Krispy Kreme taps into the digital space, sees great results

Commits to further develop the brand's mobile and online reach.

"Mobile is a huge focus for us at the moment," Russell Schulman, Digital Business Manager of Krispy Kreme told QSR Media. After recently upgrading its website to be fully responsive and optimised the mobile checkout process, the chain has seen a massive increase in mobile conversion.

"Since we redeveloped our website to be responsive, we now have over 65% of visitors to our website browsing on mobile devices and the time spent on site has quadrupled." In addition, the donut chain has seen a 40% increase in consumers opening its promotional emails on mobile in the last year.

"By optimising our landing pages for mobile, we have increased the ROI on our marketing campaigns by ensuring all consumers, no matter what device they use, can have an optimal experience, which will continue to enhance our brand and increase conversion," he explained.

Schulman noted that Krispy Kreme consumers are online and on their devices more than ever, so investing in user-friendly, interactive mobile experiences is vital for the chain in its effort to be a leading brand in Australia.

"We are very committed to mobile as both a branding, but also a conversion tool and believe all brands should be developing their mobile strategies as part of their overall marketing mix -- otherwise they risk losing audience attention and being left behind."

Adding, "with the rise of social check-ins and geo-tagging across social platforms, it is vital for brands to be optimising their mobile presence and engaging with fans and customers within the mobile environment." It is particularly relevant for QSR’s, he said, as consumers constantly use their mobiles for search and navigation to find their closest store and companies should aim to provide a seamless and optimised experience from apps such as Google and Apple maps through to their company websites and store finders.

KEEPING IT FRESH

The Krispy Kreme team continues to look for new, innovative and exciting ways to share the joy of Krispy Kreme with fans. At the moment, the chain is undertaking a Youtube campaign focusing its ad spend on mobile ad units.

"These ad spots are still significantly cheaper than traditional desktop banner ads and we will be taking advantage of the massive increase in Facebook video views on mobile. Our ongoing mobile objective is to bring the joy of visiting a Krispy Kreme store and experiencing the thrill of seeing the hot doughnuts on the line to a broader audience and there is no better way to achieve this than by replicating that experience for the 81% of Australians who own a smartphone in the palm of their hand," said Schulman.

Most recently, Krispy Kreme launched "lickable" ads. He described it as a fun and engaging way for consumers to discover the chain's new doughnut dessert treats (New York Cheesecake, Black Forest, Lemon Meringue and Tiramisu).

Consumers can virtually lick the toppings off the “Decadent Desserts” doughnut range, whilst racing against the clock to produce the fastest ‘lick time’ and challenging friends to beat their score by sharing their results through social channels.

"We’re always looking for new and engaging ways to interact with our customers. We know Krispy Kreme fans enjoy interacting with us online, whether that be via social, or through our user-friendly eCommerce website. As an omni-channel business, we wanted to showcase our new Decadent range, made fresh daily in our stores, to our digital audience via an innovative, engaging experience which could broaden our reach to a new audience and give fans a new and interesting way to digitally interact with the brand," he recounted.

Adding, "our fans are extremely passionate and every time we promote a new campaign, there are numerous people commenting how much they would ‘love to eat one right now’ and how they wish they could lick their screen, we took them literally and gave the people what they wanted in the most engaging way possible. We also wanted to make it fun, interactive and shareable, which is why we gamified the experience. Users race against the clock to produce the fastest ‘lick time’ and challenge friends to beat their score, by sharing their results through social channels."