McDonald’s WiFi: Think Digital Happy Meal Toys
In the near future you will be able to download the equivalent of digital Happy Meal Toys, when you go into your favorite McDonald’s. It’s a part of, what Greg Waring, director of McDonald’s business development, calls the “the de-plasticizing” of McDonald’s restaurants. I just heard him speak at the Go Mobile or Go Home conference at the University of Georgia.
The base charge to go wireless at McDonald’s will be $2.95 for two hours use, but at times there will be premiums, like if they are introducing a new salad they would like you to try. Order the salad and in return you get free access.
They are already working out deals with record companies. Just like you get a Happy Meal Toy now, you might get a digital record cut you can download to your MP3 before you can get it anywhere else.
He said the progression to wireless fits the demographics of sales people and service workers who already come to McDonald’s. He said it is a progression of changes that dates back to breakfasts, drive through, kids playgrounds and now digital.
Other content McDonald’s probably will be providing includes games and photography. He said the buzz word with the corporate community at McDonald’s is de-plasticizing the interiors of McDonald’s restaurants, and they will be collecting data mined from the wireless use to will help them “to re-image” their restaurants. They are already learning for example that their customers want more electrical outlets so they can plug in more easily.
Waring says it already has some 2,500 wireless McDonald’s restaurants around the world, 400 in the U.S. and will have some 6,000 more wireless this year in the U.S.
In Europe people pay for services, including in some McDonald’s, with cell phone units, so expect some variation of that here too.
I am blogging from downtown Athens, Georgia, which is a free wireless zone as part of an experiment run in part by the University of Georgia.
May 13th, 2004 at 3:38 pm
thanks