Dillon Payne

Burger King Leverages FIFA & Stevenage FC for Whopping Success

What happens when a QSR brand partners with a middling English soccer club? In the case of Burger King and Stevenage FC… a lot. In one of the more innovative partnerships in recent memory, Burger King helped Stevenage FC go from relative unknown on a global scale to FIFA sensation.

Who Is Stevenage FC?

Good question! Stevenage FC is a professional soccer team outside of London based in England’s League Two, the fourth tier of professional soccer in the country. Stevenage, or The Boro as their often referred, were floundering at the bottom of the league in danger of being relegated outside of the professional pyramid and into the doldrums of non-league soccer.

That’s when Burger King decided to step in and buy the front of jersey sponsorship space of a club few outside of England know to exist. At first glance, it seems bizarre for a global brand like Burger King to support a club like Stevenage; however, the King had another plan.

Stevenage FC, the biggest online club on earth

We all enjoy our casual FIFA sessions. Some play FIFA Ultimate Team. Others play online seasons. Then there are career mode players such as myself. There’s some magic in the journey of taking a small team in the lower divisions and spending seasons to improve and promote the team to the highest levels like the Premier League. You have spending limits you have to adhere to, certain goals to obtain, certain rules to abide by; it can be a fun challenge. It’s this insight that Burger King decided to play into by sponsoring Stevenage FC.

They created the #StevenageChallenge, a call to FIFA players to take The Boro from the worst professional team in England to the best. Burger King tasked FIFA 20 players to play with Stevenage and complete a host of in-game challenges shared by Burger King. Those who shared their successful challenges on Twitter would be entered into sweepstakes to win free Burger King delivery via Uber Eats, a free Whopper meal, or even win free Whoppers for a whole year.

This campaign is… well done

The results were staggering. Stevenage FC became the most-used team in FIFA 20’s career mode and over 25,000 goals were shared online. For the first time ever, The Boro sold out of their jerseys. Burger King quite literally made a relatively unknown team the biggest online club in the world. Let this be a reminder that the King ALWAYS accomplishes his goals.

Categories: Digital Content, FIFA