In the middle of writing a thought-provoking blog post about why, when it comes to social media, so many clients find tactics easy and strategy hard, something came across my RSS feed that immediately snagged my attention—Krispy Kreme is opening a store in Madison.
You need to understand one thing—I love Krispy Kreme with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. I can—and have—eaten an entire box of glazed, sugary, yeast-y donut goodness by myself. In one sitting. (To be fair, I was eating for two at the time.) Turn on the “Hot Now ” sign and my car will turn into the parking lot all by itself.
My obsession with Krispy Kreme goes way back. I grew up within walking distance of a KK store (here’s a picture of it in all its 1970s glory). We kids knew when the “Hot Now” sign was turned on just by the smell wafting through the little woods and fields which separated our neighborhood from the retail and restaurants on Route 1. It was a big treat to stop by on our way home from church on Sunday mornings, and selling Krispy Kreme donuts door-to-door on Saturdays was always our most successful class fundraising event.
Krispy Kreme was a Southeast-only tradition for a long time, certainly during my growing up years. During the 90s, the franchise expanded, opening stores in New York City and California. You could find Krispy Kreme donuts in grocery stores around the country (although they are never as good if they aren’t “Hot Now.”) A quick spin on the company website informs me that Krispy Kreme has expanded internationally, so should I ever choose to travel to Turkey, I can partake in donut-y goodness while browsing in a bazaar.
If you search “brand loyalty in children” or “cradle to grave marketing,” you can find a plethora of articles explaining why companies are so eager to market to children and establish brand awareness and loyalty at the youngest age possible. It’s clear that if nothing else, children have significant influence on their parents’ purchasing decisions. And some studies suggest that we are more likely to be loyal to brands we are exposed to in childhood—for example, using Crest instead of Colgate or eating Raisin Bran instead of Cheerios, because that’s what our moms bought.
That might explain the story one of my coworkers shared: A Krispy Kreme finally opened near her in northern Indiana, but it quickly went out of business. Apparently, northern Indiana is Dunkin’ Donuts territory—she hears “donuts” and thinks “Dunkin.”
Not me. Even though the new Madison Krispy Kreme is about 30 minutes away from my house, you can be sure I’ll make the drive one Saturday morning, drawn by the siren song of the faint buzzing coming from the “Hot Now” neon sign.
And I’ll bring my kids.
~ Valette
Labels: brand loyalty, cradle to grave branding, Krispy Kreme
White Castle makes me feel the same way- as a kid, it was one of the few things my dad and I could share without arguing.
And to this day, I prefer Tide because that’s what my mom used. Anything else feels wrong.