How McDonald's takes part in real-time conversations

This event report discusses how McDonald's uses real-time messaging. As a brand which attracts a lot of negative commentary, and is frequently the subject of misinformation, it approached this activity with great care.

How McDonald's takes part in real-time conversations

Sarah Shearman

As a company that is the subject of vast amounts of online criticism – and a great deal of misinformation – engaging in real-time communications is a proposition that McDonald's has considered with great care.

"We see there is a lot of risk," Rick Wion, the quick-service chain's director/social media, told delegates at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, an annual event held in Austin, Texas.

Not participating online, however, can potentially be even more risky than entering the conversation. "For us, real-time is about one-to-one interactions every day," Wion...

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