McDonald's names Coates Group as its global provider of digital menu board

McDonald’s has partnered with global technology company Coates Group for its global Digital Menu Board (DMB) Content Management System (CMS) provider and one of two approved Digital Menu Board hardware providers alongside Acrelec Group.

While Coates Group has been providing solutions to McDonald's around the world for 50 years, this new appointment is the largest partnership engagement to date and follows an extensive, multiple-round RFP process in which several providers were evaluated.

"After thorough review of best-in-class CMS providers, it was clear that Coates Group was the best positioned technology partner for this critical phase of our digital evolution. Our goal was to find one global provider that could deliver our digital CMS vision, which is to enable a consistent ordering experience to all our customers around the world through a single, cohesive hardware and software solution," said Hashim Amin, Vice President of Global Product & Engineering, McDonald's.

The five-year agreement will enable McDonald's first, globally-standardized DMB solution. The comprehensive solution provides McDonald's markets with Coates' dynamic Switchboard™ CMS to power their content and marketing strategies.

"We couldn't be prouder to continue the great momentum we've built with McDonald's in the digital merchandising space over the last 10 years and to take our partnership to new, innovative heights. As a long-term partner of McDonald's, we are thrilled about the continued growth and success we've seen together and are excited to deliver in this new capacity, beginning with the transition of the US market to the Coates CMS solution," added Leo Coates, CEO of Coates Group.

Coates Group first formed a partnership with McDonald's in Australia in the 1970s as a traditional signage and merchandising provider. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the partnership grew into Asian and European markets with the introduction of new signage technology. Following Coates' evolution into the digital merchandising space in the 2010s, the partnership expanded even further across the world.