DQ competes in a highly competitive category among titans like McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s. And while the big dogs outspend DQ, DQ has something money can’t buy: the hearts of consumers. In a recent Morning Consult survey, DQ was voted the “#22 Most Loved Brand in America,” ahead of Disney and Chik-Fil-A. The DQ brand is built around a simple idea of making people happy, so every year, DQ aims to find more happy moments for families through food and treat.
The promotion of the DQ Summer Blizzard Menu is an opportunity for the brand to make a deeper connection with this audience all summer long. The brand’s objective is to be more than a place families come to fill up on food and treat, but a place that can help build connections and inspire memories through real experiences. Which is exactly what millennials are craving - 72 percent of millennials prefer to spend more money on experiences than on material things. And millennial parents bring that thinking to how they connect with their family. As parents, they are looking for inspiration, guidance and solutions to carve out time to create moments.
This summer, DQ set out to bring happy experiences to families everywhere. Literally.
Subscription boxes are everywhere, for all sorts of products. But all they really are is more stuff. So DQ took this familiar subscription box format, and flipped it to be more than just a box of material things,, but an experience for the whole family.
Introducing the DQ Box of Happy, a first-of-its kind subscription box filled not with swag, but experiences aimed at creating happy family moments. Each box was uniquely designed to not only hold happy products, but to actually transform itself into the epicenter of a full-family, happy-filled summer experience. Made even happier with a Blizzard in hand.
The first Box of Happy, a Family Camp-In Box, helped families explore the great outdoors in their own living rooms. The box itself transformed into a nonflammable, family-room-safe, campfire. The fire comes to life when Mom or Dad is prompted to use their smartphone to illuminate the flames via a campfire video DQ created. This not only guaranteed a “roaring fire,” but also took the focus away from phones, and put it squarely on family– an analogue experience heightened by tech, instead of competing with it.
As families gather around the glowing campfire, they embarked on a shadow puppet adventure with the help of an instructional story book crafted to be read with full family participation. The Box of Happy also included flashlights, playing cards, and even a “forest floor blanket” where the camp-in can take place.
The second Box of Happy transformed backyards into Water Parks. Our waterproof box contained content made for a fun, splash-filled day outside with the whole family - and had a sprinkler built inside with an actual garden hose connector. The water park paired with the Summer Blizzard Splashdown: a collection of water-based activities and challenges for the whole family to try while playing in the Water Park Box sprinkler.
The final Box of Happy made the journey as happy as the destination- the Road Trip Box. This box inspired families to drop their devices, and interview each other with DQ Memory Making Cards. A deck of cards that prompted stories and actions, all to be captured on your DQ DIY camcorder. A camera built from the actual box. Plus, road trip postcards, and a flat Stanley-inspired Blizzard game also kept the fun going mile after mile.
Box of Happy not only created real experiences bringing families together, but brought DQ into the social conversation and resulted in 5.8 million+ total impressions. Fan unboxing videos, as well as content showing the boxes in action, flooded DQ social channels. Not only creating fun, shareworthy content, but gave mom and dad new ideas to bring family together during the summer.
And if you were a family that didn’t get in on a subscription box before they sold out? DQ had you covered. DQ drove fans who didn’t receive boxes to free online activities, downloads and a DQ Spotify playlist through monthly content so they too could be in on the fun.
