"Old McDonald Had A Farm"

With more than 18 million people playing the wildly popular Farmville social media game, one of the world's most popular brands has decided to set up a virtual branded farm that gamers can click on during a 24-hour period to receive incentives. McDonald's savvy digital marketing effort to reach the Facebook generation is the game's first branded farm sponsorship. McDonald's tie-in with FarmVille began at 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday, October 7 and runs through the entire day ending at 11:59 p.m. ET. The lure for the game's players are virtual prizes gamers cherish. Players who click on the McDonald's branded farm will be rewarded with two virtual goodies, including a McDonald's-branded hot air balloon to place on their own virtual farms. Rainmakers at Mickey D want to reach younger consumers more effectively and establish a greater loyalty to their fast food brand and the Farmville tie-in is just a part of its broader social media plan. For FarmVille - whose parent company, Zynga, is one of the world's largest digital game companies — the Micky D tie in gives it instant, global credibility for a brand that was launched just one year ago.