Hispanic Community Outreach and Local Media Relations for McDonald’s

The Challenge

To demonstrate its dedication to the Hispanic/Latino community in San Diego, local McDonald’s owner/operators partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities to offer the Ronald McDonald House Charities/Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources (HACER) Scholarship to high school students. For more than 20 years, McDonald’s charged Nuffer, Smith, Tucker with using public relations to support this annual scholarship program and communicate McDonald’s commitment to education.

The Tactics

NST managed the local scholarship program from start to finish. This included developing application requirements, assembling a judging panel of local community leaders, publicizing the call for applications, facilitating the judging process and recognizing/publicizing the scholarship recipients at school ceremonies. To support the application process, NST explored a variety of communications channels in both English and Spanish, including:

• Securing an ongoing media partnership with Entravision Communications, which produced social media content and aired a PSA, and San Diego Family Magazine, which donated space in its print and digital communications to encourage students to apply for the local scholarship funds.
• Forming relationships with local counselors, PTAs, AVID program teachers and school district contacts to ensure teachers and administrators were aware of the scholarship funds available to their students.
• Developing targeted social media content in English and Spanish, including promoted Facebook posts and sponsored Instagram posts.
• Creating and implementing a media relations plan to encourage application submissions and recognize the year’s scholarship recipients.