Frank’s RedHot launches Fortnite game
McCormick Canada’s hot sauce brand Frank’s RedHot is taking inspiration from a beloved childhood game for a new promotion set inside the popular online game Fortnite.
Launching today, “The Floor is Flava” takes place on a chicken wing-shaped island, which also features a volcano named Mt. Frank that will erupt and spew that sh*t over everything.
Other Frank’s elements in the game include statues made of bottles of Frank’s RedHot, while the lobby area features classic Frank’s recipes. Players can also use chickens as jet packs, or defend themselves using RedHot sauce launchers.
“Red-hot elements along with hidden easter eggs like favourite past Fortnite characters also allow us to engage the platform’s audience in a way that resonates with new and long-term fans of both Frank’s and Fortnite,” says Tom Rowe, director of global digital experiences at McCormick & Company.
Rowe says that “The Floor is Flava” is the brand’s most virtual and immersive experience to date, and is timed to generate hype in the lead-up to the upcoming Super Bowl, one of the largest food holidays of the year, and a “key moment” for Frank’s, says Rowe.
According to statistics, Americans alone consume more than 100 million pounds of wings on the day of the game. “The Big Game is a big annual moment for Frank’s RedHot,” says Rowe.
It’s not the brand’s first excursion into the metaverse. Last year, it introduced the first-ever “edible NFT” and a spoof cryptocurrency called “Bonecoin” to celebrate Buffalo wings. It proved Frank’s biggest game day campaign ever, with media impressions for the campaign exceeding objectives by 43%.
It also helped drive an increase in merchandising, pre-packs and an increase in overall shipments, says Rowe. “We expect there to be not just North American interest but also global interest in ‘Floor is Flava.’”
Most importantly, Rowe says that “The Floor is Flava” enables the sauce brand to reach a new audience of “sauce lovers,” specifically the younger consumers who are a captive audience within Fortnite. “Frank’s fans can sink into the sauce whether they’re watching the big game in real life or playing the game online,” says Rowe.
Estimates say that Fortnite has between 2.9 and four million players at any one time, and research suggests that the majority of its players are between the ages of 18 and 24. In addition, more than a quarter of pre-teens in the U.S. play the game.
The promotion aligns with the increased demand Frank’s is seeing among younger consumers looking to add heat to their food. It is a condiment of choice for many people because it works on all of the food “classics,” says Rowe, including wings, chicken dip, macaroni and cheese, pizza burgers and even fries.
In addition to paid media support to drive people to the game, Frank’s RedHot has also partnered with leading Fortnite games to get them to “The Floor is Flava” and get fans to dive into what Rowe calls “delicious doom.”
“Fortnite is an incredibly popular platform with a large and highly active player base,” says Rowe. “That’s obvious, but what makes Fortnite so appealing and fun beyond that for both players and brand partners like Frank’s is the level of customization, personalization, and creativity that’s possible in its Creative Mode.”
Creative Mode enables anyone to create their own in-game worlds (known as islands) that can then be published and shared. The U.K. telco O2 is among the brands to use the mode, recreating its O2 Arena that in addition to battles, was also used to stage live in-game concerts from artists including Travis Scott.
The French supermarket chain Carrefour also ventured into Fortnite with “The Healthy Map,” which transported gamers to the “Carrefour of tomorrow” – a representation of one of its stores featuring a responsible fishing area, as well as fields filled with organic fruit and vegetables.
