Dive Brief:

• Burger King is collaborating with Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare II release across 39 global markets in what the chain is calling its largest-scale video-game partnership to date, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
• In-game and in-store activations play key roles in the effort, including a special skin for game players and themed experiences in stores.
• The promo, created with agency David New York, comes just over a year after former Burger King CMO Fernando Machado joined Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard as its chief marketing officer. 

Dive Insight:

The link between QSRs and gamers is strong, and it is only getting deeper. A recent study showed nearly two-thirds of mobile gamers order take-out food from QSRs, and nearly a third eat fast food once a week. Indeed, many major QSR chains have created some sort of tie-in or promotion to entice gamers. Last May, Burger King in Brazil challenged gamers to find glitches in its mobile app in order to receive discounts on food. 

And Call of Duty is one of the heavies within the gaming world. Through this tie-in, Burger King will offer players special in-game rewards, including a Burger Town-themed Operator Skin and an hour of Double XP playing time, in which gamers can double their points earned for a limited time. Both rewards will be available through the purchase of a Call of Duty Whopper Meal. Burger Town is a fictional quick-service chain within the game.

Additionally, Burger King will transform stores in several markets for the promotion. In Paris, for instance, gamers over 18 will be able to play Modern Warfare II on one of the ordering kiosks within restaurants. The so-called “Kiosk of Duty” will be available for fans over 18 on October 29 and 30.

In South Africa, meanwhile, restaurants will offer guests the opportunity to use night-vision goggles to experience a completely dark Modern Warfare II-themed restaurant. Surrounded by authentic sound effects and soundtracks from the game, guests will feel as if they’ve stepped into a Call of Duty universe with game maps and loading screens. As they make their way through the structure, guests will have the opportunity to scan QR codes that will earn in-game rewards. 

Burger King will also create Call of Duty-themed restaurants — decorated with mini-maps and game scenes — in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

The tie-in comes a little over a year after former Burger King CMO Fernando Machado joined Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard as CMO. Under Machado’s leadership, Burger King’s garnered attention for its buzzy campaigns that captured consumers’ attention and drove business results. In 2019, Marketing Dive honored Machado and Burger King with the Campaign of the Year Award for the burger chain’s Whopper Detour conquesting effort that used geo-fencing to steer customers away from its competitor and generated more than 1.5 million downloads of its redesigned app. 

Naturally, Machado was thrilled to bring the two brands together. “Yes!!! Two of my fav things coming together: COD x Burger King,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post upon the announcement.