Contest asks fans to design their own doughnut

Though several of the contests we’ve written about in recent months have had unconventional purposes—filling a job, for example, or launching a new car—there’s no denying that they’re still an effective tool for good, old-fashioned promotion. To wit: aiming to celebrate “6 dozen years” of Krispy Kreme, the global doughnut chain is holding a contest that will allow winners to design their own doughnuts. Krispy Kreme’s search for its “fave fans” invites doughnut lovers aged 18 and older in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines and the United Kingdom to submit a photo with a 72-word (or less) caption that answers the question, “How has Krispy Kreme made your life special?” The contest deadline is Sept. 15, and a period of public voting will continue through the end of October before winners are announced in early November. A Grand Prize winner from each participating country will get a year’s supply of doughnuts, a trip for two to Krispy Kreme’s Winston-Salem, N.C., home and a chance to design and name their own doughnut. Following the design period, each winner’s doughnut concept will be uploaded onto the official Krispy Kreme Fave Fan website for public voting; the winning doughnut will then be sold at retail in April 2010 as a special edition. Of course, besides simply celebrating the Krispy Kreme brand, this contest also includes a heaping helping of crowdsourcing, giving consumers the much-sought-after chance to have a direct say in the offerings of their favourite doughnut chain. Ask the crowd’s opinion, and you can bet ye shall receive—particularly where doughnuts are involved! 😉