Sometimes a free donut for a vaccination is just a free donut for a vaccination
Why Krispy Kreme's incentive is so simply genius
The Year of the Toilet Paper Hoarder. The Year of the Murder Hornet Invasion. The Year of the Both The Tiger King and The Crown.
The year 2020 will be remembered by all as The Year of a great many things. From a branding perspective, I’d say it was The Year of the Social Give Back.
It seemed like all the brands who could afford to (and most impressively, many who maybe kind of really couldn’t) jumped in to help bolster the spirits of healthcare workers—providing everything from free meals to free makeup. Brands of all shapes and sizes also donated to causes, supporting Black Lives Matter and social justice and equality.
💉 And now that an end to the pandemic is within our sights, the give back focus has shifted to be more incentive based—tied to getting your vaccine.
It’s a tremendous national and global effort to try and get everyone to get their shots. And brands are starting to support it in all sorts of ways. National brands like McDonald’s, Olive Garden, and Shake Shack are giving paid leave hours to employees to go get their shots. A survey from Black Box Intelligence found that 50% of restaurants are offering or plan to offer incentives to their employees to get inoculated.
Now, brands are starting to jump in to encourage customers to get stuck in the arm too. This week, Krispy Kreme made HUGE headlines with its incentive…
Krispy Kreme will give you a free doughnut every day this year — if you've been vaccinated.
One may argue that the unhealthy downsides of eating a Krispy Kreme donut every day are a bit at odds with the healthy upsides of receiving a vaccination. And inside the offices of a Big Corporate, a giveaway of this magnitude could certainly be sliced, diced, and crazy over analyzed, and watered down—would it lead to negative press? is it too risky? what if someone has a donut every day, and then something happens to him?
There’s also the temptation to take an incentive like this and over-market it to death. Give it a cute name, with bonus points if it rhymes (Kreme The Vaccine!). And some p-unny copy (Do-nut miss your shot!!!). And don’t forget the hashtag (#dailydonut) and the upsell plan (would you like milk with that?).
But what I really, really, really love about Krispy Kreme’s donut inventive (and what any brand of any size can learn from) is the super simplicity of the offer.
In an interview with AdWeek, Krispy Kreme’s CMO put it this way: “We want it [the pandemic] to all go away just like everybody else. If there’s anything we can do to show support for the folks who are getting a shot in the arm, let’s do it.”
And there you have it. A statement that’s so easy, so genuine, and so shareable—that it’s pure brand genius. Let's break down why this offer is so awesome:
It’s big and bold enough to be headline-worthy… a donut EVERY DAY?!?
It’s an easy-get. There’s no fluff, and it’s simple to remember.
It’s an easy-share. I personally saw at least 10 friends share stories about it in my newsfeed… and I don’t think my friends are more obsessed with donuts than the average person.
It appears to come from the heart
And it doesn’t look like marketing
Super simply put—the more people get vaccinated, the faster the pandemic ends, the happier we all are.
And we should all get a few free donuts to celebrate that.