As McDonald’s looked for areas of strategic growth in South Korea, opening a store with a drive thru presented several challenges. Historically, drive thru locations had not been widely utilized in the region due to high population density in cities. However, as suburban areas have started to expand in recent years, McDonalds identified the Goyang Samsong store as a viable drive thru store option. In developing the store, the team identified concerns with using conventional menu boards both inside and outside the store. They recognized a need for displays with higher visibility that would stand out in this environment. They also noted a higher level of labor associated with more traditional menus and signage. 

A completely digital drive thru presented an important next step in McDonald’s strategic growth. McDonald’s has long been working with Samsung in Korea, building a strong and trusted relationship. The quality of the solutions provided has resulted in high satisfaction for McDonald’s, making it an easy decision for the company to select Samsung again when deciding to fully digitize the Goyang Samsong DT location. 

For outdoor, Samsung installed its OHF series outdoor and OMN-D window signage at Goyang Samsong. Samsung’s OHF outdoor signage provides high visibility to attract and engage customers. Consumers can easily read the menu board in any weather conditions thanks to the display’s high brightness. Special circular polarizing technology also makes it possible to clearly see the display when wearing polarized sunglasses. A built-in Auto Brightness sensor automatically adjusts the brightness based on the external lighting environment, also saving operating expenses and reducing power consumption. The OHF outdoor displays are also verified to provide dependable performance in a wide range of outdoor settings by utilizing a special self-cooling system, allowing for a level of durability that can sustain 24/7 operations while negating the need for additional air conditioning systems.

With its IP56-rated protection and tempered Magic Glass, the display can withstand physical impact as well as dust, humidity or other outdoor elements that could affect the display in a busy DT location. Samsung’s OMN-D, dual-sided window display delivers content that stands out to customers whether they are in-store or passing by, regardless of outdoor elements such as bright sunshine hitting the display. Featuring eye-catching brightness and a high contrast ratio, the display remains bright and clear, delivering an uncompromised picture that will capture the attention of potential customers. The slim depth also frees up valuable space, giving QSRs greater flexibility in storefront design. 

In addition to OHF and OMN-D, McDonald’s selected Samsung’s indoor menu board solution, helping to give customers a vivid and unique experience through dynamic content, while also providing them with necessary information about menu offerings and ingredients with best-in-class picture quality. Given the importance of aesthetics to McDonalds, the indoor menu board display also provided an all-new symmetric design, simplifying wall mounting and ensuring installation is seamless. As with the OMN-D, the flat back and slim depth ensures a display that will seamlessly fit into any environment.

Samsung’s comprehensive MagicINFO platform allows users to conveniently create, schedule and deploy exciting and engaging content across an entire digital menu board. From coffee in the morning to ice cream on a hot Summer’s day, MagicINFO enabled McDonald’s to seamlessly update displays to provide timely and relevant offers to customers for any occasion. Digital content also means there is no longer a need for outdated, paper menu boards and advertisements. This dramatically decreases the amount of paper and plastic waste generated, creating a more eco-friendly and environmentally sound business.

• OHF 55”: Pre-sell board & Outdoor menu board, 3 units
• OMN-D 55”: Window display, 1 unit
• QHR 49”: Indoor menu board, 4 units
• MagicINFO Display & contents management solution license

Creating the first fully digital drive thru location in Korea is a major step for McDonald’s and Samsung was the perfect partner to begin that journey. McDonald’s successfully launched the Goyang Samsong DT store — its first for full digitization, inside and out. The store is now completely paperless, reducing waste and enabling easy management of the menu board and promotional content with timely updates that can be made from anywhere. Samsung’s extensive experience creating visually impactful customer environments resulted in the perfect outcome for McDonald’s – increasing customer satisfaction, improving efficiency and setting the standard for future deployment at McDonald’s locations across Korea.