The US fast food chain used a new game mode on Fortnite to reach players on the world’s biggest online game and to pit ‘pizza against burger’ through a digital brand avatar (appearing like the Wendy’s mascot) who declared war on frozen beef in the game and rather than targeting other players began frenzied attacks on freezers.
Challenge
The company challenged agency VMLY&R to reach gamers through the biggest game in the world and cultural phenomenon Fortnite. But not in a way that sees the brand activate from sidelines or pay major rights fees for in-game sponsorship and product placement
VMLY&R identified an organic opportunity to put the brand into the heart of the game when Fortnite launched a new game mode called Food Fight – pitting Team Burger against Team Pizza.
The solution
The initiative saw VMLY&R seek to spread a message about the evils of frozen beef within Fortnite through a digital avatar in the hit multiplayer battle royale videogame.
The red-hooded character, who looked much like the Wendy’s well known brand mascot, appeared within the game and yet ignored the other players (typically the main targets) and instead entered burger joints inside the game’s unpopulated cityscape, located freezers and destroyed them.
The idea was to promote the fact that Wendy’s never uses frozen beef.
This destructive escapade was streamed on Twitch where millions watched and then it caught fire as the gaming community joined in the brand rampage with glee.
Comment:
Unless you’ve had your head in your own freezer for the last year, you’’ll be well aware of the success of Fortnite with its 200 million players (45% of whom are under 25).
It is a potential goldmine for brands, but most have been unable to find an authentic way to engage in-game with paying major rights fees or annoying gamers.
But Wendys certainly did.
The campaign generated a 119% increase in social mentions and 1.5 million minutes of Twitch viewing and saw the avatar destroy 752 freezers in the game before the developers eventually swapped out all of the freezers with facilities for fresh burgers.
This in-game masquerade has all the makings of the beginning of a new trend. At least that what’s the jury at Cannes thought when it awarded the campaign the Social &
Links:
Wendys
https://www.facebook.com/wendys/
https://www.instagram.com/wendys/
Fortnite
https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite
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