Seven thousand 7-11 stores will offer around 30 branded items, including Slurpees and ice cream, among other things. When a customer buys one of the promotional products, he or she will then be directed to perform some special task in the game world to acquire one of the 7-11 items.
This is the first retail partnership of this kind for Zynga, although this deal grew out of a more limited program in which the company sold FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille game cards at 12,800 participating 7-11 stores. Zynga is no stranger to virtual branding promotions, either; it has been selling brand-sponsored FarmVille crops since last month.
The company has been very busy making deals over the past few weeks, actually; it just signed a five-year agreement with Facebook involving the use of Facebook's proprietary virtual currency, and it is also launching games on MySpace, including the new Bangkok expansion for Mafia Wars.