McDonald’s and Sony Partner for Music Promo
This month, McDonald’s and Sony have begun a worldwide summer promotion to provide customers with the latest in digital music. The deal between the burger giant and the entertainment powerhouse has been talked about for months, although the two tried to keep the details under wraps.
The Big Mac Meal Tracks promotion officially launches today in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada where customers purchasing a Big Mac Extra Value Meal will receive a unique access code for a song of their choice at the Connect music store www.connect.com, offered by Sony Connect, Inc. The promotion will continue on to McDonald’s locations in the U.K., France and Germany in July and roll out to additional countries throughout the year.
Buzz has been circulating about this deal since March, however the partnership was made official last week. Dean Barrett, McDonald’s SVP-global brands said the delay was caused by the unanticipated amount of time needed to roll the promotion out across different countries with different technological capabilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Sony and McDonald’s are two of the biggest brands in music and entertainment,” Barrett said “We are working with Sony to expand the capability to other parts of the world, and in doing that we are listening to our customers.”
Though an exact number was not specified, company officials believe that millions upon millions of free songs will be downloaded by McDonald’s customers.
In support of the program, Chicago-based ad agency Leo Burnett Worldwide has created two global TV spots that contain changing music selections. Radio advertising, in-store kiosks, menu boards, window decals and packaging will further deliver the promotion, which runs through the summer.
In other news, the No. 1 QSR has also worked out a deal with SBC Communications Inc. to provide wireless Internet service in up to 6,000 restaurants by the end of next summer. Both SBC and McDonald’s will jointly market the new Wi-Fi service in participating restaurants.
Austin, TX-based Wayport Inc. will distribute the service and provide Internet connections to McD’s locations nationwide. The service will cost $19.95 a month for unlimited access to all of FreedomLink’s hot spots at McDonald’s, The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc. airports, hotels, convention centers, restaurants and SBC Park in San Francisco.
McDonald’s May sales are up 7.9% the company said, attributing the rise to new menu offerings, energetic, targeted marketing and improved operations and service. This performance marked the company’s 14th consecutive month of positive sales at its U.S. stores. McDonald’s new marketing efforts behind digital music and Wi-Fi should contribute to rising performance trends.
