Gamified Build Up For New Product Launch

Wendy’s is one of America’s largest international fast food restaurant chains. Founded in 1969 with an unwavering commitment to serve fresh food, the quick-service chain continues doing the right thing, the right way, 50 years later. Wendy’s key focus areas are Food, People, and Footprint. 

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The company wanted to launch an exciting new product, the Wendy’s Oreo Frosty Parfait and needed to build anticipation and get the audience as excited as them. Their requirement was four-fold:

• Announce the launch of the new product
• Build buzz on social media
• Resonate with a broad demographic who share an appreciation for Wendy’s dining experiences
• Generate excitement organically for their newest product

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Wendy’s had already been working with ELB Learning for over 5 years. The Game Agency—the games and gamification division at ELB Learning, proposed a gamified approach that would align with the brand’s broad demographic and provide an engaging experience for all. Promotional games have been a tried and tested strategy with other leading brands, and ELB Learning built an exclusive game for Wendy’s. Key features include:

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• The game titled “In Flight of the Oreo” incorporated all the key elements of the new product to tease the audience before the big launch. 
• The game was built with custom interactivity features and staged in a winter wonderland setting. 
• In the game, players are challenged with the task of launching an Oreo cookie. Using their mouse, players get to flick the cookie and watch it fly over obstacles. 
• To further engage the audience, the obstacles were designed to be elements closely associated with the product—snowflakes, chocolate or milk waterfalls, chocolate or milk ponds, ice blocks, chocolate bricks, Oreo stacks, glasses of milk, twisted Oreo Frosty parfaits, and many such. 
• The idea was to encourage players to aim for the vanilla Frostys, which made a rare appearance, to score bonus points, and convert it to an Oreo Frosty Parfait, the brand’s new product offering. 
• The game was specifically designed to be competitive and encourage participation from the key demographic. 
• Additional gaming features like rewards points, leaderboards, and the ability to share on social media made it a hugely enjoyable experience. 
• The exclusive game was designed and developed in three months. 

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The game-based approach to promotional activities added an extra layer of curiosity about the brand and its products. In Flight Of The Oreo proved to be a raging success and ticked all the objectives. View Game Demo.