[Interview] Amiteshwar Singh, Marketing Head, Krispy Kreme Throws Light on Their Social Media Strategy

India is considered to be a well-known market for food products and confectionery brands. A large number of companies have invested here and reaped great returns on their investments.

The latest entrant in the Indian market is an internationally renowned brand called Krispy Kreme which specializes in coffee, donuts, bagels and bakery products.The brand aims at targeting Indian audience with its unique social media strategy and proper understanding of  consumer behavior.

In this interview, Mr. Amiteshwar Singh, Marketing Head, Krispy Kreme India, talks to us about their scope and development as a brand in the Indian market, their marketing strategies, and the importance of social media activities that can have a lasting impact on the minds of Indian consumers.

It’s still early days for Krispy Kreme in India, so how do you plan use social media to attract customer base in India?

The growing usage of Social Media and smartphones in India is a known fact. The present generation is spending much more time on these two medium along with traditional media. We, at Krispy Kreme, understand the importance of this incredible transition and are working on connecting with the audience through all available channels, hence the emphasis on Social Media.

Internet access through smartphones and viral communication through Social media largely facilitates the dispersal of new, exciting news and to catch the target audience’s attention. A 360 degree mix of all Social Media channels with a fun, engaging twist remains at the centre of our focus to attract the audience and to stay connected with them, even after they have experienced Krispy Kreme for the first time.

Besides Facebook and Twitter which other social media channel do you plan to use?

Instagram, Foursquare and YouTube are the other primary channels we have deployed for enhanced engagement with the audience. Handheld devices, like Tabs and Phones, are the future and the easiest accessories for reaching out. Instant Instagram uploads, Foursquare check-in offers & reviews give us and Krispy Kreme lovers the opportunity to immediately connect with each other while being present at the store itself!

What are your social media objectives?

• To initiate direct, crisp communication with our audience through fun yet informative posts about our products, new offers, services.
• To create a buzz in the audience through our engagement exercise updates like contests, on-ground visits, the doughnut theatre, doughnut drops before new store openings and much more.
• To connect and stay in touch with our customers through Social Media engagement.

Krispy Kreme has a good social media presence internationally. How do you plan to leverage the same in India?

Having a considerable presence internationally and a robust back-end enables us with multiple advantages compared to completely new entrants. Added to existing recognition, it also provides us with extensive data on understanding customer reaction to our various promotions/ offerings which have been launched in other countries prior to us.

How do you plan to engage/involve your customers via social media?

• Prompt interaction of the audience with our Social Media team addressing good reviews/ complaints/ questions and feedback.
• Regularly keeping the audience posted with our regular and special promotional products/ special offers/ contests.
• Social Media based contests like Instagram contests and Foursquare reviews to allow our customers to establish brand affinity and connection.

How do you measure the outcome of your social media efforts?

Thanks to our existing international social media presence, we have access to customized third party softwares which enable us to track and analyze audience engagement and respond to our various channels.

Are your social media strategies in India influenced by your social media strategies internationally?

Yes, to a certain extent. But we understand the basic cultural differences in India compared to other countries. Our strategy keeps into account our countries Social behavior, ethics and engagement preferences and is designed accordingly.

Being in the food and beverage sector how important do you think it is to keep your social media campaign visually appealing?

Visual appeal is very important. Understanding basic customer behavior, we realize the importance of human response to visual stimuli. In the F&B Industry, visual appeal is the first step of connecting to the audience, even before smell and taste. So we ensure that all our communication is visually appealing, beginning from fun, eye-catchy layouts to aesthetically shot food items.

You are present in some selected cities in India, so how important is it to keep your strategies aligned to your customer base in those particular areas and how do you manage to do that?

Krispy Kreme International operates in India through multiple franchisee channels. Hence, separate regions run and manage separate Social Media operations as well.

Scores of F&B brands have started investing more into social media as a marketing channel. Do you have a separate social media marketing budget for yourself?

Yes we do. Social Media marketing is one of the most important parts of our brand development strategy and has a full-fledged budget assigned to it.

How do you go about creating the content strategy for your social media channels?

We have a dedicated Social Media Agency partner that aligns and helps us develop all our Social Media activities. All content strategy is generated based on the basic brand policies and marketing objectives of the company, which are further fine-tuned by the agency in tandem with the marketing team and the agency’s expertise.

Are there any social media tools or application you use to keep a track of your social media efforts? If yes, which are those applications?

Third party software, developed internationally, is used to track our social media activities and respond to the same.

How do you plan to increase the footfalls using social media as a channel?

We are focusing on promotions that emphasize the connection between on-ground and online experiences. Promoting attractive social offers online help us translate online footfall on-ground. Alternatively, special offers running on Social media are promoted at the store to motivate our store customers to engage with us online. It’s a healthy mix of both.