According to INSIDE MEDIA's Chuck Ross & Laura Rich,
McDonald's Corp., "in a major blow to local TV stations," is
taking all of its money out of spot broadcast for '95. The
company spent "well over" $100M on spot TV in '94. One
McDonald's spokesperson: "We're shifting to a substantially
national focus by moving the majority of our TV spot media
spending to national network, cable and syndication. We're going
to be getting more bang for our bucks." Along with the networks,
Leo Burnett, which does McDonald's national buying, "is the big
winner in the change." The shift is also a "significant
financial blow to the two dozen or so agencies that the fast-food
giant uses on a local basis." The move by category leader
McDonald's could have "serious repercussions for stations, reps
and agencies if other fast-food companies follow" (COWLES
BUSINESS MEDIA, 12/13).
MCDELIVERY: McDonald's VP Paul Facella said the initial
success of the free delivery experiment in New York will lead the
company to continue the service. And if numbers "continue their
upward trend," the service might be expanded to other cities
(Alan Wax, N.Y. NEWSDAY, 12/14).
