Why Krispy Kreme Isn’t Worried About the Haters

It’s National Donut Day, which means free donut offers abound from the usual suspects, including Dunkin’, Krispy Kreme and Tim Hortons. (This year, even frozen pizza brand DiGiorno is getting in on the action with what it calls a “DiGiornut.”) Brands capitalizing on lesser-known holidays like Donut Day dates back at least six years, when Adweek first reported on National Dumpling Day. (Since then, we’ve covered National Coffee Day, National Ice Cream Day and National Day of Unplugging, to name a few.) Typically, brand activations for these moments give away freebies to generate some brand affinity. But this year, National Donut Day isn’t just about free donuts and pizza-donut hybrids. It’s also about one brand—Krispy Kreme—doubling down on a free donut offer after inciting what the Washington Post described as a “Twitter war.” In March, Krispy Kreme's vaccination incentive—a free glazed donut—quickly attracted criticism from doctors and the medical community, including former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. That criticism then triggered accusations of fat shaming, and the Twitter war raged on. (Also drawing some social media criticism was the brand's provision for unvaccinated consumers to receive free donuts and coffee on Mondays from March 29 to May 24.) Krispy Kreme has given away more than 1.5 million donuts since March 22. That figure will surely increase on June 4 as vaccinated customers are eligible for not one, but two free donuts. A Krispy Kreme spokesperson did not comment on the social media controversy. ‘A universal truth among consumers’ Doubling down on free donuts is a bold brand move. Krispy Kreme clearly knows who opposes its free donut campaign now, which means there’s more brand risk. “They're clearly taking that risk thinking that the efforts of pushing vaccinations right now in the short term outweigh that risk,” said Zach Weinberg, vp of ecommerce at performance marketing network Reprise Digital. “I think also from a larger narrative, we have to consider that the whole country just went through this together, and certain companies who are willing to take a risk and be a bit of a trendsetter are willing to tie their name to furthering the vaccination effort. Overall, you can't really fault anyone for doing that.” Whether it benefits those brands and how they evaluate said benefits is a separate issue, Weinberg said. “They're looking for the right moment to engage where their brand has a narrative that ties into some other narrative that is, let's say, a universal truth among consumers," he said. "That universal truth right now happens to be 'let's get vaccinated.'” Gartner research from May 2021 found 9% of respondents were uncertain about how willing they were to get vaccinated, while 12% said they were willing but were waiting for a more convenient time. Gartner's Tim Barlow noted vaccination promotions—especially in aggregate—may be helpful in convincing that latter group “to make the move.” Since Krispy Kreme was one of the first brands to roll out a vaccine incentive, the National Donut Day campaign that followed “feels like a way to maybe regenerate some buzz," added Barlow. Forrester analyst Sucharita Kodali thinks any negative reaction to the Covid promotion won’t dim enthusiasm for the double donut promotion starting June 4. “People like free anything,” she said. “Especially with teens now getting the vaccine, this should be even more popular.” Krispy Kreme Wants You to Enjoy a Glazed Doughnut With Your ‘I Voted’ Sticker

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Why Krispy Kreme Isn’t Worried About the Haters

It's doubling down on a controversial free donut offer

Lisa Lacy

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Lisa Lacy