Dunkin' Donuts taps influencer for graduation cap decorating tips

Dive Brief:

Dunkin’ Donuts is offering free downloadable stencil and crafting tips for coffee lovers who are also students finishing up their studies and want to decorate their graduation caps, according to a blog post on the company’s website.
The Boston area-based company partnered with DIY blogger Aww Sam to release a stencil design and coffee-related decoration inspiration.
The company's reposted users’ photos of their Dunkin'-themed cap designs on Twitter and Instagram, which have racked up more than 14,000 total likes. The effort has a presence on Pinterest and Facebook.

Dive Insights:

Some students like to decorate their graduation caps, with a quick perusal online revealing no shortage of content offering tips and techniques for the do-it-yourself crowd. Dunkin Donuts, which has a presence on more than 75 colleges and universities around the country, is hoping to target these consumers who are also customers with a strategy offering relevant content and value.

In the campaign, the company is tapping into the network of social media influencer Aww Sam, who has more than 254,000 followers on Instagram alone.

Social influencers have emerged as powerful media partners in recent years — from spurring engagement, amplifying reach to producing more authentic advertising — and marketers are taking note. According to RhythmOne’s “2015 1H Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report,” digital marketers that used influencer marketing, like sponsored product endorsements and online brand partnerships, saw an average of $9.60 return of earned media value (EMV) per dollar spent on paid media.

Dunkin’ is also leveraging user-generated content by reposting coffee-themed caps on its Instagram page, which reaches over a million followers, and on Stories. The brand is clearly committed to themed social media content tied to holidays and other special events having also recently released seasonal gift guides, mobile wallpapers and tips to dress up a Mother’s Day card with some Dunkin’ flair. Here's a link to some examples of Dunkin' fans' caps.