Dunkin’ Donuts is putting a new twist on a seasonal sweepstakes by driving consumers to discover personality traits correlating to their favorite flavor of iced tea via an interactive quiz and encouraging fans to share their results on social media for a chance to win a year’s supply of iced tea.

Dunkin’ Donuts has released an interactive infographic on a dedicated microsite, labeled Iced Personali-TEA, to help fans receive insights into character traits based on their preferred flavor of tea. After consumers receive their result, they are encouraged to click the share buttons for Twitter or Facebook, with those who post on Twitter using the #DDIcedTeaSweeps hashtag becoming eligible to win a year’s supply of the summery beverages.

“Running sweepstakes and interactive social programs allows us to not only speak to fans, but also offer them an experience they can quickly share with their friends, right on their mobile device,” said Scott Hudler, vice president of global consumer engagement at Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc., Canton, MA. “For this reason, we made sure our Iced Personali-TEA infographic, like all social promotions, was designed so that our fans have the exact same pleasant experience on their mobile device as they would have on a desktop.

“Many of our fans engage with our social promotions right on their mobile devices, so we look to match our prizing to this action. For instance, we often award sweepstakes winners with mGifts, or mobile DD Cards, which can be used in the Dunkin’ Donuts Mobile App and the DD Perks Loyalty program.”

Seasonal twist
Quick service chains are well-suited to leveraging seasonal promotions to excite consumers and offer new deals. Dunkin’ Donuts is taking this strategy one step further by including a quiz-like element in its campaign to further connect with fans and provide relevant insights to their personalities.

The brand has previously rolled out many social media sweepstakes, but has not tapped such an interactive aspect before.The beverage marketer sought help from behavioral food expert and Food-ology founder Juliet A. Boghossian to develop the personality trait responses related to consumers’ favorite ways of consuming iced tea.

When consumers visit the quiz, they are presented with five options to choose from, including Iced Tea Lemonade, Fruit Flavored Iced Tea, Iced Green Tea, Sweet Tea and Unsweetened Iced Tea. Each choice comes with a personality type and a short description of character traits.

For example, customers who select Sweet Tea as their usual beverage of choice are Social Butterflies, stylish trendsetters with busy calendars and a strong zest for life. Meanwhile, Unsweetened Iced Tea drinkers are Disciplined Realists, with a knack for thriving in fast-paced environments and methodical approaches to accomplishing goals.

Consumers interested in psychology will likely be fueled to take the one-question quiz and can easily click the share button to disperse their findings.

Fans can locate the infographic on Dunkin’ Donuts’ Facebook and Twitter feeds, as well as http://www.ddicedpersonali-tea.com/quiz/.

Interested participants have until August 14 to post their own Personali-TEA type on Twitter for a chance to win a year’s supply of Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Tea.

Social media awareness
Dunkin’ Donuts is aiming to ramp up awareness of regional iced tea options as well, highlighting fan-favorites such as the Southeast region’s Sweet Tea Lemonade and the Northeast’s Iced Green Tea.

“Manufacturing social buzz is a perennial challenge,” said Gary Schwartz, president and CEO of Impact Mobile, New York. “However, Dunkin’ Donuts’ campaign which focuses on the redistribution of canned social content doesn’t go far enough.

“Brands need to include the consumer in how the brand ‘narrative’ is built. The question is how brands like Dunkin’ Donuts can move from social redistribution of content to leveraging SnapStories and other native UGC to help organically support the brand story.”

Consumers who share their personality results across Twitter and Facebook may also unknowingly inspire their friends and family to try a new Dunkin’ flavor, making it a smart strategy for the marketer to leverage.

Dunkin’ Donuts has previously engaged in social media blitzes to commemorate seasonal products and current events.

In May, it addressed consumers’ summertime infatuation with baseball, cool drinks and free stuff in a mobile game giving residents of Massachusetts and New Hampshire a chance to win daily prizes by “scratching” off a virtual Mango Passion Fruit Coolatta drink (see story).

The brand also drove social media engagement that month by celebrating the birth of Britain’s Royal Baby with a Twitter sweepstakes that let customers Tweet who in their life deserves to be treated like royalty in exchange for a chance to win a trip for two to England (see story).

“Every year, our guests show such an enormous amount of anticipation and excitement for the return of seasonal beverages,” Dunkin’ Brands’ Mr. Hudler said. “As the weather changes, people naturally begin to crave comforting and traditional tastes and scents we grow up associating with the season, such as refreshing iced tea during the summer.

“This year, we wanted match that enthusiasm with a fun, interactive social campaign for guests to celebrate a summertime favorite, share their love for Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Tea and enter for a chance to win free Iced Tea for a year.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York