Monday, April 20, 2009

The Hamburglar really wants to direct

McDonald’s is exploring the launch of a private TV channel that would provide entertainment and promotional content to patrons visiting one of the chain’s domestic stores, according to a vendor involved in the experiment. The test is scheduled to begin next month in 20 restaurants situated across the country.

A four-month-old showcase unit in Las Vegas and a store in Norwalk, Calif., already offer the McDonald’s Channel, according to the release issued this morning by the vendor, the tech giant Harris Corp.

The statement noted that the Channel would mix “info-tainment,” promotional messages and advertising into the entertainment feed. Examples weren’t provided.

McDonald's apparently hopes the Channel would keep customers in stores longer and provide another reason to visit. Here's a promotional video I stumbled across on YouTube:

McDonald’s has about 13,000 restaurants in the United States and about 30,000 worldwide.

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