Case Study: How McDonald’s Turned Concept Testing Into an Innovation Engine With Zappi
By Zappi
- case study
- Concept Screening
- Concept Testing
- Innovation Research
- Innovation Testing
McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant chains, faced a challenge in how it approached innovation research. Its existing method was oriented toward achieving a passing score on concept tests rather than using research as a tool for learning and improvement. This approach limited the team’s ability to explore ideas freely, refine concepts over time, and build a cumulative understanding of what drives consumer interest and purchase intent across product categories.
McDonald’s partnered with Zappi to implement a standardised concept testing approach covering the full innovation pipeline, from early-stage ideas through to late-stage concepts. The Zappi platform was used to conduct fast and cost-effective testing, with consistent survey methodology applied across all studies. This standardisation enabled the team to aggregate results and conduct meta-analysis across multiple tests, including analysis of drivers of consumer interest and purchase intent within specific product categories such as shakes.
McDonald’s shifted from a score-focused testing culture to an iterative, test-and-learn approach to innovation. The consistent data produced by the platform enabled accurate meta-analysis across concepts, and the speed and cost-effectiveness of testing supported a more exploratory mindset. The team was able to identify the best version of each idea rather than simply seeking approval.
“For a new shake flavor, I analyze the drivers of interest and purchase in all the shakes we’ve tested before. I can see how consumers play those concepts back, and what they want us to do differently. There’s a lot I can do easily with the data set.” — Matt Cahill, Senior Director of Insights Activation
Read the full version of this case study on the Zappi website here.
