Krispy Kreme is lacing up its mobile sales strategy with a Super Bowl tie-in, creating two football-themed donuts and tracking their popularity on social media daily leading up to the big game.

Krispy Kreme is honoring the two participating teams in Super Bowl 50, the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, by enabling fans to show their support by purchasing donuts dipped in orange or blue icing. The brand is encouraging customers to join the competitive spirit by tracking how many units of each team-themed donut it has sold each day until February 7.

“For Krispy Kreme donut lovers, the touchdown treat should add some good fun in days ahead of game,” said Michael Becker, managing partner at mCordis. “And on game day, for those that are having a party, themed donuts could certainly encourage someone to get donuts for their game-day dessert over something else.”

Hiking up sales
Passionate fans of the Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos may be inspired to outdo their opposing supporters by purchasing their team’s designated donut as frequently as possible. Participating Krispy Kreme locations will offer the orange or blue-adorned pastries each day until the Super Bowl, which takes place on February 7.

The blue football donut matches the Panthers’ team colors, and is topped with white icing. The Broncos’ orange donut features decorative laces consisting of navy blue icing.

To drive sales of these treats, Krispy Kreme has transformed its Twitter account into a Super Bowl-centric hub. The brand is hosting a Donut Bowl, in which followers are asked to vote in favor of its Original Glazed or Glazed Kreme Filled donuts. It has already garnered nearly 2,000 votes.

Additionally, fans who purchase the football-themed pastries are asked to show their support by tweeting with the #ORGvsBLU and #KrispyKreme hashtags. Krispy Kreme will keep track of the amount of units purchased and report the results each day.

This could promote a friendly competition between Panthers and Broncos enthusiasts, as they attempt to out-buy each other in donut sales.

“The strategy Krispy Kreme is using to align its products with the Super Bowl is a really smart way of helping to increase sales,” said Cara Scharf, president of Fearless Media. “People all over the country will be attending Super Bowl parties.

“While these people are contemplating what to bring to their host for the day, Krispy Kreme is giving itself an edge up on competitors by adding a theme to its product and providing consumers an additional reason to purchase this particular product for their party,” she said.

Krispy Kreme kicked off the campaign by posting a colorful photo depicting the football-themed treats, inviting followers to pre-order dozens of donuts in time for game-day parties.

This strategy is likely to result in an uptick of sales for the bakery chain, particularly among hardcore football fans seeking to stock up on desserts for their Super Bowl gatherings.

“As long as the event falls within the general promise of the brand, marketers can get a lot of mileage by introducing new or themed offerings alongside media-rich events,” mCordis’ Mr. Becker said. “There are few, if any, events in the United States that draw as much attention as the Super Bowl, and Krispy Kreme’s treatment makes perfect sense in the context of the game.

“Regardless of which team you side for, there is a Krispy Kreme donut to satiate your desire.”

Consumers may call or visit their local Krispy Kreme store to place orders, or use the brand’s app to find nearby locations and pop in for a hot-off-the-press pastry.

Krispy Kreme is also well-poised to enjoy a surge in social media followers as the campaign progresses.

Icing up mobile
The food marketer is building on previous mobile-centric initiatives to fuel sales and garner new customers.

Last month, Krispy Kreme brought bar codes to life with a scannable mobile video that users could show at a store for a discount, exhibiting the possibilities for combining video and mobile to drive bricks-and-mortar activations (see story).

The brand has also tapped into mobile marketing to promote its donuts alongside national themed days.

It ramped up to boost in-store traffic last September with a new mobile microsite, called the ArrPhone, that offered virtual accessories for dressing up on International Talk Like a Pirate Day while driving interest in the Kreme Filled Pirate donut (see story).

“The way Krispy Kreme is amplifying this campaign using social media is an effective way of reaching a mass audience, beyond its already existing social media follower base,” Fearless Media’s Ms. Scharf said. “By using both a branded hashtag, as well as a Super Bowl hashtag, this will successfully insert the Krispy Kreme brand into conversations happening over the course of the game.

“Instead of just engaging with its followers, it is reaching a new and wider audience by having its branded content (the color icing on its donuts) appear in the news feeds of users who are not following the brand already.”