Dive Brief:
- Dunkin' Donuts is asking fans to help select new iced coffee flavors based on ice cream from Baskin Robbins, another company under Dunkin' Brands, according to a press release. The five potential new flavors are butter pecan, cookie dough, pistachio, rocky road and Jamoca almond fudge.
- Voting is open from Aug. 21-25 via comments on pinned posts on Dunkin's official Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. On the final day of voting, Dunkin' is also rolling out five exclusive Snapchat geofilters only available in-stores. Each filter coordinates with one of the Baskin Robbins' flavors fans want to pick.
- Winning flavors of the contest will be announced Aug. 31 and could end up in Dunkin' Donuts locations as early as summer of 2018, the release said.
Dive Insight:
Dunkin' Donuts has cultivated a dedicated customer base, in part thanks to the strength of its digital and mobile loyalty programs and also innovative marketing on those channels. Leveraging social media and Snapchat, in particular, points to how the brand still has its finger on the pulse of what's likely to engage fans. Iced coffee is a huge seller at Dunkin', so sourcing the next flavor from caffeine cravers who like to drink it the most will likely see high levels of engagement and also drive foot traffic to stores as people try out the limited-run Snapchat filters.
Dunkin' has been especially active on Snapchat in its promotions this summer. In late June, it rolled out a summer-themed Snapchat geofilter that was only available at its restaurants, much like the Baskin Robbins offering. Earlier that month, it promoted National Donut Day with donut-themed online content and a sponsored Snapchat selfie lens and geofilter, along with downloadable sticker packs and emojis.
Dunkin's also not the only major brand continuing to leverage Snapchat to drive engagement, even as the video-messaging platform's parent company Snap Inc. weathers some rough financial waters and criticisms that it's failing to innovate quickly enough. PepsiCo's Lay's potato chip line is also running a crowdsourced contest to decide its next flavor, a promotion that features a strong Snapchat element.
