Season 04 of Black Ops 6 centered on rivalry and competition. Our objective was to translate that theme into a compelling social strategy that meaningfully engaged our players and brought the competitive spirit of the season to life across our channels.
Call of Duty has always been the arena where rivalries begin and scores get settled. We tapped into a core player truth that has existed since the first game: everyone has that one opponent. The frenemy who always has something to prove, the squadmate who is just slightly better than you, or the random player who somehow logs on at the exact same time and turns every session into a personal showdown.
We had specific social KPI targets, focusing on engagement and reach within our COD community. With the campaign launch, we also wanted to ensure this creative was inspiring players to get back in the game and bring their friends with them.
To fully bring the theme of player rivalries to life and deliver on our social first objectives, we launched “You Got Beef.” The concept gave players a bold, tangible way to call out their rivals by sending a challenge branded directly onto a strip of Call of Duty beef jerky. It transformed in game tension into a physical expression of unfinished business, reigniting competitive matchups and driving fresh challenges throughout Season 04.
To bring the idea of “Settling Beef” to life, we created a real, tangible, and 100% edible way for fans to jump back into Call of Duty and settle their Beef. We created a program that allowed fans to send personalized Beef cards to their friends, calling them out and challenging them to jump in and settle the score.
First, we needed to find a partner that could create and ship our beef invites. Enter ManlyMan Beef Co: a small company that made beef jerky with custom messages. This allowed us to quickly set up a website presence with the ability to deliver players personalized beef messages to their frenemy, all in time for the season launch.
To promote the program, Call of Duty started some Beef of our own across social. Tapping internet-sensation Cartel Vail, we created an ear-worm social-first music video that was filled with authentic Call of Duty references that would not only resonate with our fans but help draw a new audience into the game and inspire new players. The tune not only highlighted new offerings of the season but provided a tune so catchy, viewers couldn’t help but keep singing it for the rest of the day.
Our efforts garnered 1.4 million views across all of our social channels with 27,000 engagements, and 7,000 shares, which was 5x higher than our YTD average + UGC generated from players receiving their beef cards.
