American Dairy Queen Corporation Increases Revenue by 138% Within CRM Using $.85 BLIZZARD Treat Campaign

With more than 7,000 DQ® restaurants in 20 countries, American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) has been delighting fans with its iconic soft serve since 1940 and its hot food meal offerings, first offered under the Brazier® name beginning in 1957 and now offered under DQ Grill & Chill®. Driven by a mission to create positive memories for all who touch DQ®, ADQ cultivates its dedicated fan base through every touchpoint. Whether it’s creating innovative new flavors for the Blizzard® of the Month or developing one of America’s Best Loyalty Programs, delighting fans is at the center of everything they do.

With an iconic and beloved consumer brand, ADQ knows how important a fan engagement strategy is for success. Previously, the US Digital Marketing team was managing CRM efforts in two unique platforms that made cross-channel integration nearly impossible. They chose Braze in 2021 for the platform’s strong data management capabilities, ability to scale for their audience size, and extensive partner ecosystem.

More Than Just Rewards: How ADQ Uses Braze to Boost Acquisition and Retention Within its Loyalty Program

Building and maintaining strong relationships with fans is key to any company’s long-term success. For ADQ, this means their loyalty program is at the heart of their overall marketing strategy. Loyalty members visit more frequently and spend more, are brand advocates, and are active fans for a longer period of time—all behaviors that have a compounding effect on revenue.

In March of 2022, ADQ launched a new app to support their loyalty program, DQ® Rewards, which includes exclusive app-only deals, the ability to earn DQ® points, and redeem these points for food and treats. Through this program, ADQ utilizes a cross-channel approach to deepen fan relationships with tailored communication and experiences, ultimately driving habit-forming behavior.

In 2023, ADQ shifted its focus to acquiring new fans and driving app downloads to broaden the reach of DQ® Rewards. Within CRM, this meant finding a way to incentivize members of the legacy program, the “Blizzard Fan Club,” to convert to DQ® Rewards. The best way to do this was to create another happy moment for DQ® fans that showcased the benefit of the loyalty program, while also keeping existing loyalty users engaged.

In August 2022, ADQ ran an A/B test to determine which would resonate best with their fans. They split their “Blizzard Fan Club” audience into four groups and each received a different welcome offer upon signing up for the new DQ® Rewards program.

After two weeks of testing, one offer—the $.85 Blizzard Treat—was the clear top performer, leading ADQ to use the concept for a full campaign to acquire new loyalty members via a national promotion in April 2023.

For the national promotion, ADQ marketing, field, and operations teams worked in partnership with the loyalty vendor to map out the campaign flow and functionality. A crucial element of this campaign was CRM support. ADQ created a Braze Canvas that included separate messaging strategies for each of their different audiences and used intelligent targeting to provide fans with their preferred method of communication.

Results: Increased Revenue, Signups, and App Downloads

The $.85 Blizzard Treat campaign was a huge success, generating revenue, DQ® Rewards signups, and app downloads. Overall, it delivered a 138% increase in revenue compared to average monthly CRM revenue, accounting for 20% of all CRM revenue year-to-date. ADQ also saw a 310% lift in loyalty signups compared with their average monthly CRM-attributed signups, accounting for 37% of all CRM-based signups year-to-date. Additionally, their initial email saw the highest revenue conversion rate of all emails year-to-date.

With this single campaign, ADQ achieved 90% of their app download goal for 2023.

Key Takeaways

• Better understand your consumers with testing. ADQ increased loyalty program signups—and generated more revenue to DQ® restaurants—by creating a campaign that delivered both fun and value to their fans.
• Loyal customers are valuable fans. Loyalty members generally spend more money, more often. By focusing on these fans, ADQ better met their yearly goals.

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