Dive Brief:
- Wendy's and delivery service Uber Eats this week are offering a special menu for gamers who watch Twitch livestreams, according to an announcement by the burger chain. Wendy's "Never Stop Gaming Menu" includes combinations of items selected by five of the most popular streamers on the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform.
- Tfue, a streamer with 9.7 million followers on Twitch, today will kick off the campaign with his meal combination. Over the next few days, streamers Flight (1.2 million followers), itsHafu (1.1 million), xChocoBars (666,000) and Myth (7.1 million) will each showcase their favorite Wendy's orders during their gaming sessions. Each streamer will be joined by Wendy's mascot during their gaming session.
- To connect with gamers and encourage delivery orders, Uber Eats will put a "prize pass" in the delivery bag of each order, giving customers a chance to win gift cards from the delivery service, along with Wendy's swag like hoodies, slippers and gaming console, per the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Wendy's and Uber Eats aim to boost delivery orders with their campaign on Twitch, a platform that appeals to young adults and teens who are target customers for quick-service chains. Twitch's viewership has surged this year as people spend more time indoors consuming digital content and playing video games during the pandemic. It hit a record of 2.56 million weekly viewers this month, more than double from a year ago, according to data compiled by Twitchtracker. By promoting their offerings with a diverse group of popular streamers on the platform, Wendy's and Uber Eats can use the livestreaming site to reach a broader audience of consumers.
The "Never Stop Gaming" campaign also is notable for featuring customized menu items selected by influencers or celebrities, which has become a more common strategy among restaurant chains that seek to cut through ad clutter. Chipotle Mexican Grille in August teamed with professional skateboarder Tony Hawk in a campaign that marked the first time the burrito chain named a menu item named after a celebrity. McDonald's subsequently collaborated with rapper Travis Scott on a combination meal, which ended up being so popular that it led to ingredients shortages. Undeterred, McDonald's followed the promotion with the "J Balvin Meal" named after the popular reggaeton musician. Dunkin' last summer also introduced a drink called "The Charli" that was named for TikTok's biggest star, Charli D'Amelio. These collaborations with celebrities are a sign that customized menus based on personalities' favorite orders are likely to remain a key part of future promotions for restaurant chains.
Wendy's has been active with gaming-related promotions as part of a broader effort to connect with younger folks. The company last year released its first tabletop role-playing game (RPG), "Feast of Legends," to appeal to attendees of the New York Comic Con, which typically features presentations for gamers. To promote its Baconator sandwich, the burger chain last year livestreamed a gaming session on Twitch showing an avatar of its Wendy's mascot playing "Fortnite," the popular battle royale game from Epic Games. The campaign followed its award-winning "Keeping Fortnite Fresh" effort that first featured the Wendy's avatar, which attacked meat freezers instead of other gamers to highlight that the chain doesn't use frozen beef. That activation demonstrated how brands could directly engage consumers with a form of native advertising in video games.
