CHICAGO, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions has confirmed that McDonald's Europe is taking active steps so that its many restaurants throughout Europe are included and placed in the NAVTEQ map. The company's unique programme, NAVTEQ Direct Access, helps McDonald's to make its many locations visible to an increasing number of customers on the move.

In a move which is in line with its contemporary style, McDonald's Europe has provided NAVTEQ with location information for more than 5,500 of its restaurants in 16 European countries* (1,192 in UK) on this emerging but important medium. Each entry indicates where drive-in facilities are available.

NAVTEQ Direct Access offers companies such as McDonald's an efficient way to connect with customers and enable their location information to be included on the NAVTEQ map - even new and recently opened sites. The programme also collects merchants' brand icons, which are then available to NAVTEQ customers to display in their navigation devices, application or portals.

"As NAVTEQ releases updated maps every three months, we can regularly reflect changes in our fast-moving business," comments Eric Bourgeois, ERDDS (European Restaurant Development and Design Studio), senior director, McDonald's Europe. "Our customers know they can rely on our offering regardless of location and we want to make sure they can find us easily. The first European McDonald's restaurant opened in the Netherlands in 1971 and we now serve 12 million customers a day in Europe, which is our second largest business region, with the biggest individual markets for McDonald's Europe being Germany, the UK and France."

The vast majority (over 80%) of people using navigation systems want to see brand logos on the map as opposed to generic icons. This recent research** also showed that 62% of those who look up, for example, shops and restaurants on their navigators, do follow through and drive to those businesses. NAVTEQ Direct Access helps merchants pass on accurate information on their locations to consumers by providing a single point of contact for updating the information.

"With on average 100 million uses of NAVTEQ data every day, Direct Access is a means of providing merchants direct links to loyal and potential customers on the verge of purchase," adds Andrew Little, director, NAVTEQ media solutions. "Our audience is doubling every year and more than 200 brands around the world are now taking advantage of NAVTEQ Direct Access - including banks, cafes, petrol stations, grocery stores, hotels, chemists and other retailers."

About McDonald's Europe

McDonald's Europe is the region's leading food service retailer with more than 6,600 restaurants in 40 countries serving 12 million customers a day. More than 60% of McDonald's restaurants in Europe are owned and operated by independent local business men and women. Please visit our website at www.mcdpressoffice.eu to learn more about the company.

About NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data that enables navigation and location-based platforms around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital map information to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 4,400 employees located in 192 offices and in 43 countries.

NAVTEQ and NAVTEQ Direct Access are trademarks in the U.S. and other countries. All rights reserved.

* Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK.

**Source: NAVTEQ POI & Rich Content Study 2008

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SOURCE NAVTEQ

Web site: http://www.navteq.com/
http://www.mcdpressoffice.eu/