Burger King Teams Up With GrubHub for New Marketing Campaign

Every day, it seems that brands are finding new and interesting ways to market themselves. Recently, Burger King combined its marketing efforts with Activision Blizzard, the gaming company, and Grubhub, the third party delivery platform, to boost awareness among a shared target group of younger customers who are more likely to play video games and order food through mobile apps.

Burger King transformed one of its restaurants into a gaming hub for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," a wildly popular video game made by Activision Blizzard. To bring GrubHub into the mix, the chain offered free delivery of meals inspired by the Burger Town restaurant that appears in the game and bonus gaming content. Last week, the fast-food company gave customers who visited a restaurant in Long Beach, California a chance to win free Whoppers for the next 15 years by testing their gaming skills against professional "Call of Duty" gamers. 

These branded video game promotions are proving to be a massive success amongst the Gen Z consumer demographic. According to Activision Blizzard, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" sales surpassed $600 million during the first three days of release, making it the fastest-selling game of 2019. Burger King and Grubhub were quick to capitalize on the publicity and used the successful game to boost food delivery orders. 

More and more, franchisors are warming up to the idea of video game-related promotions—and rightfully so. According to a study by Newzoo, more than 2.5 billion people worldwide play video games.

In addition to a new tabletop role-playing game, Wendy’s debuted three branded video games in a new digital arcade launched by Giphy earlier this year and created a branded avatar for the hit multiplayer game "Fortnite," which is popular among U.S. teens. Jimmy John's launched a Lil’ Jon-inspired promotion that included its first nationwide augmented reality (AR) Snapchat Lens with a mobile game. Last Valentine’s Day, Papa John’s released a game that allowed users to create Papa John's-themed pictures to share with friends and order pizza directly.

Grubhub may be hoping that the promotion will help gain more customers as the food delivery app deals with increased competition and pushback from restaurants over fees. Grubhub last week reported that orders and customer growth had slowed in Q3, triggering a 40% plunge in its stock. 

As gamers demand more bonus content and IRL experiences, brands are jumping at the chance to get involved in any way they can.