The news: McDonald’s will invest $8.5 billion over the next 10 years as part of a larger initiative to improve quality, consistency, and the overall customer experience at its restaurants, the company announced at its Investor Day.

McDonald’s is banking on its Next strategy to become “first choice for more customers, more often—while making our restaurants stronger and easier to run,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in the release.

The details: The four central pillars of McDonald’s growth strategy are:

• Elevating taste and quality through better execution and innovation
• Leveraging the company’s existing “fandom” and customer data to deliver more personalized experiences and increase visits over time
• Improving consistency, execution, and service in restaurants to boost repeat visits
• Updating restaurant design and operations to increase efficiency.

McDonald’s also aims to increase its share of the chicken and beverage categories by 1.5 percentage points each by 2030.

The $8.5 billion will go to franchisees to support store upgrades, employee training, and other expenses—investments the company expects will benefit franchisees’ bottom line over time while delivering tangible improvements to the customer and worker experience.

The company also announced plans to create its own media network, joining the many companies looking to tap commerce media as a low-lift, high-margin revenue stream. McDonald’s sees advertising as a revenue-generating opportunity “with little in the way of additional cost, no operational complexity, and no disruption to our customer experience,” Morgan Flatley, McDonald’s global chief marketing officer, said during an investor presentation.

Implications for QSRs: McDonald’s expects its growth plans to help reinforce its fast-food dominance at a difficult time for the industry. The company expects flat traffic and higher inflation will be the norm for restaurant operators in the near term as financial pressures cause diners to pull back, Kempczinski told CNBC.

In that type of environment, the only way to grow is by stealing share from competitors—but that will require McDonald’s to resolve recent execution challenges and look beyond cheap meal deals to draw in customers.

McDonald’s could learn a lesson from its rival, Burger King: That chain is growing (at the expense of competitors like Wendy’s) thanks to an upgraded menu, refreshed stores, and better marketing.

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