Jack in the Box is continuing its push for delivery with the video game Crave Crasher.
For a limited time, anyone older than the age of 13 can jump behind the virtual wheel of the quick service restaurant’s Crave Van and deliver one of three new Munchie Mash+Ups (Wakey Bakey Hash, H’angry Chicken Hash and the Jack’d Jalapeño Hash) to whoever is craving it. In addition to the three missions—one for each featured meal—players can sign up for special offers through email so they can try the new menu items themselves.
“By gamifying our recent Crave Van ads with the launch of the Crave Crasher mobile and PC game, we hope to bring to life our extreme, ‘if you crave it, we serve it’ crave-crashing mentality which is characteristic of our core millennial audience—who’ve undoubtedly adopted an on-demand lifestyle,” Adrienne Ingoldt, marketing communications director for Jack in the Box, told AlistDaily.
The Crave Van is Jack in the Box’s comical way of educating hungry consumers about its recent partnership with DoorDash. Completing missions in Crave Crasher is harder than it looks. Luckily, ordering food from Jack in the Box is much easier. The entire menu is now available in more than 830 locations across 229 US cities as late as 1 a.m. (and 3 a.m. in select locations).
“The inspiration for Crave Crasher stemmed from the retro look and feel of our Crave Van advertising campaign,” said Ingoldt. “The humorous campaign reinforces the brand’s new platform by highlighting its reputation for having a menu with unique and unexpected products available around the clock. The campaign incorporates this brand truth—delivering on customers’ cravings no matter what they are and when the craving strikes—into a series of funny situations that show just how far Jack is willing to go to give customers what they want.”
Jack in the Box has been testing DoorDash delivery robots in San Francisco to explore even more ways to deliver.
Consumers were first introduced to Jack’s dedicated “Crave Squad” in television spots this April, aimed at both millennials and gamers. The company hopes that playing the new video game will inspire consumers to try delivery for themselves, but also have fun.
“With his brand new Crave Van, Jack crashes through any obstacle to satisfy cravings all over the world. No obstacle—not a pile of neatly stacked boxes, not a solid wall, not even the laws of physics—will stop the Crave Van from reaching a craving,” said Ingoldt. “This game is an opportunity for fans to join the Crave Squad and sit side-by-side with Jack as he crashes cravings. They can engage with the brand directly, by means of bringing the new Munchie Mash+Ups directly to hungry, 8-bit fans in need.”
In its 2017 outlook for food service, analysis firm NPD noted that price and convenience are changing the restaurant landscape.
“The importance of millennials and Gen Z will accelerate the industry’s need to be more innovative, as these cohorts are always looking for that ‘experience’—something new and different,” said NPD. “Without innovation, operators will fall out of the consideration set and risk being overlooked by a large portion of the US population.”
Jack in the Box has embraced the challenge through influencer partnerships, VR ads and infusing a sense of humor into the political landscape by “leaking” secret files from Jack.