A couple weeks ago, I wrote about noticing McDonald's, an official FIFA World Cup partner, had almost no World Cup presence during the final, the single most-watched match of the entire tournament.
A comment popped up saying their national day promo was coming up, they had to make room for it. It's just business.
That defense never sat right with me, I couldn't accept it as an answer. Every partnership has a moment that matters most. If your calendar doesn't let you go all-in at your most valuable moment, we have a problem.
When I stumbled upon this article, McDonald's said the same thing, about itself. On an earnings call reported by Ad Age, executives said the company's promotional calendar had become overstuffed, including a World Cup push that fell short of expectations, and that U.S. business slowed significantly in the second quarter as a result.
Missing the final wasn't a scheduling problem. It was a symptom of a calendar with too many campaigns competing for the same moment, and no one deciding which one actually mattered most.
If a full calendar is stopping you from maximizing a partnership you're already paying for, that's a decision-making problem, not a scheduling one.
Source: Ad Age, "McDonald's rethinks crowded promotional calendar after FIFA World Cup campaign falls short."