Marketing Happy Hour - Media Relations 101 | Jacob Duarte of McDonald's

Starting point is 00:00:00 you're listening to the marketing happy hour podcast where we discuss career and industry insights with our peers in marketing we're here to talk about it all like the ups and downs of working in social media how to build authentic relationships in the influencer and pr space managing a nine-to-five and a side hustle at the same time, how to be productive in your life and career without losing your sanity, and more. Ultimately, we're here to build a community with you because we're all trying to navigate the world of marketing together. Are you ready? Grab your favorite drink and join your hosts, Cassie and Erica, for this week's episode.

Starting point is 00:00:56 Since 1955, the McDonald's brand has been making waves in the food and beverage world and in the marketing space, especially with their memorable campaigns and exciting menu offerings. It's a huge deal for us to have someone from the McDonald's brand joining us today on the podcast to talk about their past success and more recent strategies as they navigate the modern media landscape and have worked to stay relevant after all these years. Join us for today's conversation with Jacob, supervisor of U.S. media relations for McDonald's, as he shares how to find a mentor and maintain a relationship with them, plus his tips for communications professionals trying to develop and share a compelling brand story. Grab a McDonald's Fountain Coke or another favorite

Starting point is 00:01:36 beverage and let's dive in for today's conversation. Hey, Jacob, how are you? Hey, how's it going, Erica? I'm doing well. We're so excited to have you on the show today. But before we get started, I do have an important question that we ask all of our guests, and that is, what is in your glass this afternoon? It is marketing happy hour after all. Absolutely, yes. So I am actually based in California for today. So it's still a little early here. So I have my afternoon glass of coffee, but I decided to put in a wine glass to elevate it a little more. Oh, I always love that. I think there was a I don't know if

Starting point is 00:02:16 you're familiar or you are a fan of john Mayer, but he did like a story over the pandemic times where he was talking about having coffee in a whiskey glass and that just always sticks out in my head whenever somebody is having coffee in a glass that's not like a mug so that's super funny um I wish I went out and grabbed um something from McDonald's for this interview because I love McDonald's water it's something that people know about me because it's like such a weird thing to actually love but I think it's water. It's something that people know about me because it's like such a weird thing to actually love, but I think it's like, like crazy filtered or something. Anyway, it's the best thing for a road trip. And that's like my favorite thing to indulge in, in general

Starting point is 00:02:56 from McDonald's, which is weird. Like, why would I like the water that comes with every meal, whatever. But also I have, I'm actually going on a trip tomorrow. So I have to clear out my refrigerator. I have this wine. It is still also a little bit earlier for me. So I'm not really probably gonna be sipping on this too much, but it's from this brand Avaline. And we had Kelly from their team

Starting point is 00:03:20 actually on the show recently. And she was talking through some growth marketing tips. So she sent over these cans and they're so cute and fun. I know I always love a good like brand and a good brand story and they have both. So like most people, we are huge fans of the McDonald's brand over here. And we can't wait to dive into your experience working with the team there. But before we do that, could you just share a little background with our listeners on what you've done prior to being at McDonald's and how you landed your current role? Yeah, so I started my career working at the Taco Bell headquarters as the workplace experience specialist. And this was more of an internal comms role where my job was to make

Starting point is 00:04:01 Taco Bell a fun place to work for all of the corporate employees. And I do have a degree in PR and communication, so I knew I wanted to make my way over to the external comms side of the business. And I left my full-time role within Workplace Experience for a three-month internship with the PR team, because I knew that this was a right move in my career. And what was supposed to be just a short internship turned into a five-year career with that brand where I was able to work on a variety of PR campaigns and programs and also got to lead all PR for the brand's Latin American business unit. So all of our Latin American Spanish speaking markets. And after that, during the pandemic, I started to hit, like, was yearning for the next step in my career.

Starting point is 00:04:49 And a recruiter actually reached out to me from LinkedIn, asking if I would be interested in this open U.S. media relations supervisor role for McDonald's. And at the time, I think I was just ready for that next step. By working in quick service restaurants, I always knew that I wanted to eventually make my way to McDonald's because of how iconic the brand was. So once that opportunity came my way, I really couldn't pass it up. I have now been with the team for a little under two years. That is so cool. And that's so fun. What a cool story. You left your full-time job to take this like internship on a whim and a hope that it would turn into something more. I love that so much. And you mentioned too, on our intake form about, you know, networking

Starting point is 00:05:37 and mentorship and your career journey. That's something that we talk a lot about on this show, because we have a lot of listeners who are just starting out in their careers kind of trying to figure out the landscape um could you just share with us how you've harnessed the power of networking and mentorship throughout your career thus far yeah I think networking and mentorship is such a valuable especially in marketing and communications I feel like our industry thrives on networking and mentorship. And one of my former bosses before I came to McDonald's had a huge passion for it and was a big advocate for it. So I think very early on in my career, I understood the importance of how valuable it can be to your career. So while I was based out of California working for Taco Bell at the time,

Starting point is 00:06:25 I joined the OCPRSA Board of Directors, which PRSA stands for Public Relations Society of America. And so for the Orange County chapter, I was specifically focused on our mentorship program. So I was responsible for curating an entire year-long mentorship program that involved senior professionals and junior professionals that only had less than five years of work experience, and partnering them together based on their common interests. So I think that is like a definitely more formal route that you can take mentorship. But I feel like there's all like just different levels of it. There's different types of it.

Starting point is 00:07:03 So I feel like throughout my career, like I There's different types of it. So I feel like throughout my career, like I've had different types of mentorships. And it's interesting, because they all bring a very unique skill set or input into their perspective of what I'm asking them. So I feel like I'm getting a lot of different, you know, using each one for their specific focus. Oh, I love that so much. Do you have any like specific, you know, actionable tips that you can share around finding and maintaining a relationship with a mentor? I know it's it could be kind of daunting to try to figure out where do I start? Who do I even reach out to? And especially if you're not involved with a more formal organization like that.

Starting point is 00:07:42 How do you even go about searching for something like that in your area? I think it's really important to just keep your eyes and ears open. I think, you know, LinkedIn is such a great skill. And now that we've transitioned, like to this post pandemic era, where I feel like so many people are able to connect virtually now, like sky's the limit on like how you can get in touch with a mentor I mean you can definitely do the traditional reach out to them via LinkedIn and I think it's important to find people in a role or within an organization that you hope to one day find yourself in that they inspire you you're very intrigued about their work ethic

Starting point is 00:08:22 whatever it be I think that's the important thing to look for in a mentor. And then also a mentorship is a relationship. So I think you have what you put into it is what you're going to get out for it. And I think it's really important to make sure that you are going in there authentically, really trying to take advantage of that opportunity because, you know, mentors, they're busy, they have their own careers. So it's really important to take value into that relationship. Oh, absolutely. Would you recommend reaching out to somebody who might be one or two, you know, titles or so above what you are currently? Or would you go all the way to the top to the CMO or whatever of a company? What would you really recommend there? I think it varies. And again, I said this earlier on, but I think it varies based on the type of

Starting point is 00:09:09 mentorship you're looking for. I have mentors that I, that currently work at McDonald's with me that are two levels above me. I have a mentor at McDonald's that is the same lateral level as me. So I think it's, you know, it's really not anything about a specific level, but I think it's more about who that specific individual is and you wanting to engage with them. Absolutely. And what do those conversations kind of look like when you are engaging with a mentor mentee relationship? You know, is it walking through some tasks that you have day to day? Is it talking about what you can do and where you can go in your career? What can that look like? I think it looks like a lot of different things

Starting point is 00:09:51 for me. I'll give you an example with a mentor I have here at McDonald's. Him and I connect every other week and we're both under the communications team, but with specific different roles and what's really nice is he understands like the day-to-day of like my specific job and my role and what I'm doing for the organization but then it goes beyond that because he has been with the organization for so much longer than I have so he has that really rich insight around you know what does the career growth look like within the organization and how he can best help me get there. And I think that that's the best way that I've been approaching it. It's kind of like a very open dialogue. Okay. Yeah. I figured, and I appreciate you sharing that so much because I

Starting point is 00:10:34 think we go into these conversations, we're like, okay, I finally landed a mentor. What do I talk to them about? So thank you so much for just sharing that and what it looks like for you too on that internal team. I think that's really valuable insight, especially because, you know, like you said, it can look like a bunch of different things. And you can really make that relationship, you know, thrive based on what both of you put into it. So thank you again for sharing that. Yeah, I will add here to Erica is interesting too, is I've actually been able to sit on both sides of like a mentorship relationship where I've been the mentee and

Starting point is 00:11:10 the mentor. And I think in this stage of my career where I'm at, I feel like, oh, I can only be the mentee because I don't have, you know, 10 plus years of experience within PR. But I think that's a completely wrong way to look at it. I think you also get so much value from being someone else's mentor. So whether that be, you know, you connecting with a student that is interested in your current role or something like that, I think it's a two way street and you're going to get just as much of it being on that side of the mentorship. Oh, I completely agree. I love that. Okay, switching gears just a little

Starting point is 00:11:45 bit. Could you kind of walk us through your day to day as US media relations supervisor at McDonald's? Yes. So my day to day is never the same. And I think when I look at like what I'm doing on a specific day, it's really kind of geared to what initiatives, what campaigns, what announcements are slowly rolling up down the pipeline. There are the obvious weekly outstanding meetings that I'll do, but to go a little more in depth of what I do with my specific role with the U.S. Media Relations team, my role is specifically focused on a lot of our limited time offers. So anytime we have a new menu item rolling out, I get to work on all the comp strategy for that. I also get to work on a lot of our larger marketing campaigns that we do,

Starting point is 00:12:30 as well as some of the more business focused initiatives like sustainability and packaging. So I get to work on a lot of different elements of the business, which I love. But a day to day, you know, it really consists of handling all the inquiries that we get. McDonald's is such a large brand. So we are fielding media inquiries around tons of areas of the business. And then also the day-to-day meetings, as I mentioned before, I'm specifically focused on a lot of our menu news. So working with our key subject matter experts for different areas of the menu.

Starting point is 00:13:04 So we have a lead that works on everything related to chicken. And we have another one that's related to beef and another one that frozen dessert. So working with these SMEs on a continuous basis, just to make sure we know what's coming up down the pipeline, and we're ready to start curating those communications. What a fun position and a fun spot to be in too, because you're privy to all of the fun things that are coming up that the public doesn't yet know about. I love that so much. Do you have some actionable tips that you can share for communications professionals who are trying to share their brand story in the media today? It can be really crowded out there a strategic approach when you're looking to engage media with a specific announcement. So I think like the first general thing you have to do, and this is like well before you're going to be putting out an announcement, is identify be through regular check-ins, virtual coffee chats, whatever it may be, just to make sure that you are forming an authentic relationship with the reporter that one day will be covering your brand, will be covering your news. I think another way to really make sure that you are putting your brand in media is by giving reporters exclusivity to information that they can't find on their own. The internet is such a powerful tool right at our hands that we're able to just go in on Google and type in

Starting point is 00:14:38 whatever we want and pull information from there. And I think by giving reporters exclusivity through branded content, through executives or spokesperson interviews, quotes, I think by giving that little nugget of exclusivity, it really helps elevate the announcer because they feel they're getting something else that no one else can find. point. And something I also like to share when it comes to just PR and media relations in general is as much work as you can do. And tell me if this is correct or incorrect in your eyes, but as much work that you can do internally to like write the angles, write the story, give them all the information they could possibly need about something that's going to, you know, elevate your brand on their list of things that they can potentially talk about because they're like, okay, this is easy. I already know what I need to write about. I already know what the story needs to look like. I already know I have access to this person, this person. I know all of the information about whatever the lunch is, the price,

Starting point is 00:15:37 where it's available, all of those things. I always like to say, write as much as you can about what it is that you're trying to get looked at and press around. And then that'll make it easier for a journalist or someone like that to pick up and go, OK, this is already mostly done for me. I'm ready to go with this. What do you think about that? One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I think that that is the correct approach of looking at it. And, you know, similar to the way you're thinking about it, I always have this like question to myself of like, the way that we're curating these comms is we want to make sure that you're being strategic in who you're engaging. So if it's a campaign around a new menu item, I wouldn't necessarily be pitching reporters that have a specific focus only on sports because the news is going to be so irrelevant to them. But just making sure that you're, you know, being strategic and you're doing your research on how you're engaging them and showing up with all the information.

Starting point is 00:16:48 100%. And I think too, a way that you can do that is look up articles or, you know, recent launches of competitors or people that you've worked with in the past or your company has reached out to in the past and kind of identify those people there that have already written about whatever you're putting out and try to reach out to them, develop those relationships there ahead of time. That can really be helpful too. Okay, moving on just a little bit.

Starting point is 00:17:12 McDonald's is such a legacy and lasting brand, as you mentioned a little earlier. How do you guys maintain culturally relevant as you move in the media landscape? Yeah, that's a great question. And I think when, you know, looking at our consumers, especially like Gen Z, you know, Gen Z is such a hot phrase. Everyone is wanting to engage with Gen Z

Starting point is 00:17:35 because they are the next wave of consumers. And, you know, what they consider culturally relevant is rapidly changing. And I think the earned media landscape is evolving with it at the same pace and so for McDonald's it's really about what we're sharing and how we're sharing so when you look at like what we're sharing and the types of campaigns that we're doing we're really wanting to build these authentic connections with our fans through some of their

Starting point is 00:18:00 passions beyond just what they get at a McDonald's restaurant or beyond what their favorite menu item is so looking at their passion points like sports music fashion and trying to infuse those passion points into initiatives wherever we can so you know if we're partnering with a celebrity on the next famous order there's going to be an exclusive merch drop tied to it because we know our fans love this music artist and they love merch yeah and so it's a way to just be able to engage with them through a different level and then that's like the what we're sharing and then how we're sharing it you know like again Gen Z they have such a different way of how they're consuming news beyond just the traditional dot-com format so you, they're digesting their news

Starting point is 00:18:45 through social media, through podcasts, or through newsletters. And so it's important for us to show up in these places. I think while we'll always share news with dot-com journalists, you know, we're also engaging social editors, bloggers, podcast hosts, and even influencers, depending on the specific campaign

Starting point is 00:19:03 to help tell that brand story. 100%. Oh, I love that. I actually just recently saw, and I don't know if this is your team or maybe the social team, somebody at McDonald's sent out a PR package to an influencer that's just huge on TikTok right now. He's the, I think his name is Jake Shane and his name is like octopus lover or something like that. And you guys sent a PR package with like an octopus on a sweatshirt and just like talking about the brand around this influencer that's known for something completely different than McDonald's, but obviously loves McDonald's and his day-to-day. I thought that was brilliant.

Starting point is 00:19:40 And I just love that because, you know, you're kind of reaching a new audience there in a new way and not necessarily like you said, just the traditional routes. You're really engaging with what's going on and what's in the moment at the time. I would assume maybe that wasn't your team, but. So that's interesting because it's not my direct team, but I do sit on the broader team that works on that. So we have like an always on um team that is always consistently monitoring to your monitoring for just any social engagement

Starting point is 00:20:10 coverage around brand mcdonald's yeah and so we saw that creator post about us and I actually just saw that uh video this morning that's exactly it we're engaging with them on a more personalized authentic way that's just you know help helping them just share their love for the brand which I think is like you know we love that creators love our brand and so how can we help them just feel that fandom more it's so cool and it's so cute and I I love how custom it was I think that is you know the magic of something like that is making it totally custom to the individual who is receiving it I know there's been a few other plays like that too that I've seen and I'm like oh McDonald's yet again brilliant love that um put them on a personalized level yeah no that's that's awesome and that's the way

Starting point is 00:21:03 to do it moving forward like you said that's the way to do it moving forward. Like you said, that's the way, you know, Gen Z is paying attention to the media right now is mostly online. I mean, most of the news that they get, or most of the, you know, cultural conversation is happening on platforms like TikTok, or platforms like Twitter, it used to be like, I don't think it is really anymore. But, but it's platforms like that, that are really the sources of news right now. Yeah. So we have to know because we couldn't talk about McDonald's without talking about this. What are some of your favorite moments working with McDonald's and what are some of the coolest campaigns that you've had a chance to craft messaging around? So I've been with the organization now for about a little over a year and a half. So I haven't even hit my two year mark yet. And it is so crazy how fast the time has just flown by because I've

Starting point is 00:21:57 gotten to work on so many amazing campaigns. You know, I mentioned this earlier on in the podcast, but I worked at Taco Bell. So I always monitor the QSR landscape and for years was always looking at what brand McDonald's was doing. And so when they launched their first famous orders campaign with the Travis Scott meal, I immediately thought it was one of the most genius marketing campaigns. And I remember thinking to myself, like, wow, I wish I would have the opportunity to work on one of those campaigns. And, you know, it's just kind of surreal that I've already gotten to work on two of them. I worked on last, now two Decembers ago, or December 2021, I did a campaign with Mariah Carey for the Mariah menu. And then just in February,

Starting point is 00:22:47 we did another one with Cardi B and Offset. And we launched the Cardi B and Offset meal just in time for Valentine's Day. Awesome campaigns that I've been able to work on. And then I think just a lot of like the day to day stuff. So even like the smaller moments, like our limited time offers and our menu news, like, yeah, those aren't as big as a moment like a Mariah menu or the Cardi B offset meal. But, you know, they are still huge, huge, important aspects of the business. I think our consumers just love all the innovation we put behind all of our limited time offers. So I think those are really exciting ones that I've been able to work on. Oh, that's awesome. One of the recent limited time offers is the strawberry shortcake McFlurry, right? Did you do messaging around that?

Starting point is 00:23:37 Yep. So I curated the messaging for that in partnership with our agency and we put that out. But yeah, you know know just being able to share the news and remind reporters remind fans like hey we have this new menu item it's really really exciting I think that's what I love about it and then when people are able to try the product and I have friends that see that I work on all this stuff that they're like oh I tried the new McClory and it was absolutely amazing oh my, that must be so fulfilling being like, yeah, I know. But also, I think there was another campaign recently too, because I don't, I think it was during the pandemic, McDonald's bagels were gone from the menu for the breakfast.

Starting point is 00:24:21 And that was my family and I's favorite breakfast was the steak, egg and cheese bagel. And then they recently brought them back, I think in waves or something like that. And I was just so thrilled when I saw that information. So we're nearing the end of the interview here. And I have loved everything that you've shared. I really appreciate you coming on the show and just giving your insight around, you know, messaging and, and media relations. But we love to ask this question on the show. And that is, what do you know now that you wish you knew early on in your career? I feel like this one's kind of cliche, because so many people say it, but it's so, so relevant. And so true. But I think what I what I wish I knew then is what I

Starting point is 00:25:07 have planned on my bingo card then is definitely not going to be the outcome and that is okay I think as professionals we always put a lot of pressure on ourselves we are our biggest critic and I feel that I was so hard on myself very early on that now I am just like totally content with the way that my career trajectory has gone. And I think if I would have put a little less pressure on myself very early on, I would have enjoyed the ride a little more. But now I'm just taking it one day at a time and enjoying it for everything it is. Yep, I completely agree. And most of the people that come on this show will say the same exact thing. They are doing things they never imagined that they would be doing, but it's all working out and it's all going to be playing out the way it's supposed to be. So I totally agree with that.

Starting point is 00:25:56 Okay. Well, where can everyone find you follow along with what you're up to follow McDonald's, all the things, um, let us know where you're at on social and beyond yeah so uh Jacob Duarte on LinkedIn and then I'm also on Instagram Jacob underscore Everett and that's definitely where I share a lot of my brand announcements so if you're ever following me on Instagram and we're launching a new limited time offer you'll probably see that appear on my story so definitely keep up with me on there fantastic we'll share all of that in the show notes as well and we're launching a new limited time offer. You'll probably see that appear on my story. So definitely check out my story. I'll be on there. Fantastic.

Starting point is 00:26:27 We'll share all of that in the show notes as well. So people can easily click over there. But thanks again for joining us. This has been so fun. And like everybody, we love McDonald's. So it was a treat to talk to you today. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Eric.

Starting point is 00:26:41 I appreciate the time. Great to catch up. What a great conversation. I know I have a newfound appreciation for the McDonald's brand after listening to this one. We'd love to know what you learned from this week's episode. Drop us a review on your favorite podcast platform and let us know what you took away. Thanks so much for listening and we'll see you next week for another Marketing Happy Hour episode. We are so excited to share that our first ever free Marketing Happy Hour digital resource is now available. Download the Dream Career Game Plan today at marketinghappyhr.com forward slash freebie. That's marketinghappyhr.com forward

Starting point is 00:27:33 slash freebie. This five-step workbook will guide you through defining your goals, building your network, diversifying your skills, influencing where you're at, and investing in your growth. Cassie and I created this resource with marketing careers in mind, but the framework can be applied to any industry. Our hope is that this workbook will help you truly elevate your career, whether you're in the market for a new position or just looking to make your mark in your current organization. No matter where this resource finds you, we are cheering you on every step of the way. So go check it out

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Marketing Happy Hour - Media Relations 101 | Jacob Duarte of McDonald's

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