In my first-ever post, I discussed H&M’s Loooptopia, a game about fashion circularity through Roblox. So, I was thinking, why not end it with another company collaborating with another game company for my potential last post? So this post, I will introduce you to the collaboration between the famous condiment brand Heinz and Fortnite.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 95% of the food we consume comes from social; however, due to the increase in population and climate change, we are also putting a health risk on the soil. “SOS Tomatoes,” the game that the two companies collaborated on, aims to educate players about the “world’s declining soil health and effect positive environmental change.” In this game, the players can go through the journey of how to grow a tomato by becoming one, which means experiencing being in the field. Furthermore, to incorporate Fornite’s characteristics, the players will have to run faster than the speed of “soil degradation,” which also sends out another message of how fast soil health is declining. By playing this game, Heinz also announced that it would help impact the real world as the company will protect an extra 13.5 million acres of soil and more than 1600 soccer fields!
More and more market leaders have raised awareness of the need for sustainable practices in every industry, such as fashion and food. To increase such awareness, most companies nowadays have decided to target Gen Z since they are our future leaders and focus on using video games as a medium for education. However, I wonder if such an effort impacts these teenagers or even us on sustainability. After playing these games, will we remember what we learned or just think of it as a special version of the game we like? Is there a more effective way to educate people? As a person who plays games, I love how companies tap into the metaverse, but I am not convinced about the effectiveness of such ideas. Despite that, It is nice to know companies are at least finding novel ways to incorporate education on sustainability in our lives.
References:
- https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/03/16/heinz-challenges-gamers-confront-soil-degradation-fortnite
- https://www.heinz.com/sos-tomatoes/
- https://www.marketingdive.com/news/heinz-fortnite-tomato-island-sustainability-marketing/645183/
I like when brands make games – it is so fun! Especially when they are well done like this one.
It also makes me wonder the role meme culture plays in marketing in general. I feel like a lot of companies are leaning into internet culture and it is interesting to see what comes out of it (Duolingo Owl, Wendy’s Twitter account, or the KFC “I Love You Colonel Sanders” dating simulator…)
Hello Gigi,
Such an interesting topic! For sure one of the best posts I’ve read so far. It is fun, interesting and engaging. I agree with the comment above, having games created by brands is a lot of fun. At least for me, I feel more connected to the brand, understanding their mission and vision.
Other than that, we can learn a lot about such supply chains, understanding that companies are not changing their sustainable practices only as a marketing tactic. They are also investing in possible changes in the supply chain, which in my point of view is one of the most important changes when it comes to sustainable practices.
Finally, as you said during the post, it also helps raise awareness about sustainable causes. This can connect younger generations with sustainability, making them more into changes and engaged with other possible campaigns.
Thank you for this post, I’ll for sure double check other possible games out there :))