Mcdonald's is certainly doing some innovative things to help boost its lagging sales. In Amsterdam, McDonald's released the McTrax-a paper placemat that can be used to create music. Just what is this and how does it work?
The McTrax uses conductive ink, a tiny battery and an ultra-thin circuit board which contains 26 digital touchpoints. Simply put a smarthphone on it and download an app. From here, make music with audio loops, synths and various effects. Voice recording is also possible on the McTrax. Oh, and the phone connects to the placemat via Bluetooth too.
The musical paper placemat was a joint effort between TBWA\Neboko and This Page Amsterdam. TBWA creative technologist Radha Pleijsant and digital design lead Jan Jesse Bakker said, "The phone merely acts as the speaker and screen, which is easily connected to the placemat via Bluetooth, making sure you can hear the music on your speakers, Ad Week reported.
"Experience advertising" is how chief creative officer Darre van Dijk described the McTrax. Lots of hype was actually generated by the placemat and it was the hope of McDonald's executives that it would work. In their Q1 earnings report, McDonald's posted a seemingly impressive $5.9 billion and earnings per share of $1.23. However, when compared to last year's Q1, revenue actually declined by 0.9% and EPS grew by 21.8%, as reported by Market Realist.
Whether the tactic worked or not cannot yet be determined as of now. Perhaps when McDonald's releases their Q2 earnings report, a little note can be put on the effectiveness of McTrax in the same way the All-Day Breakfast was noted in Q1.
Hopefully the rest of the world can get their own McTrax too since this was only offered for a limited time and only in Amsterdam. See this super cool placemat in action below:
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