McDonald’s is moving deeper into advertising, with the fast-food giant rolling out McDonald’s Media Network, a new business that will allow brands to advertise across its digital ecosystem, including its app and restaurant kiosks.
The company is targeting $1 billion in advertising revenue, according to Adweek, which reported on the initiative following McDonald’s investor day on September 23. The network will use McDonald’s customer data and digital touchpoints to offer brands another way to reach consumers.
Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s global chief marketing officer, said the initiative could generate additional revenue without adding significant operational complexity or disrupting the customer experience.
Relevance to Middle East
The move could also have relevance for the Middle East, where McDonald’s has a substantial restaurant and digital footprint. The company had 2,018 restaurants across its Middle East market at the end of 2025, up from 1,950 a year earlier. The market includes 458 restaurants in Saudi Arabia, 222 in the UAE, 89 in Kuwait, 78 in Qatar, 45 in Jordan, 35 in Oman and 32 in Bahrain, alongside operations in other markets.
Saudi Arabia is one of the brand’s largest markets in the region, with more than 461 restaurants across over 60 cities, according to McDonald’s Saudi Arabia. In the UAE, McDonald’s has more than 213 restaurants and over 6,000 employees.
The UAE operation also reported serving more than 62 million restaurant guests in 2024, while delivering more than 14 million meals to homes and businesses, highlighting the scale of the customer ecosystem that could potentially support advertising and data-driven marketing opportunities.
McDonald’s joins a growing group of major consumer businesses looking to turn their customer data, digital platforms and physical retail environments into advertising businesses, extending the concept of retail media beyond traditional retailers.
