Meet McDonald's new African-American consumer market PR agency: Egami Group
Leading multicultural marketing agency to help McDonald's connect with African American community through impactful campaigns
McDonald's has recently announced that it has chosen Egami Group as its new public relations agency of record for its African American consumer market in the United States. The agency, which is headed by CEO Teneshia Jackson Warner, is a multicultural marketing agency that has a reputation for creating impactful campaigns for its clients. This decision stands out as a huge win for Egami Group and a significant step for McDonald's in its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and its support for the Black community.
According to McDonald's, the decision to work with Egami Group was made in order to better connect with the African American community and to ensure that the brand's messaging is authentic and relevant to this demographic. In an official announcement, the fast-food giant stated that Egami Group's "expertise in multicultural marketing and its ability to create meaningful connections with diverse communities," made it the ideal agency for the job.
Egami Group, which was founded in 2009, has a track record of working with big brands such as Proctor & Gamble's My Black is Beautiful brand, Target, HBO and the reigning queen of television: Oprah. For the anniversary of CBS This Morning’s newest co-anchor, Nate Burleson, the agency orchestrated a mosaic food portrait made of Lunchables alongside colleagues Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil. The buzzworthy placement landed King a special appearance on The Colbert Show where she celebrated the creativity of the Lunchables brand. About a month later, the agency announced on its vice president of media relations, Danny Astoria, a former publicist for Westbrook Inc. and Wendy Williams, was named to the PR Week 40 Under 40 list.
Warner said that the agency is excited to be working with a "legacy brand" like McDonald's, and that the partnership aligns with the agency's mission to create "culturally relevant and impactful campaigns."
Though no official announcement has been made, according to a report by TMZ, Pop icons Cardi B and Offset were rumored last month to have teamed up with McDonald's to shoot a new commercial expected to air during the Super Bowl.
One thing's for sure, Warner and her team know how to stay relevant and grow.
In 2021, Warner formed an exclusive partnership between Egami and Zeno Group, the PR agency originally created as Edelman’s conflict shop, in order to advance a greater understanding of the "new mass market." The news came on the heels of the world's largest PR firm appointing the first Black woman to be its CEO. The partnership allows both firms to bring their expertise in multicultural marketing to a larger scale and reach more diverse communities under the credibility and partnership of Warner and her team.
Warner, a trailblazer in her own right, has openly talked about facing numerous barriers in building Egami Group from the ground up. She acknowledges that people of color, particularly women, may face more problems scaling a business than their counterparts. However, she breaks down these challenges into four categories: curriculum, coaching, connections, and capital.
Her story is one of determination and perseverance. Growing up, she struggled to find a network of like-minded individuals to guide her on her journey. But she never let these obstacles stop her from pursuing her dream of building a successful multicultural marketing agency. In her book "The Big Stretch: 90 Days to Expand Your Dreams, Crush Your Goals, and Create Your Own Success," Warner lays out her story and what it takes to navigate and grow a successful business.
Teneshia believes that the future of multicultural marketing lies in communications, and this is exactly what Egami Group brings to the table. When working with P&G, the consumer goods giant told WWD, they thought of scale and efficiency without considering their impact on a small business. However, P&G team admits that they didn’t realize how much their requests would impact cash flow or how difficult it would be for Egami Group to voice such concerns. The candid interview between Warner and P&G Beauty has become somewhat of a transformative masterclass of a healthy client and agency relationship, especially one committed to purpose-driven values.
Working with McDonald's
McDonald's choice to work with Egami is a step in the right direction for the brand, as the Group's expertise in multicultural marketing and its ability to create meaningful connections with diverse communities will help McDonald's to better connect with the African American community. With Egami's track record, they are the perfect agency to help McDonald's create culturally relevant and impactful campaigns, aligning with McDonald's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and its support for the Black community.
Here’s what Molly Mckenna, senior director of global brand communications for McDonald’s, had to say about working with Egami, "we conducted a competitive agency review to find a PR partner to help McDonald’s fuel relevancy and affinity, while sharing in our values, passion, and commitment to connecting with and supporting black consumers. We’re excited to partner with Egami to drive meaningful storytelling and impact that helps us build and sustain these relationships.”
No doubt Egami Group's expertise in multicultural marketing and its ability to create impactful campaigns will be an asset for McDonald's as it works to connect with the African American community. The agency's reputation for excellence and its track record of working with big brands is a testament to its ability to deliver results.