Boxer Brand Design, tms’ embedded brand identity and packaging agency crafted the cups in a celebratory, colorful, and geometrical manner, staying true to McCafé’s sleek yet bold design style. The cup’s contemporary design contains vibrant hues of pink, green, red, blue, and yellow, with geometric holiday motifs like Christmas trees and snowflakes.
Every year, the Boxer team waits with anticipation to work on the McCafé holiday cups. It is one of our favorite projects, and the work keeps getting better and better. We are building momentum with these new designs based on the success of the 2022 cups, which got us to win 6 design awards!
Explore more of Boxer Brand Design’s cutting-edge work with McDonald’s on their website.
