McDonald’s to launch two new sandwiches in Australia

McDonald’s will launch two new sandwiches in Australia that will be created with the ingredients customers rated as their favourites in a Facebook poll. The experiment in crowdsourcing comes as part of the chain’s push to boost traffic in the country, one of four identified as ‘priority markets’.

New third-pound McMate Angus Beef and McMate Crispy Chicken sandwich — which McDonald’s will introduce in Australia on August 20 — are made with ingredients consumers voted their favourites during a “Build Our Next Burger” poll on Facebook. A separate “Name Our Next Burger” vote on Facebook provided the McMate moniker.

The sandwiches’ marketing slogan, “A burger by the people”, plays on the crowdsourcing behind them. Given the McMate Angus’ third-pound patty, it will be priced at the higher end of the menu spectrum, on the same level as the Angus Mac McDonald’s introduced last summer. That would mean two successive high-end burger marketing campaigns since the current feature is the McFeast burger.

“In Australia, affordability remains key to driving traffic with consumer confidence at the lowest levels since 2008,” says Don Thompson CEO of McDonald’s Corp. “McDonald’s is re-launching its Loose Change value menu in Australia. But clearly the marketing focus at the end of August will be on the high-end McMate sandwiches. Perhaps they will be just what consumers want.”