Create something that will get us "a lot of buzz."
Challenge: Dunkin' Donuts tasked us with creating buzz around the launch of their new Mountain Dew Coolatta, a unique collaboration between two iconic brands. The goal was to build excitement and drive awareness through a fun, interactive promotion that would resonate with both Dunkin' and Mountain Dew fans.
Insight & Strategy: By analyzing audience behaviors and trends, I discovered a shared love for community engagement and gamified experiences. The concept became clear: bridge the gap between social, digital, and real-world excitement with an immersive and interactive challenge. The idea? Fans could "UnFreeze" a Mountain Dew Coolatta trapped in a block of ice using an ice-blaster water gun—online!
The Concept - "UnFreeze It": Fans were invited to Dunkin’s Facebook page to register and select their ideal shots to blast the ice and free the Coolatta. The first 600 daily participants were chosen to fire the virtual gun, and the process was streamed live on Facebook, bringing the thrill of the game directly to the audience. Every day at 11 a.m., we fired up the blaster, giving fans real-time action as their chosen shots were fired.
Execution: We built everything from scratch, setting up the ice block and water blasters in a warehouse, and streaming the event live to create a seamless experience. The contest was promoted through in-store standees, email blasts, social posts, and PR efforts, including an exclusive with Mashable.com—all without any paid media.
Results: The campaign far exceeded expectations, attracting over 130,000 game entries—a staggering 700% more than Dunkin' anticipated. With over 44 million Facebook impressions generated from shares, likes, and comments, and more than 8 million PR impressions, the campaign became a viral hit. Even more impressively, over 80% of users returned to play again, showing how deeply the concept resonated with the audience.
Dunkin's Chief Global Marketing & Innovation Officer, John Costello, praised the campaign, saying, “By combining the real world and the virtual world in our unique 'UnFreeze It' promotion, we highlighted our shared commitment to thrilling our loyal guests in exciting, innovative ways."
The campaign also received the following recognition from the industry
🏆 2011 MITX Finalist: Consumer Goods
🏆 2011 MITX Finalist: Games and Branded Entertainment
🏆 2011 Hatch Merit
🏆 2011 OMMA Award Finalist
🏆 2011 MITX Finalist: Consumer Goods
🏆 2011 MITX Finalist: Games and Branded Entertainment
🏆 2011 Hatch Merit
🏆 2011 OMMA Award Finalist
UNFREEZE IT Awards:
+ 2011 MITX Finalist
+ 2011 Hatch Merit
+ 2011 OMMA Award Finalist
+ 2011 Hatch Merit
+ 2011 OMMA Award Finalist