Donut King recognised at the 2017 AC&E Awards
Donut King was a finalist in the Mobile Marketing category for its gamification app, Donut Rush.
The brand was up against global advertising powerhouses The Works Sydney, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and Ogilvy Australia.
RFG chief digital officer, Kevin Wordon - who headed up the development of the app in conjunction with leading app development company, Millipede - said to be considered in the same caliber as these companies is, in itself, an exciting validation of the company’s focus on engagement marketing and digital innovation.
“RFG is embracing new and innovative ways to connect with customers - especially in the case of Donut King, with tech-savvy millennials – through fun and interactive channels that put them in touch with the brand at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods,” he said.
“This recognition is testament to the visionaries behind this innovation – RFG’s in-house digital division, the Donut King marketing team and the guys from Millipede – and wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our franchise partners and store team members, and of course, our customers.”
Donut Rush is an infinite running app, where the main characters – known as Donut Warriors – collect donuts as they race through a fantastical land, with the goal of earning as many points as possible.
During the initial eight-week campaign period, these points could be redeemed within the game for vouchers to be used in Donut King stores nationwide, driving extra foot traffic for franchise partners.
“What was particularly effective about the Donut Rush campaign was that it involved an omni-marketing strategy, utilising point of sale displays, bunting, posters, stickers on coffee cups, LCD displays, digital and social advertising and a TV commercial to drive app downloads,” Kevin said.
“Generating 30.8 million minutes of gameplay, Donut Rush was a spectacular branding exercise,” he said. “Data shows that our customers were, on average, engaged with the brand via the app for eight minutes and 38 seconds per session, which when put in perspective, is over 17 times the length of a 30-second ad.”
Donut Rush reached the number one spot on both Google Play and Apple App Store within its first week and sat in the top charts for six weeks, overtaking app giants such as Gumtree, eBay, Skype and Twitter.
