Macca's Makers Custom Brick Set | McDonald's Australia

CLIENT

McDonald's Australia

PROJECT

Create a product for the 2023 McHappy Day fundraising campaign

WHAT WE DID

Designed and produced the 'Macca's Makers' NovaBrix set

THE OPPORTUNITY

McDonald's Australia had a goal to raise a AU$1 million donation for Ronald McDonald House Charities through their 2023 McHappy Day campaign.

During this campaign, McDonalds restaurants would sell a product in store with 100% of the proceeds being donated to this worthy cause.

For many years, McDonalds had sold another item for this campaign. When they decided to replace it with something fresh and new, Novelli was determined to pitch them something unique and highly desirable! We knew we needed to create a product with 'WOW' factor! What was that extra special, awesome idea that would get customers excited?

Animated NovaBrix figurine from the Macca's Makers McDonald's branded building brick set

INSIGHTS & DATA

Before pitching a single concept, Novelli conducted research into the Australian family merchandise market to identify what would genuinely excite McDonald's customers - not just catch their attention once, but give them a reason to actively seek it out.

The research confirmed several clear signals. Building block sets consistently outperform passive collectibles in terms of engagement time and perceived value, particularly among families with children aged 4–12. Limited-edition branded items tied to a beloved everyday brand generate strong purchase intent and word-of-mouth sharing - especially when the product has a charitable dimension that parents feel good about.

Novelli also identified that McDonald's had never successfully introduced a building block product into its Happy Meal range - not because the appetite wasn't there, but because no supplier had been able to meet the stringent McDonald's Global Happy Meal Toy safety standards with a building set format. That gap became the brief.

OUR SOLUTION

Novelli achieved a global-first by doing something that no one else had been able to do in this space.

Adapting our NovaBrix building blocks, we applied further product design skills, innovation and pure determination to design a set that complied with the stringent McDonald's Global Happy Meal Toy standards.

The NovaBrix 'Macca's Makers' building set is a replica of a Macca’s restaurant and features an iconic glow-in-the-dark Golden Arches pylon, crew and manager figurines, McCafé, Playland, front counter and drive-thru. The set used 80% recycled plastics, was FSC approved and is fully compatible with all major building block brands.The 56 piece block set sold for A$36.95.

RESULTS

The Macca's Makers NovaBrix set launched across all McDonald's restaurants in Australia and sold out within weeks. The campaign exceeded McDonald's original AU$1 million fundraising target by more than six times - raising a record AU$6.4 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities, the largest single-campaign donation in McHappy Day history.

More than 106,000 sets were purchased by Australian households, putting a NovaBrix-built McDonald's restaurant on kitchen tables and bedroom shelves across the country. The campaign generated significant earned media coverage and created sustained social media engagement as families shared their completed builds online.

The product's international appeal was equally notable. Following the Australian launch, McDonald's markets in other countries expressed strong interest in introducing the Macca's Makers set to their own McHappy Day campaigns - a direct result of the product's unique combination of play value, brand authenticity and sustainability credentials.

The Macca's Makers set was the first building block product ever to pass McDonald's Global Happy Meal Toy standards - a global first for NovaBrix and a proof point for what becomes possible when branded merchandise is designed with genuine ambition from the start.

GLOBAL INTEREST

This new brand received high levels of interest from other markets.

INNOVATION

The product was a global first! It was the first time a building block brand had passed the Happy Meal Toy standards.

AU$6.4M

The record A$6.4m raised during this campaign set a record for the amount donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

106,000 SETS

106,000 Maccas Makers sets purchased by Australian households!

HOW MCDONALD'S AUSTRALIA RAISED AU$6.4M WITH A CUSTOM NOVABRIX BUILDING BRICK SET