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Krispy Kreme unearths first Snapchat campaign with a swashbuckling twist

Krispy Kreme is commemorating this year?s Talk Like a Pirate Day with the rollout of its first national Snapchat campaign, which lets guests digitally dress up via a pirate-themed geofilter and show the photo to an associate to receive one dozen free original glazed doughnuts.

The fast-casual chain is encouraging fans to dress in their most dashing swashbuckling gear and come in-store to earn a complimentary set of one dozen original glazed doughnuts. Consumers who do not own any pirate-themed apparel or accessories can digitally dress up by leveraging Krispy Kreme?s custom Snapchat geofilter instead, showcasing how brands can use mobile to drive participation in national events.

?Snapchat and other social platforms are important in connecting with our guests in new and exciting ways across the country,? said Sarah Roof, corporate communications coordinator at Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation. ?Our fans are already using Snapchat filters in their day-to-day lives, and we believe it is important to continue to engage with them on Snapchat and other social sites.?

Doughnuts for pirates
In celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day, which falls on September 19 this year, Krispy Kreme is inviting customers to dress up in their finest pirate gear to receive one dozen free original glazed doughnuts. Qualifying costumes must include three pirate-themed items, such as a bandana or eye patch.

If individuals do not own such gear, they can simply visit a Krispy Kreme store to access the chain?s custom Snapchat geofilter, which can be used to digitally adorn their outfits.

The filter features a pirate hat, parrot and sword.

Consumers must then show their Snapchat selfie with the accompanying filter to any in-store associate to receive a free set of a dozen original doughnuts.

While countless quick service restaurant chains ? such as Dunkin? Donuts and Starbucks ? have employed themed geofilters to commemorate new product rollouts and holidays, few have offered consumers an enticing incentive to use them.

In this case, Krispy Kreme is offering a better incentive than a discount ? 12 original glazed doughnuts to each qualifying individual.

This activation marks the first time that Krispy Kreme has rolled out a national campaign on Snapchat.

The brand?s Talk Like a Pirate Day was initially conceived from a social trend in 2012, making this campaign an organic way to bring the idea full circle.

?Talk Like a Pirate Day has become one of our fans? favorite days of the year, and as our guests continue to use social sites to connect not only with their friends, but also with Krispy Kreme, we believe it will help drive more in-shop engagement on Talk Like a Pirate Day,? Ms. Roof said.

Consumers are also encouraged to show off their swashbuckling outfits on social media via the #TalkLikeaPirateDay and #KrispyKreme hashtags.

Additionally, fans can purchase two new pirate-themed doughnuts in the lead-up to Talk Like a Pirate Day. The Skull and Crossbones doughnut features chocolate and white icing with a skull candy piece, while the Pirate donut displays a pirate face.

Sprinkling up social strategies
Krispy Kreme is no stranger to introducing interactive-heavy social media campaigns that coincide with major holidays and events.

Earlier this year, the chain laced up its mobile sales strategy with a Super Bowl tie-in, creating two football-themed doughnuts and tracking their popularity on social media daily leading up to the big game (see story).

Krispy Kreme also boosted in-store traffic during last year?s Talk Like a Pirate Day with a new mobile site, called the ArrPhone, that offered virtual accessories for dressing up while driving interest in the Kreme Filled Pirate doughnut (see story).

?We?re expecting our fans to really enjoy this new way to score some free Krispy Kreme products, as they can use the filter to ?dress? like a pirate for a free dozen of original glazed doughnuts,? Ms. Roof said. ?Talk Like a Pirate Day was born out of a social trend several years ago, and we thought it was the perfect occasion in our shops to really launch into Snapchat with this campaign.?