• by Jonathan Blum , January 29, 2007

Mcdonald's is taking another cue from Starbucks. Besides selling fancy new coffee, the Oak Brook, Ill., fast-food giant is flirting with slinging music and video along with burgers and fries.

The company announced late last year that it's testing a wireless media service called m-Venue in its Woodfield Mall restaurant in Schaumberg, Ill.

The service allows McDonald's customers to use their cell phones and other mobile devices to order up music and videos for display on one of several media kiosks located around the restaurant.

"It's a wireless riff of the classic retail music jukebox," says Andy Stankiewicz, director of public relations at Akoo International, the makers of m-Venue. "The idea is to give shoppers a reason to stick around and buy a high-margin item like coffee or a milkshake."

Content is best of breed: Mainline studios such as Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and others have deals with m-Venue. And customers will get content prompts from printed messages on placemats and other marketing collateral placed in the restaurant.

Marketers are not horrified by the notion of m-Venue.

"I love the idea of this, as long as the clips are free and the right demos are supported," says Robert Davidman, chief executive officer of Earthquake Media. "The elderly go in for their coffee. They do not want to listen to Korn."