The perfect refreshment for tending your crops.

MAY 24, 2010 • 7-Eleven, Inc. and Zynga have partnered to bring FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille branded items to various products sold by the retailer such as Slurpee and Big Gulp drinks in nearly 7,000 stores across the United States and Canada. The partnership is the first retail tie-in for Zynga. Consumers who buy the Zynga branded items can redeem exclusive virtual items within Zynga games during the six-week campaign. Zynga also partnered with Yahoo to bring Zynga’s popular social games through Yahoo!’s global network of more than 600 million people worldwide.

Impact: Zynga had explosive growth in 2009 and now must establish itself as an ongoing business and not just a flash in the pan that showed everyone how to distribute products on Facebook.  For Zynga this means expanding beyond Facebook.  Zynga and Facebook were in a highly public dispute that threatened to break the relationship between the two companies.  However, in mid-May Zynga and Facebook announced a five-year strategic partnership.  Nevertheless, it is clear Zynga wants to brand itself outside of Facebook.  The relationship with 7-Eleven is clearly a major step for Zynga to market its game brands outside of Facebook and build awareness in the general mass market.  Definitely look for more of these type of deals as Zynga brands come to a store near you.