What Happened
Following its controversial Google Home-triggering TV ads, Burger King turns its attention to eSports for its next stunt marketing campaign. As Mashable reports:
Over the next few weekends, Burger King will be operating a “command center” (a.k.a. a restaurant) as it injects itself into your online matches with PlayStation’s permission, according to the company’s press release sent via email. If you sign up with Burger Clan online, someone who works for Burger King will try to play with you and be ready to put in your Whopper order while somehow being an asset to your team.
This campaign is limited to the Spain market and the recruited players will be playing and taking orders out of a Burger King restaurant in Madrid. The company is supposedly hiring “nine professional gamers, champions of the most popular [PlayStation] games,” according to a press release.
What Brands Need To Do
This is an interesting way to leverage eSports influencers to reach the millions of video game enthusiasts, as it mobilizes the online gaming platforms as a new, temporary sales channel. While hiring social influencers to hawk products is nothing new, to do so within online video games is quite an novel idea. For brands looking for new ways to reach younger audiences across the global markets, eSports provide a fertile platform to explore.
For more in-depth analysis how brands can leverage global mega-channels and niche micro-channels to effectively reach key audiences, check out the Global Culture section of our Outlook 2017.
Source: Mashable