How McDonald's Social Media Director Uses Brand Power for the Greater Good

Closing in on eleven years at McDonald’s, Guillaume Huin has climbed within the company to now be their Social Media Director of Brand Content and Engagement. A lover of literature and philosophy, Guillaume shares with us how meeting with consumers taught him everything he needs to know. Discover his decade’s worth of work, how they’re innovating on social by going back to their roots, and why using the power of the brand for the greater good should be in every marketer’s agenda. How did you get to where you are today? Any noteworthy aha-moments along the way? I follow the words of one of my favorite poets René Char: “Impose your luck, embrace your happiness and go toward your risks: by looking at you, they'll get used to it.” I come from the tiniest village in the north of France. I studied literature and philosophy but joined a business school because I considered advertising an underestimated form of art, and ultimately became a marketing intern for the agency that designed France’s Happy Meal toys. When I worked at McDonald’s France in 2019, I looked for a bigger challenge. My former boss and mentor, Xavier Royaux, said I could become the Social Media Lead for the U.S. market and work closely with their agency WKNY. That's something you can’t say no to. Four months later, I left Paris, moved to Chicago, and now I drive McDonald’s U.S. social strategy and create fun content with an amazing team and agency partners. https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1360277233261232129?s=20 What's the most innovative thing you're currently working on? An innovation in mindset—we’re working to understand the range of discussions and topics brands should be engaging on. Consumers ask where their favorite brands stand on important social issues and we’re seeing brands openly communicate about their core values. COVID-19 and recent events around racial equity have made this the new norm. And that’s good! View this post on Instagram A post shared by McDonald's (@mcdonalds) What new or up-and-coming innovation(s) are you most excited about and how do you think it will change the future of marketing? A shift in mindset, perception, and approach. Instead of "innovating,” we went back to our brand’s roots: to its purest DNA. McDonald's is an entertainment brand, and it was an anomaly not to let our brand express that in the social media world. What’s exciting is how brands keep pushing on their identity quest. The more complex the problems brands face, the more they reflect on who they are deep down, embracing their vulnerability. To me, this is the highest form of empathy marketing. https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1379474684404584449?s=20 If you could only do organic social on one platform for your brand, which would it be and why? You are asking me to choose between France and US right now! I’m a word lover, so Twitter. Jennifer Healan, our VP of Brand Content, always says: “words MATTER,” and Twitter is the best example of that. But TikTok is where brands have a chance to embrace brand vulnerability because it’s the platform’s essence. What’s one piece of work from your career that you’re the proudest of? The Happy Meal “book or toy” strategy I led in France in 2015. Anytime you buy a Happy Meal there, kids and parents choose between a toy and an exclusive book written by famous authors. More than 50 million books have been distributed to kids in 5 years, and for many of them, the McDonald’s book was their very first book. Using the power of a brand for the greater good should be in every marketer’s agenda. I believe in the power of words: they shape, lift, and protect you. In 2015 I saw a kid in the street holding his McDonald’s book as his most precious treasure. Using the power of a brand for the greater good should be in every marketer’s agenda. That’s why I always ask myself and my teams—what are you doing to make this brand better? Let’s make this place better than how we found it. Was there ever a time where you questioned your career path? How did you handle that? When I discussed what my next move should be with Maurizio Biondi, one of my bosses at McDonald’s France, he said, “a job is three things—do you keep learning? Do you like the people you work with? Are you recognized for what you do? If you have the three, stay. If you have two, stay but prepare the next move. If you have one or zero, no work is worth your mental health: leave.” What is one skill that you think is currently underdeveloped in Marketing? Meeting with your consumers. I studied Durkheim, Bourdieu, and Weber and I believe observing and learning about people directly from the source. But I lost that over the years. When I arrived in the U.S., Liz Campbell sent me to a town next to Indianapolis to visit a few McDonald’s restaurants. “Sit down, observe and talk to the consumers and crew. Put yourself in their shoes.” I learned more in four days than I ever thought I would. Marketers have so much complex and profound data, but it will never replace someone locking your eyes with theirs, telling you with a trembling voice that he’s coming here every morning for a coffee and an Egg McMuffin because it was his late wife’s order. That’s the soul of our brand. How do you pick and develop the talent on your team?I need to know the person does not shy away from giving articulated and honest feedback. Second, I value people who have a more distanced relationship with McDonald’s—who are both able to love it and criticize it. Three, I stay silent as much as I can. It can develop confidence amongst the people you work with every day, letting them present and lead. Four, what you have done before does not matter that much. I recruited an intern who studied to become a hotel manager and she was one of the best I've worked with. Last, I try to forget who I like to work with. I am here to decide what is the best fit for the company and where we want to be in the next 10 years. What is one thing marketers who are not in social should know about? Two things: social media is not run by interns—it’s run by future CMOs and CCOs. Respect them. Don’t ask your social team to insert your brand in a topic the second it trends. It's about making the topic better the second your brand chimes in. View this post on Instagram A post shared by McDonald's (@mcdonalds) What’s the first post to come to mind when you hear “best-in-class social?” I am forever a huge fan of the Spotify’s “Wrapped” campaign: it’s smart, innovative and on-brand. It’s a masterclass on fan advocacy and the idea is so clean it can live anywhere on OOH, social, and print. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? “There’s a place in you that you must keep inviolate. You must keep it pristine, clean, so that nobody has the right to curse you or treat you badly. Nobody. No mother, father, no wife, no husband, nobody.” —Maya Angelou “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” —McGraw “They call it a Royale with Cheese.” —John Travolta in Pulp Fiction