Yesterday, Spencer Weinkle and I attended Hub Magazine’s Retail Experience Symposium, where marketing leaders in the retail space came to share triumphs, challenges, and vision for the future.
An early morning start doesn’t work for everyone, but what better way to start a conference than with coffee and doughnuts? Especially when said doughnuts are Krispy Kreme!
Yes, Krispy Kreme has great doughnuts — even better if they’re fresh from the store! — but customers aren’t just buying breakfast confections, they’re buying nostalgia. When we entered the venue and saw the white box covered in green dots, we knew what was inside: comfort, memories, warmth and JOY.
So, how do you “touch and enhance lives” through Original Glazed Doughnuts? How do you spread joy?
According to CMO Dwayne Chambers, it comes down to six brand values:
- Be Simple.
- Be Genuine.
- Be Fun.
- Be Shareable.
- Be Good-Hearted.
- Be Craveable.
And those values come to life in the stories we heard yesterday at Hub Live about what it “feels” to be a Krispy Kreme customer.
Chambers delivered example after example of the brand “delivering joy,” but the most poignant story talked about a father bringing his two kids to Krispy Kreme for the first time. Employees greeted the family with smiles and the trademark Krispy Kreme paper hats. It wasn’t about the doughnuts – it was the experience, the “feeling of being a better dad” for spending this time with his kids and bringing them joy.
Maybe it was his dad brought him to Krispy Kreme for the first time 30 years earlier and the memories all come back to him. It’s a deep feeling. It’s sentimental. For a 78 year old brand like Krispy Kreme, those moments are passed from one generation to the next. How far would you drive for that kind of joy?
Keep checking out the AG blog this week for more on the future of retail!