Lincolnshire company makes digital menu boards for McDonald's
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McDonald's restaurants nationwide will change their menu boards to new technology that features digital screens in high definition. They provide brighter and crisper images and also has the option for video. This is a menu board at a restaurant in New York. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
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McDonald's has been rolling out new digital menu boards that are high definition and use less energy. The new monitors also offer a brighter, clearer image of the food choices and offers the opportunity to use video. DAILY HERALD FILE PHOTO
Those who dine at McDonald's in Lincolnshire at Milwaukee Avenue and Half Day Road may have discovered a new digital menu board to help make selections.
The Lincolnshire location is among the first in the area to replace its old static menu signs behind the counter with new 47-inch LED widescreen monitors made by LG Electronics. The monitors have a high-definition display, sharper images and brightness. They also use less energy and can run videos, said LG spokesman John Taylor. Eventually all, or about 14,000, McDonald's in the U.S. will feature the new menu displays.
LG Electronics partnered with Oak Brook-based McDonald's on the project. LG's commercial display business in Lincolnshire, called the B2B (business to business) Technology Group handled the project and worked with partners, including AT&T.
The project has been in the works for about 18 months and thousands of the digital boards have been sold to the burger giant, Taylor said.
McDonald's did not say when the other digital menus would be installed at other restaurants in the multimillion dollar deal.
LG also produces consumer smartphones and home appliances, such as refrigerators, and televisions, including an 84-inch HDTV that sold for $20,000 in 2013 and a 65-inch ultra HDTV with a $10,000 price tag. The company also has operations in Buffalo Grove that handles some of consumer products.
LG also partnered with AT&T, which has its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates. AT&T provides project management and connectivity for the digital menu boards by using its existing relationship with McDonald's to provide Wi-Fi and other Internet services.
In addition, Stratacache's ActiVia for Media 4.0 software is being used with the monitors so restaurant managers can more easily change the menu board items, adjust pricing, offer specials and video.
"The monitors provide more vibrant pictures of the food choices, which are easier to see," Patrick Phalen, McDonald's vice president of U.S. information Technology, said in a statement.
"Our customers are responding positively to our new menu boards," he said.
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