The value of authenticity: A marketing lesson by BTS x McDonald’s

Brands can get tips for their own marketing campaigns from the successful collaboration between Korean pop sensation BTS and fast food giant McDonald’s, says Mutant’s Bethany Bloch.

The rollout of a new meal at McDonald’s probably doesn’t seem like the type of thing that would excite most people. But when the new meal is a brand partnership between the Golden Arches and South Korean music group BTS, people get really excited.

Part of the McDonald’s’ Famous Orders campaign introduced in February 2020, the BTS Meal – 10-piece McNuggets with sweet chili and cajun dipping sauces, fries, and a Coke – launched in late May 2021, arriving in Singapore on June 21.

Unlike the two preceding Famous Orders collaborations – with rapper Travis...

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