Swag In the Wild – McDonald’s Hackathon Edition

McDonald's Hackathon Swag? Yes, we are lovin' it! McDonald's hosts an annual "Burger Hack" hackathon, and this year, over 500 hackers within their company came together to help solve the company's biggest problems. Of course, swag is a big part of the hackathon to get everyone excited about the 24hr event! 

We are always happy to see this swag in the wild and see our swag power some hacks in action! In this Swag In the Wild edition, we highlight McDonald's Hackathon swag!

What is a Hackathon? 

A Hackathon is an event you host for a short period to solve a business problem. The idea is to bring people together and see if they can solve an issue within that limited time frame. You can also set specific teams together, so they compete towards winning the hackathon. McDonald's hackathon lasted 28 hours, but if you make your own it can last three days. 

Hackathons are a great experience that many companies use to push their teams to innovate. The best part about hackathons is that you allow people to solve issues they might not have the direct opportunity to fix in a typical work setting. 

McDonald's strives to innovate. Once a year, they meet with over 500 hackers to help solve the company's most significant problems for their biannual Burger Hack. As cited on their corporate blog,

 "The goal was simple: to solve for complexities within the business and innovate for the future of the brand." 

Hackathons within companies also tend to launch new products and ideas. This brings the overall benefit to why hackathons are highly beneficial for businesses. You get to solve an issue that might have been on the backlog but is essential to solving. Other companies might open hackathons to the public, which help find top talent. 

How can you use Swag for Hackathons? 

You might wonder: how does swag help with Hackathons? For starters, when planning a Hackathon event, you want camaraderie. Camaraderie brings teams together so they can solve specific issues. Swag plays a key part in creating camaraderie and driving company experience. For McDonald's, they distributed the swag at the event to get everyone excited about the Burger Hack. Other companies might drop ship the swag out a few days before the event to get everyone excited! This works well if your hackathon is virtual. 

Last, if you are hosting a hackathon, you need rewards! Make some sweet swag for the winning team to help with some bragging rights and a custom trophy.

So make your hackathon swag fun and part of the overall experience. McDonald's named their hackathon "Burger Hack" and had some creative swag that complimented their brand and the hackathon itself. McDonald's has one of the hackers, Maitree Shukla's, a Global Technology Rotational member, document her experience during the hack, and as you will see in our swag in the wild, most of the images included swag. 

Here's a comment from her blog on her Burger Hack experience:

“In retrospect, my first Burger Hack was an absolute success! It was a rewarding experience working with a team of brilliant individuals who shared a passion for our challenge. I gained new friends, knowledge, and memories!” - Maitree Shukla’s, Global Technology Rotational member

Swag In the Wild - McDonald’s Hackathon 

Let’s check out McDonald’s Burger Hack swag. We are lovin’ seeing these swag in the wild and the excitement it brough throughout their company! 

Check out our Swag In The Wild Video

What Swag Items Were Used? Get On the Hackathon Look 🚀

Check out the top swag items we used to make this hackathon a success!

Hacker Swag

🚀 Want more onboarding tips? Check out these blogs below!

Swag In the Wild - New Hire Kits & More
Swag In The Wild - Onboarding Edition
How to Pull Off A Hackathon