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Dunkin? Donuts celebrates mobile ordering rollout with 360-degree video experience

Dunkin? Donuts commemorated the national rollout of on-the-go ordering for its DD Perks loyalty members by dropping clues on its Snapchat account and creating a dedicated landing page for the new application, featuring a 360-degree video of the world?s fastest Dunkin? run.

The donut chain is tapping a popular mobile marketing strategy ? 360-degree video ? to ramp up excitement for its on-the-go ordering app and delineate the speed at which DD Perks members can now order and pick up their coffee and treats. Dunkin? Donuts teased the news over the weekend by taking to its Snapchat account to foreshadow the special announcement, which rolled out yesterday.

?Like most new dynamics, a marketer's success will be determined by their ability to utilize both the new technical capabilities offered by the new format, as well as enable the unique user behaviors enabled by these experiences ? as well as the marketers' ability to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns,? said Jon Burg, head of product marketing at AppsFlyer. ?In the case of 360-degree or immersive video, this means considering a variety of factors such as the device users are viewing the content on, the immersive nature of the experience, and the ability to explore by moving one's head, device or mouse on desktop.

?Brands that want to be aligned with innovative content experiences should take a serious look at 360-degree video, and consider creating high-quality experiments that will position their brands,? he said. ?This appears to be The New York Times' strategy, and it has certainly worked for them.?

Sprinkling up anticipation
Over the weekend, Dunkin? Donuts posted a Web site URL on its Snapchat live Story, alongside the date ?6.13.16.? No other information was revealed.

The mysterious Snap prompted followers to screenshot the post and visit the http://dunkindonuts.com/wtfast site the next day to discover the subject of the announcement.

To celebrate the national rollout of its on-the-go ordering service for DD Perks loyalty members, Dunkin? Donuts created a new landing page featuring a slew of new content, as well as download links for the iOS and Android versions of the app.

On the mobile responsive site, consumers can interact with a 360-degree YouTube video featuring BASE jumper and world?s fastest flying woman, Ellen Brennan. The two-minute clip enables mobile users to wiggle their smartphones and use their finger to slide across the screen to fully immerse themselves in the setting, the peak of a snowy mountain.

The video invites viewers to ?Join Ellen Brennan as she practices for the world?s fastest Dunkin? run.? It then pans to a helicopter depositing Ms. Brennan onto a mountaintop with an altitude of 8,346 feet.

Individuals can follow along as Ms. Brennan parachutes off the mountain.

The 360-degree video experience was designed to complement Dunkin? Donuts? new commercial for on-the-go ordering, which also features Ms. Brennan parachuting off a peak and grabbing a bag of Dunkin? Donuts? treats during her journey.

The new advertising spot culminates with a shot of Ms. Brennan?s white wingsuit, which is emblazoned with #WTFast, the hashtag for the campaign.

Another seven-minute YouTube video on the landing page shows a behind-the-scenes look at how Ms. Brennan?s stunt for the commercial was filmed.

Driving app downloads
Consumers interested in downloading the new Dunkin? Donuts app can do so by scrolling down the landing page and clicking on the App Store or Google Play Store button.

If an individual is not a DD Perks member ? which is a requirement for using the mobile ordering service ? he or she can sign up for the program by tapping the ?Enroll Now? button.

?A consistent brand look is key to a cohesive user experience,? said Katie Jansen, chief marketing officer of AppLovin. ?When brands launch new apps, having a deep link to the App Store or Google Play is a must. Social campaigns, buying installs work, too.

?If you buy enough installs, you can even get into the top charts,? she said. ?But don?t make this your goal: Top charts can lead to an increase in organic installs, but these users aren?t necessarily a good thing.

?You want to focus your acquisition efforts on getting users with high LTVs, who will deliver an ROI on your spend.?

The donut chain has been steadily rolling out its on-the-go ordering capability to a variety of United States regions, taking time to perfect the service before giving it a national rollout.

Dunkin? Donuts first brought mobile ordering to the metropolitan New York area in May while promoting the latest version of its app, showcasing how the chain barreled full steam ahead when it came to tackling Starbucks? stronghold in urban locations (see story).

Leveraging 360-degree video ? an up-and-coming mobile marketing trend ? to promote the service was a smart move by Dunkin? Donuts. Consumers searching for the ideal mobile distraction or piece of snackable content can easily interact with the short clip and explore a new geographic locale before downloading the ordering app.

Dunkin? Donuts has recently embarked on a mobile marketing blitz by introducing content specialized for each channel.

Earlier this month, Dunkin? Donuts employed a fresh twist on its promotional strategy that saw the brand host live and interactive content across all of its social channels prior to National Donut Day, underscoring how social strategies are getting bigger and more expansive (see story).

?Owned media ? including landing pages ? is often an incredibly powerful driver of loyal and engaged app users,? AppsFlyer?s Mr. Burg said. ?The brand's mobile site is a truly effective source of high-quality, ?free? app downloads.

?When using owned media, be sure to utilize measurable deferred deep links (such as OneLink). Deferred deep links will deliver the optimal user experience ? bringing each new user automatically to the right app store for his or her device, and allowing users to have the app open to the ideal welcome state, such as a coupon, specific content, promotion, etc.

?Of course, advertising a new app is a good way to acquire users quickly and build buzz, and will likely also lead to an increase in organic app downloads. It could be argued this practice is essential with the number of apps being launched every day, and should also accompany marketing efforts to garner attention from relevant players and influencers in the brand's industry, as well as trying to get the new app featured in the App stores.?