Coffee with cream? Diet Dr. Pepper? Soy Chai Latte? What’s your morning drink of choice? This year, we set out to find out everything we could about what St. Louisans drink in the morning.

Following several focus groups and an in-depth look into market data, we discovered that although St. Louisans love McDonald’s delicious food (especially for breakfast), they don’t often think of McDonald’s for beverage-only visits. This wasn’t too surprising considering convenience stores (the #1 morning drink stop in the market) greatly outnumber fast food restaurants in St. Louis. So naturally, our 2008 strategy for McDonald’s St. Louis and Metro East included establishing McDonald’s as a beverage destination.

With this in mind, we created WakeTheHeckUp.com, a flash-based microsite developed to build on our traditional TV, radio and outdoor advertising concepts. Press releases were sent out from the “National Research Center for People in Need of Pick-Me-Up Drinks” urging customers to visit the site for their free diagnosis. Following a quick Scantron questionnaire, the Drink-erator 3000 helps customers find their ultimate pick-me-up drink, culminating in a printable coupon good for their favorite beverage at McDonald’s. Tens of thousands of customers have visited the site and downloaded coupons, including visitors logging in from a dozen foreign countries. Visit WakeTheHeckUp.com to quench your thirst.