Carving out Dunkin's pumpkin space in the market
Objective: Dunkin' Donuts sought to drive awareness and encourage trial of their fall seasonal lineup featuring their popular pumpkin-flavored products. The goal was to engage customers in a fun, interactive way that showcased the flavor and appeal of the fall menu while tapping into the spirit of the season—especially for their digital audience.
Creative Concept: Interactive Pumpkin Carving Rich Media
To capture the seasonal excitement of fall, I came up with the idea of using Rich Media banners that would not only showcase Dunkin’s pumpkin products but also engage users in a creative and playful way. The interactive experience began with a banner that displayed Dunkin' products being carved out of a pumpkin, aligning the branding with the fall season and the traditional activity of pumpkin carving.
Upon rollover, the banner would transform into an interactive pumpkin carving tool, allowing users to:
🎃 Select different pumpkin shapes and colors. 
🎃 Carve or scrape designs using virtual tools, offering a fun, customized experience.
Users could create their own pumpkin designs directly in the banner, increasing engagement and encouraging further exploration of Dunkin’s fall lineup. The ability to personalize the carving experience allowed users to feel more invested in the interaction, which deepened their connection with the brand.
While we initially explored the idea of enabling users to print out their custom pumpkin designs to use as templates for real pumpkins, the technology wasn’t advanced enough at the time to make this possible.
Execution: Appetite Appeal Flash Banners
In addition to the interactive experience, we developed beautiful, visually rich Flash banner ads that focused on the mouthwatering appeal of Dunkin’s pumpkin-flavored items. These ads combined strong visuals of the products with appetite appeal messaging, designed to evoke cravings for seasonal favorites like pumpkin coffee, donuts, and muffins.
Results: The campaign was a major success in:
🎃 Driving engagement: The interactive pumpkin carving banners generated high user interaction and dwell time, as people engaged with the tool and customized their creations.
🎃 Increasing awareness and trial: The eye-catching flash banners, combined with the engaging rich media, successfully raised awareness of the pumpkin menu and led to an increase in product trial.
🎃 Brand interaction: The fun, seasonal theme helped build a stronger connection with Dunkin's fall menu, resonating particularly well with customers looking to celebrate the flavors of fall.
🏆 Hatch Award for Rich Media
Conclusion: This campaign was a perfect example of how an interactive, seasonally-themed experience can drive engagement and elevate brand awareness. By allowing users to carve virtual pumpkins and creating beautiful, appetite-evoking ads, Dunkin' Donuts not only increased awareness of their fall pumpkin menu but also reinforced their position as a fun, relatable, and customer-focused brand.
CARVE YOUR OWN PUMPKIN Awards:
+ 2010 Hatch Awards for Rich Media
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