Jack in the Box has New Brand Electricity Gamming

 

It’s time to start saving gas as the price of gasoline seems to be going up day after day. If you’re looking to avoid driving around with rising gas prices but are missing the immaculate drive-thru vibes, Jack in the Box here to help by launching its first virtual drive-thru on Tuesday via Twitch. 

Until May 17, Twitch viewers can drop by the 24/7 livestream to claim free food and rewards on their way to watch their favorite content creators’ streams and channels. The first of its kind gaming experience will put viewers in the driver’s seat, simulating a trip through a Jack in the Box drive-thru.

In case you did not know, this program is designed to be complementary to the Twitch viewing experience, fans can come by the official Jack in the Box Twitch channel and scan a QR code to earn discounted food and rewards from gaming partners redeemable through the Jack in the Box app. 

Morgan Higgins, Senior Manager Social Media and PR at Jack in the Box, stated, “We’re excited to launch Jack in the drive-thru and bring a new dimension of 24/7 access to our gaming customers,” ... “Our vision is to turn our channel into the first destination for viewers on Twitch before they tune into their favorite streams and channels. Name a better pair than some Twitch content and our iconic two tacos.”

So, Jack in the Box partnered with ZONED Gaming, a GameSquare Esports company, to design and execute the experience. To visit the Jack in the Box virtual drive-thru and claim free rewards, stop by the official Jack in the Box Twitch channel any time between May 10-17. 

When you think brand relevance in an evolving world, that will edify brand value with relevance and new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.” 

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, smaller footprint, developing brands, fresh flowers, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable according to Johnson.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does your messaging look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Is Chipotle Gambling with Success

 

If your house is anything like our house, I’m sure you have heard the words, ‘turn off the computer and come to dinner’.  There is more than one family meal in America that has been eaten cold when a child or errant adult just could not get off the computer while playing games.

Gamification is not gambling; it is an excellent way to edify brand relevance with a growing base of consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “gamification empowers brand interaction and edifies participation.”

For those of you who don’t know, Gamification by a brand, is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, and branded activities in order to create similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage customers.

So, when Chipotle Mexican Grill and livestream gaming platform Twitch announced a partnership naming Chipotle the exclusive limited-service restaurant of /twitchgaming, a new channel on the platform, the team at Foodservice Solutions® knew it was a sound thoughtful strategic decision.

This is the first partnership of its kind for Twitch the successful social media platform.  Chipotle, will be the official marketing partner for the channel, which is being described as a place for gamers by gamers on the platform.

So, the channel will have sessions about the future of gaming, news related to gaming, celebrity participants and more. Throughout the summer, Twitch will host multiple events to boost the channel’s reach, and some of those will be in partnership with Chipotle.

Grocerant niche interactive participatory marketing will play a big role as part of the sponsorship, Chipotle will host a new game. “Chipotle Build Your Own PC,” inspired by Chipotle’s burrito bar format, will have players will build their own PCs with streaming “extras” (e.g. lighting panels and soundproofing equipment), and donate the PCs to a non-profit organization.

Chipotle is also launching a branded feature where hosts and guests provide their unfiltered opinions on the gaming topic at hand adding incremental authenticity to the game.

Regular readers of this blog know that Chipotle is no stranger to Twitch. In April 2020, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based brand began its Chipotle Challenger series, which allows amateur gamers to compete against gaming stars and celebrities.

They also remember that, last August, in anticipation of the launch of the chain’s Tony Hawk-inspired burrito and the professional skater’s new video game, Chipotle and Hawk teamed up for a 20-hour livestream on Twitch. The livestream gave away 5,000 burritos to fans watching and featured Hawk along with fellow skateboarder Jagger Eaton and actor Finn Wolfhard playing the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 Warehouse Demo. How are you extending your brand invitation?

Chipotle has been experimenting with alternate forms of marketing and technology this year, including accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, TikTok, a livestreamed YouTube event with Trixie Mattel for Pride Month and sponsoring a Top Chef challenge.

Don’t give in and don’t forget, that in 2018, Wendy’s began using Twitch as a marketing tool. The brand was already known for its social media presence and began on the platform livestreaming Fortnite. Later that year, Wendy’s introduced its own Fortnite character, Wendy. The quick-service chain still has a channel on the service where it runs occasional livestreams of games including Animal Crossing and Fortnite.

So, in 2020, Wendy’s teamed up with Uber Eats to offer a new “Never Stop Gaming” menu featuring five Twitch streamers’ signature Wendy’s meals available exclusively on the delivery app.

New faces use new ideations. U.S. House representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) streamed herself playing the video game Among Us on Twitch. While on the livestream, which was one of the platform’s biggest broadcasts, she encouraged viewers to vote. Senator Bernie Sanders joined the livestream platform during his presidential run, as did President Joe Biden, to reach younger voters.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Jersey Mike’s Customer Relevance has to be Consumer Facing

The team at Foodservice Solutions® and our Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson have been touting the strength, relevance, new electricity, and loyalty that Esports can bring to a foodservice partnership. Jersey Mike’s understand the relevance and importance of this new sector of sports most of you have simply over looked.

Here is an example from ‘GeekWire’ this week that will give you an example how important the tech industry thinks Esports is and how big they think it will get. According to Geekwire “Microsoft agreed to pay game streaming star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins between $20 million and $30 million per year to join its Mixer streaming platform and leave incumbent leader Twitch, according to a new report from CNN detailing the arms race among tech giants to land big names for their streaming services.

Ninja is one of several high-profile streamers recently poached from Twitch, which Amazon bought for close to $1 billion in 2014, by the likes of Mixer, Facebook and YouTube. CNN reported that streamers with 10,000 or more concurrent views on Twitch are receiving offers of more than $10 million annually while smaller streamers can get up to $1 million.”

For those of you who are just now hearing about Esports the follows and players are younger demographic, with 75 percent of esports fans being millennials. What demo is your target market? 

As for Jersey Mike’s Subs extending its partnership with Team Liquid, a leading international esports team, through 2022. You should know that Team Liquid, which competes across 17 distinct esports.

Program elements include:

·         Jersey Thursdays. The two brands feature content from superstars across Team Liquid’s competitive lineup. Every first Thursday of the month, Team Liquid gives away one Team Liquid jersey and a $50 Jersey Mike’s gift card to fulfill a lucky fan’s sub sandwich craving.

·         Jersey Mic’d. During the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) matches, Team Liquid mics up their players to capture the realest moments in esports, available for fans to download.

·         Subs for Dubs. Team Liquid and Jersey Mike’s celebrate Team Liquid tournament wins by offering fans special discounts on sandwiches, meals and more.

·         New Sub Bombs. Interaction with players and their chat through the “JerseyMike’s” Twitch account, mass gifting to their chat a “sub”scription to that channel.

Are you integrating new electricity into your brand? Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? This new partnership does all of that. 

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.