What was disclosed on September 23

At its investor meeting on September 23, 2026, McDonald's disclosed a commerce media network pilot in approximately 450 company-owned US restaurants. According to two industry publications, the test began in August and has not yet expanded to franchised locations; the company is still working out how to operate the model and share advertising revenue. [2 · McDonald’s · 2026 investor meeting materials] [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

The chain intends to sell other brands access to guests in the app, at ordering kiosks, on digital menus and inside restaurants. Management cited potential annual revenue of $1 billion, but that is a long-term assessment of the opportunity. It is not an actual pilot result and comes with no deadline for achieving it. [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

Connecting advertising, loyalty and ordering

The official McDonald's > NEXT strategy connects relationship personalization with more visits. The company reported nearly 220 million loyalty program members active in the past 90 days across 70 markets. That is the reach of the entire loyalty system, not the audience of the US advertising pilot or the number of people who have seen ads. [1 · McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026]

Separately, McDonald's described a shift to fewer, larger campaigns and increased investment in long-term programs focused on brand, taste, quality and value. The company also said it had a unified technology foundation for ordering, marketing, loyalty and data. Such infrastructure can connect ad exposure to a purchase, but does not by itself establish advertising's causal effect. [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026]

What is known about effectiveness

No public pilot results are available yet. The number of advertisers, impressions, cost per thousand impressions, conversion, return on ad spend (ROAS), incremental sales, profit, sales and technology costs, and a control group have not been disclosed. It is therefore too early to declare the network effective or economically beneficial. [1 · McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026] [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

There are also no customer experience data: checkout speed, abandonment, complaints, personalization opt-outs, reward usage, repeat purchases or retention. Management's statement that guests will not be disrupted is a promise about the pilot's design, not a published measurement result. [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

Expert commentary

The established fact is a limited US pilot in company-owned restaurants. Its strategic significance lies in connecting physical ordering points with the app and loyalty program: McDonald's can offer an advertiser exposure at the menu, then observe a purchase in its own system. This goes beyond conventional media attribution, but the sources currently confirm the channels' existence, not the accuracy of that measurement. [1 · McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026] [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

The economics may look attractive because screens are already installed and an audience already exists, but claims of low incremental costs need to be tested. Selling advertising requires a team, technology, creative review, data protection and rules for franchisees. The appropriate metric is incremental profit after those expenses and any effect of advertising on service speed, rather than gross advertising revenue. [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

A closed data loop does not turn coincidence into causation. An original study of 15 large digital advertising field experiments found that observational models often diverged from randomized test results; this is not a study of McDonald's, but a methodological warning. The pilot needs randomly assigned control restaurants or audiences, comparable periods and predefined incremental sales metrics. [5 · Marketing Science · field experiments on advertising measurement, 2019]

Customer relationships require a balance between usefulness and intrusion. Advertising at the menu can suggest a relevant product or reward, but an irrelevant message adds friction at the moment of choice. Alongside conversion, the company should measure ordering time, abandonment, complaints, communication opt-outs, reward usage and repeat visits after several purchase cycles. Without those data, growth in advertising impressions says nothing about trust. [1 · McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026] [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026]

The chain's competitive advantage is a rare combination of digital and physical touchpoints at the moment of purchase. But advertisers will need frequency rules, independent verification of impressions and a transparent distinction between attributed and incremental revenue. It is not yet clear which categories will be allowed, how revenue will be shared with franchisees or whether a consistent methodology will be maintained beyond company-owned US restaurants. [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026]

The editorial team's conditional forecast: the first useful conclusions may be possible after several quarters if the company discloses network revenue, costs, incremental profit and customer metrics for the test and control groups. In the positive scenario, advertising funds more valuable loyalty offers without worsening ordering. In the negative scenario, monetizing screens increases burden and irritation, while attributed sales conceal the absence of growth. The measures to watch are expansion to franchisees and repeat visits, rather than the $1 billion goal. [1 · McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026] [3 · Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026] [4 · Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026] [5 · Marketing Science · field experiments on advertising measurement, 2019]

Sources

  1. McDonald’s / SEC · McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, September 23, 2026 — Primary source on strategy, loyalty reach and metric definitions; advertising results are not disclosed in it.
  2. McDonald’s · 2026 investor meeting materials — Official page for the presentation and recording of the September 23 event.
  3. Marketing Dive · new marketing model and media network, September 23, 2026 — Industry source on the pilot’s reach, advertising placements, stated goal and unified digital foundation.
  4. Nation’s Restaurant News · commerce media network pilot, September 25, 2026 — Independent industry confirmation of the reach, test status and unresolved revenue sharing with franchisees.
  5. Marketing Science · field experiments on advertising measurement, 2019 — Methodological background on the difference between observational attribution and causal effect; not a study of McDonald’s.