McDonald’s CMO steps down: how did the brand do during his tenure?

Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s CMO since 2021, has stepped down. Under Hassan, McDonald’s saw the Travis Scott meal, an Adult Happy Meal as well as a viral turn for Grimace.  How have the company’s brand metrics fared during his tenure and what will his successor, Alyssa Buetikofer, inherit? And more importantly, does McDonald’s still have the best fries?

McDonald’s vs. the fast-food sector: Impression and Value

Over the past few years, fast-food prices have been rising, and Americans have noticed. McDonald’s Value score, a net measure of whether consumers think a brand gives good value for money, fell from 25.2 in 2019 to a low of 9.2 in August 2024.  This drop was even more precipitous than in the sector as a whole, where Value scores fell from 9.3 to 5.0.

That said, there are signs that recent efforts in the fast-food “value menu” war are re-establishing McDonald’s as a good-value restaurant. Value scores have since rebounded to between 14 and 16 in January 2025.

Although Value scores are much lower than before 2020, Hassan’s marketing department seemed to be able to separate people’s feelings about the brand from their feelings about price. Value dropped, but Impression rose. Perhaps consumers are happy to drop a few extra dollars to help celebrate Grimace’s birthday. While similar patterns are observable in the sector as a whole, they are less dramatic.

Are people ready to buy McDonald’s? Consideration and Purchase Intent

People may have a positive impression of McDonald’s, but are they ready to eat there? Our dad shows a slow but steady rise in both Consideration and Purchase Intent under Hassan.

When Hassan began his term as CMO in September 2021, 38% of Americans were considering McDonald's the next time they were in-market for fast food, and it was the top choice for 14%. In January 2025, when Hassan stepped down, they had risen to around 40 and 17 respectively.

Who has the best fries?

Value and Consideration are important metrics. But in the fast-food world, “fries” may be even more decisive. YouGov CategoryView, which provides industry-specific brand tracking and insights, has been asking Americans which quick-service restaurants have the tastiest fries. In this essential metric, McDonald’s trounces the competition.

Two out of five consumers (41%) say that McDonald’s has the best fries, compared to 13 other brands. Burger King comes in a distant second with 9% of the vote. However, there are generational differences here. Younger Americans seem especially partial to Burger King compared to their elders.

Methodology:  YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Scores are based on an average daily sample size of 5000-19000 US adults depending on the audience between the dates of January 1, 2016, and February 3, 2025. Figures are based on an 8-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.

YouGov QSR CategoryView collects data on brands & consumers across the US every month. The data is based on the interviews of more than 10,000 American adults between November 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025.