7-Eleven Suits Up for Football Season With In-Store Experiences
IRVING, Texas — The new season of the National Football League is here and 7-Eleven Inc. is ready to help its customers kick off the season in style.
As part of its new marketing program, the convenience store retailer is bringing back stadium-style souvenir cups, helmet straws and in-store experiences.
Keeping in step with its innovation push, participating 7-Eleven c-stores will allow customers to join the action on the field through augmented reality (AR). All AR activities can be accessed through the 7‑Eleven mobile app, where customers can earn 7Rewards loyalty program points daily and weekly, depending on the activity.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott even shows up.
"No sport is bigger in the U.S. than football," said Sean Thompson, 7‑Eleven, senior vice president and chief customer officer. "Each week, millions show up at stadiums, friends' houses or in front of their own televisions to cheer on their favorite teams — and, of course, eat and drink.
How to Play 7-Eleven's AR Game
- Tap the camera icon on the home screen of the 7‑Eleven app to unlock the AR game and face filters. Football-centric AR games earn points daily.
- Take a selfie and share team spirit on social media to earn points weekly.
- Find scannable codes throughout the store to earn double 7Rewards points on games and selfie experiences for the rest of the day.
"7‑Eleven has everything needed to enjoy all the big games, from cool souvenir cups to hot pizza and wings. It's an easy and economical way to host an epic watch party," Thompson added.
Participating stores in select markets include Baltimore; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Miami; New England; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Seattle; and Tampa Bay, Fla.
The AR experiences will be available throughout the regular football season, ending on Dec. 31. As part of the experience, customers can take an "autographed" selfie with Prescott.
In Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Detroit and Washington, D.C., some games and filters will be team-specific. All other markets will have football fan filters and football-related games to play, according to the retailer.
How to Play 7-Eleven's AR Game
- Tap the camera icon on the home screen of the 7‑Eleven app to unlock the AR game and face filters. Football-centric AR games earn points daily.
- Take a selfie and share team spirit on social media to earn points weekly.
- Find scannable codes throughout the store to earn double 7Rewards points on games and selfie experiences for the rest of the day.
As the retailer explained, the fun changes over time so fans are invited to visit often. Once unlocked, an experience can be accessed later, even after leaving the store. Players can earn points as they complete levels of the game.
Collectibles
7‑Eleven's stadium-style cups allow customers to show some team love. The cups feature fan-favorite players or general pro-football graphics, and vary by market. Suggested retail price for the heavy-gauge, dishwasher-safe cups is $2.99.
The 15 participating teams will have seven different cups, featuring high-resolution photos of top players with a new one each week for seven weeks. Other markets will receive three generic pro football cups over five weeks.
The limited-edition cups are available at participating 7‑Eleven, Stripes and APlus stores.
Helmet straws for participating teams are also available to purchase with the premium cups at participating stores. As with the collectible cups, all other markets will offer a football helmet straw. Suggested retail price for the collectible straws is $1.99 each.
For customers not attending the games, some 7-Elevens in more than 30 markets offer home delivery through Postmates of all the tailgating favorites for their at-home watch parties.
Irving-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 66,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,600 in North America.