Part 1: The Story
It had been a long season, and John’s team made it all the way to his town’s little league championship. The game was over. John’s dad was saying something to him on the way to the car, but he wasn’t listening. All he could hear were the sounds of celebration coming from the opposing team. The car ride was quiet, and after what seemed like forever, John glanced up and looked out the car window just as they were pulling into the McDonald’s parking lot. Just like they did when they won.
This was just one of many memories John had of McDonald’s. It was his first job as a teenager. He later came back as a manager, and even took his own kids there for the occasional Happy Meal. When John was offered a position at corporate, he jumped at the chance. Years passed, and corporate decided to move their headquarters. Part of the move meant downsizing their vast archive. John found himself in charge of which memories to keep.
Part 2: The Solution
McDonald’s was moving their headquarters from Oak Brook to downtown Chicago. Part of this meant going through their archives. Boxes full of print ads, marketing and promotional materials, collectibles and more. The challenge was to keep as much as possible while moving into a smaller space.
The first thing Aurora Storage® did was take a comprehensive survey of the space, and go through a list of the archived materials McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters wanted to keep. Because of the wide variety of items being stored, the solutions Aurora created were multifaceted. Fixed shelving that ran the length of the room. Mobile and 4-post shelving. Pull-out drawers for things like CD storage. Flat files at multiple elevations. Space for items as tall as 4 feet. Modular, adjustable systems that can be used well into the future.
To McDonald’s, this wasn’t just an archive, but a museum containing a rich history of one of the best loved brands in the world.
Because of the variety of items, and the desire to make the most of the space, Aurora worked with McDonald’s for 9 months on planning and implementation. The entire project was installed in just 4 days.
The new corporate headquarters regularly rotates items from this archive in and out of a large display case for the enjoyment of their employees. ▲