Dive Brief:
- Dunkin' Donuts is expanding its Halloween seasonal campaign with new Almond Joy hot chocolate drinks, food deals and two social media-focused promotions, per a press release. The effort additionally includes DIY tutorials on the official Dunkin' blog and social media channels, with topics like making creative costumes, fun nail art, doughnut-inspired pumpkin designs and how to throw a Halloween party.
- The brand is running a Halloween costume contest on Instagram which will feature the winner on the Dunkin' Donuts Times Square Billboard in New York City, along with giving away a $2,500 prize and a year's supply of coffee. Through Halloween, people can post their Dunkin' Donuts-themed costumes to Instagram using the #DDHalloweenContest tag to enter.
- The campaign also includes an interactive Snapchat game called "Donut Pop" which lets players match costumed Halloween doughnut to score points and unlock special geofilters and lenses. The Snapchat activation includes six Halloween geofilters each day from Oct. 26-31. Fans can also access special Halloween-inspired emojis via the Dunkin' Donuts mobile app's keyboard.
Dive Insight:
Fall signals the time of year when coffee fans switch from cold brew iced coffee to hotter beverages, and Dunkin' is trying to make the most of the seasonal pivot with a full-fledged digital- and mobile-focused campaign that taps a number of popular channels and trendy tactics including emojis, mobile games and more.
A lot of the brand's followers are likely already prepping their Halloween costumes, so the Instagram contest provides a platform to show off their get-ups. The promise of a larger showcase — a Times Square Billboard — and the cash prize and year's supply of coffee further incentives participation. For Dunkin', it can scour its social channels for the #DDHalloweenContest hashtag to repurpose user-generated content to share.
Dunkin' isn't the only marketer to turn to Snapchat to launch a mobile game in time for Halloween. Late last month, candy maker Reese's debuted its take on the iconic '80s arcade game "Pac-Man" with a playable ad in Snapchat Discover. Branded mobile games are potential big drivers of engagement in providing simple but fun and addictive distractions for the consumer.
These elements combined build out what's already been a splashy Halloween push from Dunkin'. Earlier this month, it introduced the first Halloween-themed icing designs for its doughnuts with a video resurrecting an old internet meme, "Dancing Pumpkin Man."
