Coates Group, a global technology company specializing in digital merchandising solutions, was named as McDonald’s single 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. We’re confident that Coates Group will deliver on that vision, and we look forward to a long-term partnership that empowers our markets with flexibility within a globally standardized framework,” said Hashim Amin, Vice President of Global Product & Engineering at 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. While Coates Group will manage the overall partnership and be the sole CMS provider, the total solution offers markets a choice of DMB hardware as well as installation and support services from Coates or Acrelec. This holistic global solution enables McDonald’s desired technology standardization while also accommodating individual market’s unique requirements for customization, in addition to significant cost efficiencies for markets.

“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,” said 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. In 2017, Coates Group was awarded the Outdoor Digital Menu Board hardware rollout for McDonald’s US, which was the largest QSR menu board rollout completed to date. Today, Coates is supporting 50 McDonald’s markets – including the US, Canada, Australia, France, and the UK – with digital merchandising solutions such as CMS, DMB and self-order kiosk.

Acrelec was founded by two former McDonald’s employees in early 2000, Jacques Mangeot and Jalel Souissi, who aimed to reimagine the customer experience through innovative self-order kiosks and drive thru technology and solutions. Acrelec counts over 80,000 installations in 80 countries.

About Coates Group

Coates Group is redefining the way brands engage with their customers. For over 55 years, Coates has been driving constant innovation and delivering unrivaled merchandising solutions – indoor and outdoor digital hardware, traditional signage, and a proprietary content management system, Switchboard™. This is done with one goal in mind – to create immersive brand experiences.

About Switchboard™ CMS

Switchboard™ content management system is a web-based, data-driven, scalable platform created by Coates specifically for QSR environments. It’s a key component in Coates’ complete digital merchandising solution designed to create, distribute, and display digital media to generate customer engagement. Switchboard™ uses real time data and rich analytics to orchestrate a seamless customer journey by showing the right product, to the right customer, at the right time, all while increasing revenue and driving ROI.