Integrated Path to Purchase Activation
Campaign: Dunkin’ Run
Brand: Dunkin’ Donuts (Inspire Brands)
Agency/Solution Providers: Arc Worldwide, MSL Group, Anomaly NY, Artists Equity
Facing declining store traffic and sales at a time of rising inflation, Inspire Brands’ Dunkin’ Donuts needed to rejuvenate its brand. A new value-based program — named after the vernacular of “going on a Dunkin’ run” for a morning coffee or an afternoon snack — was designed to increase hot/iced coffee unit sales while expanding food purchases attached to drink orders.
The Dunkin’ Run platform featured an all day, every day offer for customers to add a $1 donut, $2 snack item or $3 breakfast sandwich with the purchase of a medium or larger size coffee. To support the national launch, a two-phased marketing plan started with on-premise merchandising in the form of exterior signage and menu board content.
Phase two kicked off with a 2023 Super Bowl spot featuring Dunkin’ celebrity superfan Ben Affleck. The 30-second spot, “Something’s Ben Brewing,” featured Affleck working the drive-thru and urging unsuspecting guests to “take the Dunkin’ Run,” ending in a cameo from Jennifer Lopez. Post-Super Bowl, exterior restaurant signage and additional paid advertising — including OOH boards, organic social, radio and digital display — continued to drive traffic.
On the strength of the program, Dunkin’ Donuts recorded 12 of 21 weeks of positive traffic in 2023, compared to three weeks in all of 2022. Dunkin’ Run is contributing to the highest-ever average weekly sales in the brand’s history, with stores recording more than $26,000 per location per week in May 2023, as well as the highest-ever average ticket. About 44.5% of transactions year to date included both food and a beverage, up from 43% in 2022.
Campaign: A Salud to Summer with #ModeloTime Drops
Brand: Modelo Especial (Constellation Brands)
Retail Partners: Publix, Kroger, ABSCO, Walmart and 7-Eleven
Agency/Solution Provider: Upshot
Multicultural Millennials, a key cohort of the Modelo beer brand, like to take an occasional break from the grind while sharing personal moments that combine success and enjoyment on social media. When these consumers started an organic movement to do exactly that at #ModeloTime, Modelo in turn saw an opportunity to grow the platform into a stronger asset for the brand.
Thus, #ModeloTime Drops was born. The brand introduced a campaign featuring custom, limited-edition collaborations that promised a “salud” to all things summer.
Inspired by Millennials’ interest in spontaneous “drops culture,” Modelo’s unique offerings created an exciting opportunity for consumers to enjoy the summer season. As the name suggests, they came with little or no warning, building anticipation and desire around both the products and the brand. Weekly drops featuring new merchandise collaborations — from gear and music to recipes and unique offers — took place every Friday at 3 p.m. to kick off the weekend and enhance the beer drinker’s #ModeloTime activities all summer long.
In addition, Modelo partnered with Takis, a Mexican tortilla chip brand, on a custom vending machine drop for additional retail holiday display opportunities in July. A variety of paid media and shopper media supported the effort.
Modelo achieved a 15% year-over-year increase in sales and a 10% increase in unit sales for the campaign period. The brand saw an 11% increase in distributor uptake of the program versus 2021. It also secured display activity with key account partners like Publix, Kroger, ABSCO, Walmart and 7-Eleven in a combined 5,200-plus stores nationwide.
Campaign: Neutrogena SkinU x Walmart
Brand: Neutrogena (Kenvue)
Retail Partner: Walmart
Agency/Solution Providers: AMP, Golin
The skincare category can be a bit of a conundrum for the Gen Z and Millennial shopper. She cares about quality and staying on top of trends, and often looks to others for advice before making a purchase. But she is not always happy with her skincare results.
Collectively, these young “experimental strivers” were the focus of Neutrogena’s SkinU back-to-school program at Walmart. Anchoring the effort was a livestream event via TalkShopLive, featuring Neutrogena scientists who shared their expertise for how to achieve healthy, good-looking skin. The Walmart team also partnered with Neutrogena to create educational content specifically for treating stubborn acne and hydro boost under the SkinU platform.
Kenvue’s Neutrogena deployed paid social and Walmart Connect media to drive awareness of the shoppable live event with Dr. Mamina, a dermatology influencer with 1 million followers on TikTok. The brand also built a SkinU hub on Walmart.com with exclusive content and products to purchase to ensure a seamless shopping experience for Walmart customers.
To leverage its sponsorship of the Walmart Wellness Days community education program, Neutrogena offered stubborn acne patches and tip cards with a QR code driving back to the SkinU hub on Walmart.com.
The SkinU x Walmart livestream generated more than 20,000 views, which was 67% higher than the average for a beauty livestream with Walmart. Stubborn acne items that were featured in the livestream saw a 20% lift in sales, and 20% of the buyers were new to the acne category. Walmart Connect media generated a ROAS of $18.64 on featured items and a 29% new buyer rate, equating to 152,231 new buyers.
