Please, a glass of farmville vanilla

It’s no secret that Zynga’s social games (such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, etc.) are a huge success not because they were liked by tech geeks and other computer people. The main players are ordinary people, active users of social networks. For example, in the most popular Zynga game, Farmville, there were 63 million active users last month. Game brands of the company have become quite recognizable among the general population.


The fact that social games have already become an integral part of modern society cannot be denied. So it is not surprising that the 7-Eleven supermarket chain made a deal with Zynga on the use of gaming brands in advertising products offered in chain stores around the world.


7-Eleven is an operator of a chain of small stores in 18 countries operated by Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd., operating mainly on the basis of franchising. This is the largest network with more than 36 thousand branches. Shops of this network are located in eighteen countries of the world, the largest chains in Japan, USA, Canada, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. 7-Eleven, Inc. Is an American company, a subsidiary of the Japanese Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd.


The terms of the deal, announced back in late May, will allow 7-Eleven to offer exclusive virtual gift products for social games Farmville, Mafia Wars and YoVille this summer on Facebook.
7-Eleven will advertise the promotion via satellite television, local radio, print and outdoor advertising. This will allow Zynga to receive the first decent income from retailers in conjunction with a major retailer.


Buying specially labeled products in the retail network, players will receive special codes that can be exchanged for new virtual items released in a limited edition in one of three games. In addition, as part of the promotion, players will be able to receive gifts when they purchase some special items or when certain results are specified in the games.

“7-Eleven in partnership with Zynga launched one of the most unique campaigns in history.” Says Rita Bargeraff, vice president and marketing director for 7-Eleven. She believes that the campaign will attract the attention of millions of players to store products, while attracting the attention of millions of customers around the world to Zynga games.
“Thanks to our partnership with 7-Eleven, we are expanding our audience and making our game more accessible to consumers,” said Vish Mahidjani, Senior Vice President of Business at Zynga.

The concept of using virtual brands in the real world is no longer new. For example, in US retail chains, products have long been offered under brands invented for popular animated series such as The Simpsons or Futurama. I wonder if a new venture is waiting for success, and should we expect the appearance of such deals from the creators of other popular games?

Source: Businessinsider