News

McDonald’s Canada implements social savings platform

March 22, 2011

McDonald’s Canada has tapped Twongo LLC to launch a social savings platform that offers discounts, social media and marketing throughout its system.

Twongo, based in Cary, N.C., is the first social savings platform to partner with the international franchise giant. McDonald’s will work through Twongo’s Kelowna, British Columbia, branch.

Through this endeavor, Twongo has started to offer residents discount opportunities at nine of the restaurants in the Central Okanagan area of British Columbia.

Twongo’s effort will focus on increasing word-of-mouth marketing and awareness surrounding the regional launch of McDonald’s McCafé brand. Residents will have access to the discount deals through Twongo’s company website, subscriber emails and Twitter and Facebook accounts.

“We are proud to be partnering with McDonald’s to increase their brand awareness in the Canada markets,” said Brad Halferty, Twongo founder. “We consider working with a franchise of this caliber upon just recently moving into the market a significant milestone for the company and our ongoing plans for expansion internationally.”

Twongo was first launched in 2010, and recently expanded into the Kelowna, Vernon, Whistler and Vancouver markets of the British Columbia province of Canada.

Subscribers of the social savings platform enjoy price reductions in many retail genres such as dining and hospitality, entertainment, automotive, health and wellness, domestic, and lifestyle and beauty.

In addition to expanding into British Columbia, Twongo recently gained traction in the Wilmington, N.C., market and is working through myriad of private and public partnerships to establish presences in major cities across the United States and internationally.

McDonald’s Canada's lights to go out

McDonald's Restaurants in Canada will dim their Golden Arches again in honor of Earth Hour, which is 8:30-9:30 p.m. March 26.

It is estimated that this nationwide initiative could result in energy savings of more than 10,000 kWh, which is the same amount of energy the average Canadian household uses in a year.

This is the fourth year McDonald’s has participated in Earth Hour, a global initiative led by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to inspire people to take action on climate change.

Although the Arches will be darkened for an hour, all participating McDonald’s restaurants will remain open and fully operationally during that time.

“At McDonald's, we're committed to raising environmental awareness by participating in Earth Hour and dimming the lights at restaurants across the country," said Richard Ellis, senior vice president, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada. "Energy efficiency is a win-win situation for everyone and an important element of our business. By developing multi-faceted efforts to reduce the energy consumption in our restaurants, we have significantly reduced our environmental impact while also cutting down on energy costs."