A look at Krispy Kreme’s innovative marketing strategy

Getting attention is the name of the game in the ultra-competitive restaurant industry, and Krispy Kreme has been doing quite a bit of that lately.

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Dave Skena, the global chief brand officer for the doughnut chain.

Skena’s job is to get attention for a well-known brand and the company has been doing some interesting things lately to accomplish that, sometimes taking a few risks in the process. That includes last year’s notable vaccine promotion, offering a free doughnut to customers who could offer proof of vaccination.

He discusses the company’s numerous other marketing promotions, such as one offering customers a dozen doughnuts for the price of a gallon of gas. He talks about the chain’s overall strategy and the challenges of marketing a brand that is evolving into an omnichannel concept that sells doughnuts in a lot more places than just a shop.