Energizing afternoons with a fun, fan-powered campaign to drive awareness & trial with office workers
Objective: Dunkin' Donuts' New England and Massachusetts franchise markets aimed to increase traffic during the afternoon and drive awareness and trial of their bakery sandwich product line. Our goal was to engage the “bored at work” demographic—office workers who were likely to take mid-day breaks by browsing social media. The solution needed fun, shareable, and result in product trial, all of which was made easier with the brand’s partnership with New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski as an influencer to create buzz.
Campaign Concept: "The Great DD Gronk Off"
We conceptualized "The Great DD Gronk Off," an interactive social media campaign encouraging fans to submit their own versions of "Gronking"—imitating Rob Gronkowski’s signature celebratory move. This contest allowed Dunkin' to connect with its audience through a fun, shareable activity that aligned with its campaign objectives: increasing brand visibility, engagement, and traffic to drive afternoon bakery sandwich sales.
Strategy: Engage the “Bored at Work” Audience
The core idea was to capture the attention of office workers, the demographic most likely to scroll through social media during their afternoon slump. I focused on creating a series of light-hearted, humorous video content featuring Gronk to maximize engagement with this audience.
Execution: Gronk's Pep Talks
To extend the campaign and continuously engage the target audience, I developed the idea of creating weekly Gronk Pep Talks, short video snippets where Gronkowski would deliver playful motivational speeches aimed at office workers. These “pep talks” tackled relatable themes like:
🏈 "Nailing your presentation"
🏈 "The importance of teamwork"
🏈 "Getting through the afternoon slump"
🏈 "Nailing your presentation"
🏈 "The importance of teamwork"
🏈 "Getting through the afternoon slump"
The light, humorous tone resonated with office employees who were looking for a quick break during their workday and encouraged them to share with coworkers, amplifying the campaign’s reach.
Each week of the promotion, a new Gronk Pep Talk was posted on Dunkin’s social channels—YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. This gave the campaign a fresh boost every week and kept users engaged, returning for the next video while promoting Dunkin's bakery sandwich offerings as the perfect mid-day pick-me-up.
Social Engagement & Promotion
The campaign was highly interactive, encouraging user-generated content (UGC) as fans submitted their own Gronk-inspired videos. In addition, the social media team promoted the campaign across Dunkin’s platforms, inviting users to share their Gronk moves, interact with Gronk’s weekly pep talks, and engage with the brand.
We also incorporated social media contests around the best Gronk videos, offering Dunkin’ rewards and merchandise to participants, which incentivized engagement and kept the momentum going.
Results
🏈 Increased afternoon traffic: The campaign drove a significant uptick in Dunkin’s bakery sandwich sales during the afternoon hours, successfully addressing the campaign's main objective.
🏈 High engagement: The social videos featuring Gronk's Pep Talks were shared widely among the target demographic, particularly office workers, generating thousands of shares, likes, and comments.
🏈 User-Generated Content: Fans submitted hundreds of "Gronking" videos, showcasing their creativity and love for Dunkin’s partnership with Gronk. This UGC gave the campaign a life of its own and helped spread the word organically.
Conclusion: The Great DD Gronk Off campaign was a fun, interactive way to engage Dunkin's core afternoon audience—office workers—while leveraging the popularity of Rob Gronkowski to create buzz around their bakery sandwich product line. By creating Gronk Pep Talks that spoke directly to the audience’s workday challenges, we built a lasting, memorable connection between Dunkin’ and their afternoon customers, driving both engagement and sales.
