McDonald’s Digital Signage Fail

by Paul Flanigan

When you work in a profession, you tend to automatically look around you and notice those elements of life that are related. When I worked in baseball, I couldn’t help but stare at the jumbotrons in other parks when I went to ballgames. While at Best Buy, I always noticed the screens on shelves in other stores.

Same holds true for digital signage. Wherever I go, my eyes scope out the screens with moving pictures.

For the first time in Ihavenoideahowlong, I took the kids to a brand spankin’ new McDonalds that popped up near our house (because it’s just not America if you can’t hit a McDonalds with a tee shot from your front yard).

Walking in, I immediately noticed the digital screen. See if you can find it here:

McDonald's Digital Screen Finder Game!

Click to embiggen!

Let me help you:

Found It? Good for you!

Click to embiggen!

It’s the one on the left, where no one looks. No where near the backlit menus.

And I can’t help but wonder why the heck it is even there? What is the sense of putting a digital screen on a wall that no one even looks at? I went in at lunch, on a Saturday, and sat facing the cash line, and did not see one person look that way.

Digital Signage 101: Put the screen where the eyeballs are.

  • DigMrktGuy

    Yet, no doubt some unsuspecting advertiser is paying more than a big mc to run an ad on a screen nobody sees. Perfect!

    • http://www.experiate.net Paul Flanigan

      I didn’t see any 3rd party ads, so I’m guessing it’s wholly owned via McDonald’s. however, that is no excuse. What’s worse is that there is a large screen TV playing ESPN in the same restaurant. Nice touch, but if you had to put your eyeballs on a screen, it’s easy to see where they go.

  • McCaffeine

    There is no advertising, it is 100% a McCafe menu board, with frequent glitches in transitions. Just watch for a couple of minutes.

    • http://www.experiate.net Paul Flanigan

      I did watch. That topic alone is another post, surely. You’re right. The content and animations do not do a good job of attracting eyeballs. Overall a poor execution.

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