The fast food category is highly competitive and inherently functional. To stand out in the category, Wendy’s has sought to build emotional connections with consumers on social media for years, laying the groundwork to be an entertainment brand nearly as much as a restaurant brand. Our goal is to move the relationship with our customers from functional and transactional to relational, as emotional connection sells. Amidst the anxiety-inducing times of Covid-19, Wendy’s has readily provided its consumers food to fulfill this functional role. But the brand also wanted to tap into the relationships it has with consumers as an entertainer to offer them a healthy distraction – by giving them a much-needed break with calming, wholesome content. When one of Nintendo’s most anticipated video games, Animal Crossing, released on March 20th, we saw a ripe opportunity. The game is known for its relaxing gameplay, unique art style and calming qualities. So we created a character with red hair and pigtails, identical to our logo, and streamed our gameplay on Twitch for more than 6 hours. More than 430,000 viewers tuned in to watch our gameplay — peaking at 17,003 live viewers and making it Wendy’s most viewed Twitch stream to date....Read More