How Chipotle is using crypto and gaming as gateways to loyalty

By Marty Swant

Avocados might be among the few things that expire faster than a crypto price, but Chipotle is still giving people a way to “buy the dip.”

Chipotle said this week that it’s giving away $200,000 in cryptocurrency through a new online game called Buy The Dip — a nod to the crypto market’s ongoing downturn. Playable through July 31, the game gives players a chance to win crypto like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Dogecoin along with other prizes that are actual dips such as guacamole and queso. (The game follows a similar stunt last year in which Chipotle gave away $100,000 through a so-called BurritosOrBitcoin game that let people guess a code for a chance at free bitcoin or a free burrito.)

Chipotle isn’t the only brand to either gamify or give away crypto. Last year, Burger King partnered with the financial services companies Robinhood to give away Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin to people who spent $5 within the burger chain’s app. Last year, NFL star Aaron Rogers gave away $1 million worth of Bitcoin through Cash App. Crypto giveaways have also been a tactic for crypto exchanges like FTX and BlockFi as a means of getting people to open accounts — but also a dangerous and popular tactic for scammers across the internet.

Despite the tongue-in-cheek title, Buy The Dip is part of Chipotle’s broader strategy for experimenting with marketing across gaming in a variety of formats. It’s also created several experiences inside of the online platform Roblox such as a virtual Halloween maze last fall — which featured virtual costumes and other items — followed by a virtual store this year that let people roll a virtual burrito and earn one of 100,000 given away in real life.

The games have been more popular than expected, according to Chipotle Chief Marketing Officer Chris Brandt. The last crypto giveaway brought in nearly 4 million unique visitors who played 26 million times while the Roblox games brought in nearly 7 million people who played tens of millions of times. “We certainly want to cement ourselves with fandom from the newest generation of both Gen Z and beyond and people who are tech-savvy and digitally savvy,” Brandt said.

Along with Roblox and online games, Chipotle has experimented with esports over the past few years. In 2020, it began working with popular organizations including content and menu item partnerships with 100 Thieves CEO Matt “Nadeshot” Haag and Twitch streamer, “BrookeAB.”

Chipotle took into consideration the popularity of games as they have evolved over the years, from Solitaire on mobile devices to Fortnite. “Everybody’s a gamer,” Brandt said.

The games have also been a way for the company to recruit customers to join its massive loyalty program, which Brandt says now has 29 million people. (People need to sign up for the loyalty program before playing the games.) The loyalty program’s first-party data lets Chipotle personalize messages and offers to people and also help reach consumers directly during a time when third-party data is becoming less effective. …read more

Source:: Digiday