McDonald's(R) and FarmVille Join Forces for Special Event Promotion in Most Popular Social Game

McDonald's Represents First Brand to Integrate a Branded Farm Into FarmVille; McDonald's Effort Focused on Adding Value to the Game-Play of Tens of Millions of FarmVille Players


OAK BROOK, IL--(Marketwire - October 7, 2010) - McDonald's (www.mcdonalds.com) and Zynga (www.zynga.com) today announced a first-of-its-kind campaign within FarmVille (www.farmville.com), the most popular social game. Today, McDonald's will have its own farm in FarmVille which players will have the chance to interact with and receive unique rewards. 

"Joining forces with FarmVille is an incredible opportunity for us to engage with millions of players in the most popular social game," said Anja Carroll, Director of Media, McDonald's USA. "What makes our FarmVille effort unique is that it reinforces important features of the McDonald's brand while enhancing game play for FarmVille players."

"Our mission is to connect the world through games by offering consumers meaningful experiences that enhance their game play," said Manny Anekal, Global Director of Brand Advertising at Zynga. "Tens of millions of people play FarmVille daily and this unique campaign with McDonald's, one of the most recognized brands in the world, further strengthens our commitment to delivering high quality in-game brand experiences."

Led by appssavvy (www.appssavvy.com), in partnership with the Chicago office of OMD (www.omd.com), the McDonald's FarmVille special event promotion features:

  • McDonald's Farm: The McDonald's farm on FarmVille during the one day event will be highlighted to players as a 'Neighbor Farm,' which players can interact with from their own farms. Players visiting the McDonald's Farm can help by growing tomato and mustard seed crops.

  • McCafe® FarmVille Consumable: Player interaction is rewarded with a FarmVille McCafe Consumable, a valuable item (virtual good) that makes game-play easier. The McCafe Consumable delivers energy to players to move about their farms at twice the speed.

  • McDonald's Hot Air Balloon FarmVille Decoration: In addition, players helping out on the McDonald's Farm will earn a virtual McDonald's Hot Air Balloon to decorate their personal farm.

"McDonald's on FarmVille represents the re-thinking of the delivery and reception of advertising," said Chris Cunningham, co-founder and CEO of appssavvy. "Today it is about understanding the social activity taking place and only then figuring out a way to join relevantly through value-added marketing, which McDonald's has done to perfection."

The McDonald's farm on FarmVille also features many McDonald's initiatives, including the launch this week of the 2010 Monopoly Game and McCafe, as well as long-standing McDonald's mainstays, such as a Sesame Seed Bakery representing its buns and Dairy Farm for milk products.

About McDonald's
McDonald's USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome food made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women. Customers can now log online for free at any of the 11,000 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.

About Zynga
Zynga is the world's largest social game developer. More than 215 million monthly active users play its games. Zynga's games include FarmVille, Treasure Isle, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Café World, FishVille, PetVille and FrontierVille. Zynga games are available on Facebook, MySpace and the iPhone. Through Zynga.org, Zynga players have raised more than $3 million for world social causes. Zynga is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.zynga.com or www.zynga.org.

©McDonald's 2010

Contact Information:

CONTACT:
Danya Proud
McDonald's USA
630.623.5063
danya.proud@us.mcd.com
OR
Lisa Chan
Zynga
415.706.1834
lchan@zynga.com

McDonald's branded Farm on FarmVille