Sample Gold Quill Case Study
Entrant’s Name: Estelle Saltzman
Organization: Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn
Division/Category: II. Media Relations/Small Agency
Time Period: November 1999 - March 2000
Entry Title: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ Northern California Debut
BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY
After more than 60 years of cooking, glazing and selling Southerners one of their
most beloved snacks, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts decided to expand nationally during
the late 1990s. In March of 2000, that expansion arrived in Northern California
through franchisee Golden Gate Doughnuts LLC. But before then, little was known
about the doughnuts in the region, and because Krispy Kreme rarely advertises,
the opening of its first store in the San Francisco Bay area community of Union
City would rely entirely on public relations to establish its presence and
drive sales. Meanwhile, Krispy Kreme had gained a certain cachet appeal
throughout America as the delicious treat of choice among celebrities, ranging
from Madonna to then-President Bill Clinton. And for those who had tried Krispy
Kremes, there was not only the memory of an unforgettably tasty doughnut, but
of a fun experience enjoying what amounted to edible Americana. Those factors -
combined with the residual effects of store opening campaigns in New York City,
Las Vegas, and Los Angeles - wrapped Krispy Kreme in a glow of national
curiosity. As Golden Gate Doughnuts’ newly hired public relations agency, we
knew that if we could tap into that glow and focus it on our client’s new
store, we could deliver the most successful debut in Krispy Kreme’s history.
ENTRANT’S ROLE IN PROJECT
As the team leader for the Krispy Kreme project, senior vice president Estelle
Saltzman oversaw day-to-day activities with senior account manager Gary
Zavoral. The six member team produced press releases, coordinated press events,
led media tours, and coordinated activities with the franchisee client and
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ corporate headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
Encompassing two major metropolitan areas and a multitude of satellite cities, small towns,
and communities, the San Francisco Bay Area is home to a culturally and
economically diverse population. Yet, the appeal of Krispy Kremes crosses all
demographic boundaries and ages. Our audience was quite simply as many people
as we could possibly reach, through newspapers and broadcasters, in both the
San Francisco and San Jose news media markets.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Our objective was to create such excitement over the opening of the first Northern
California Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store that it would break the national
opening-week sales record for the entire 150-store-and-growing national chain.
The record up to that time was $253,000, which was considered unbreakable. In
achieving that objective, we ultimately wanted to generate as much momentum as
possible for sales at the new store and for future stores planned in other
Northern California locations.
SOLUTION/OVERVIEW
We needed to build anticipation with consistent coverage throughout the Bay Area
over several months. In essence, that meant approaching a variety of different
media outlets and packaging—and repackaging—Krispy Kreme’s Northern
California arrival as a compelling news feature idea. At the same time, we had
to attract members of both the San Jose and San Francisco news media markets
for an event that editors and producers on either end could have written off as
being on the fringe of their core area of coverage. Obviously, it was made
clear that this was a regional event not only for the Bay Area, but for all of
Northern California: the arrival of what was by any definition a nation-wide
craze, a fast food phenomenon, yet one that offered a highly memorable personal
experience - your first hot, fresh Krispy Kreme Doughnut. The more people
received this message, the more they would want to see—and taste—for
themselves what all the fuss was about. Success wasn’t a matter of if, but of
how much, hard work we invested in media relations. So, starting in November
1999 our strategies included:
- A groundbreaking event with an entertaining angle to entice the news outlets to
cover it and advance the store opening.
- A media tour with the area developer. We brought a complete, colorful press kit
and plenty of Krispy Kreme doughnuts flown in fresh from Los Angeles to introduce
the media to the product and capture their interest—and, hopefully, appetite.
- Several press releases and media advisories with intriguing headlines and leads,
inviting the media to cover the doughnut store before, the day of and after the
grand opening.
- A pre-opening VIP event for the community, longtime fans of the doughnut chain,
and the media. This gave the media an opportunity to preview the craze and
interview fans, and it created a buzz in the community.
- Following Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation’s own marketing plan, a “doughnut drop”
introduced the product to drive-time radio and TV hosts, resulting in numerous
on-air mentions to commuters and morning listenership.
IMPLEMENTION AND CHALLENGES
Our initial phone calls to the media disclosed a lack of knowledge about the
doughnut chain and disinterest in covering our first event, the 30 November 1999
groundbreaking. To create a buzz among the media and the public, we conducted a
media tour and planted a business feature story in the 200,000-circulation
Alameda Newspaper Group, which includes the Oakland Tribune. However, there
still remained little media interest in covering the groundbreaking, so we
enlisted the help of the Union City Police to deliver doughnuts to the site.
This visual attracted the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News,
two TV news stations, and received national coverage on “The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno.”
Before the opening, we kept Krispy Kreme in the news
by writing and distributing press releases on management hires; writing, laying
out and distributing a newsletter called "The Golden Gate Doughnuts Gazette,"
which included updates on the grand opening; working with the community to
identify a local charitable organization to donate a portion of the opening day
proceeds; and procuring a resolution by the City Council of Union City that
recognized Krispy Kreme’s value to the community as an employer and good
corporate citizen. We also pitched radio stations with the opportunity to
perform exclusive live remotes during the opening week, at no cost to our
client. Four radio stations signed up and aired the remotes for free.
Two weeks prior to the opening, visits to all Bay Area TV stations and daily
newspapers were conducted. Press releases and media advisories were issued
daily, providing the media with story ideas and updates. Three major news TV
stations carried extensive pre-opening stories - two of them were continuing
features on their morning shows - and the two daily newspapers in San Francisco
ran large features prior to opening day. Along with the media deliveries, we
took hundreds of dozens of doughnuts to the local business community,
introducing them to the product. On the Saturday prior to the opening, Krispy
Kreme held a "Tasting Time" party for longtime fans and friends, attracting
more than 1,000 invitees. Two other major daily newspapers covered the event,
including the San Jose Mercury News.
Early in the morning of opening day—Tuesday, 21 March 2000—we packed four vehicles with doughnuts and delivered dozens to every TV and radio station with live morning hosts, resulting in numerous mentions during the crucial morning drive time. When the store opened at 5:30 a.m., there was already a line of more than 100 people waiting to be among the first to eat a Bay Area Krispy Kreme. All of the television news cameras were on site to cover the event live, as were most of the daily newspapers.
Coverage lasted throughout the day, and the lines were so long (a continuous two-hour wait) that our client actually asked us to stop the media from covering the opening day.
On the second day, we held an obstacle course event, which drew four media participants and was the subject of a major feature on the cable news channel, BayTV. Over the next couple of months, every major TV news station returned to the store for fun stories such as having their hosts serve customers, or to compete in frosting races. During this time, Krispy Kreme also entered into a partnership with a local food bank, Centro DeServicios, to donate product on a daily basis and to hire workers through the food bank’s employment service. The creation of this partnership received a number of hits in newspapers, as well as coverage by two TV news stations when we held a press conference to announce it.
The entire campaign was part of a fee of $3,500 a month and an extra $8,000 for the opening, for a total of $25,500 during the five months leading to the store opening.
MEASURING/EVALUATION
With opening-week sales of $298,000, the Union City Krispy Kreme shattered the national record. The store continued to be one of the top-producing sellers for Krispy Kreme doughnuts throughout the year. Because of the success of the first store in Union City, the local Krispy Kreme developer was named the Franchise of the Year by the corporate office.
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