McDonald’s is collaborating in the United Kingdom with fitness marketplace Hussle to offer a fitness-based prize as part its Monopoly promotion that runs Aug. 25 through Oct. 5, according to an announcement from Hussle. This is the first time a gym offering has been included in the annual giveaway, played by more than seven million people annually.
Club Industry has reached out to McDonald’s to see if a similar promotion will occur in the United States but has not yet received a response.
The deal will give McDonald’s customers the chance to win access to any of Hussle’s more than 2,000 partner health clubs in the United Kingdom. Winners will be given a code to enter into Hussle’s website, where they can then select the most suitable club for them.
The four Hussle prizes are:
- One million chances for 50 percent off a day pass to a gym in the Hussle network
- One million chances for a free day pass plus seven days online fitness
- Eight chances for three months free at a club in the Hussle network
- Five chances for one year free at a club in the Hussle network
In a blog about the partnership and the hazards of a fitness-related company collaborating with a fast food chain, Hussle acknowledged the possibility of a backlash, but concluded that the partnership ultimately would help Hussle support UKActive’s goal to get more people more active more often.
“The old adage is so true … if we keep doing the same things, marketing fitness to the same people, we’ll always get those same people through our doors,” Jamie Owens, director of fitness partnerships at Hussle, said in a media release. “If gyms are going to be mainstream, we need to partner with mainstream brands. This campaign is uncharted territory but it’s also an exciting opportunity to directly target new customers. This partnership parades fitness in front of seven million people we wouldn’t necessarily get to speak to otherwise.”
As part of a competitive tender process, Hussle was invited to participate along with health club chains in the country. Hussle was selected over a single chain because its reach allows winners access to thousands of gym operators. For health clubs working with Hussle, the company’s partnership with McDonald’s offers the opportunity to attract new users at no extra cost, create a good impression and, ultimately, win new members, according to Hussle.
Hussle has no set goal for the number of people it hopes will gain access to the gym partners through the game but the company is tracking how this first-time partnership works out, according to Hussle. The partnership could ensure health clubs become a viable marketing partner for campaigns on comparable scale to McDonald’s Monopoly, and it could benefit Hussle by demonstrating to gym operators that through collaboration with Hussle they can collectively secure participation in the biggest mainstream marketing campaigns and get more people into fitness.
“This is unprecedented exposure for our industry – partnering with such a colossal commercial brand will mean every club on the Hussle platform is showcased to a third of the UK population (more than 3.5 million customers every day) over the six weeks the Monopoly promotion at McDonald’s runs in restaurants,” Owens said. “And with our new membership conversion service, which actively encourages customers to join clubs they visit, we are opening up a whole new joiner channel in a notoriously tricky age group, as the Monopoly audience is predominantly 16-24 year olds.”
Hussle hopes that because of the partnership, more gyms will join its platform and the outcome will be an even stronger platform, according to the company.
The McDonald’s giveaway, launched in 2005, works along similar rules to the classic Monopoly board game. Customers collect game pieces – which appear as stickers on food and drinks packaging – and each piece represents a tile on the board. When customers collect a set, they win a prize. There are also instant win game pieces, which can be redeemed immediately, and online win game pieces, which encourage customers to engage with an online win microsite to win more prizes, including the Hussle prizes.
“Post pandemic, with the country more focused on health than ever, now is the ideal time to get in front of the 85 percent of the population who never use our facilities,” Owens said. “I can think of no better way than collaborating with the Monopoly promotion at McDonald’s, arguably the UK’s biggest brand engagement platform. We’re excited to catapult the fitness industry onto this stage.
Other prizes available to those who play the Monopoly game at McDonald’s include free items on the McDonald’s menu, such as a Big Mac, chicken nuggets and an ice cream cone, or larger prizes, such as 100,000 pounds, Mini Coopers, PS4 Pro, mobile phones and a new McDonald’s VIP Gold Card that allows the recipients to get a free medium meal every week for 12 months.