Once people taste Honey Dew’s delicious coffee and products, they’re hooked — but customers aren’t always aware of the nearest location, and prospective customers might not consider trying the brand without a nudge.
To drive both existing and new customers to its 115 locations across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, Honey Dew partnered with Goodway Group and Mediaworks to experiment with Waze Ads. The team was not only interested in working with Waze to drive awareness, but also reach a wider customer segment, inclusive of younger customers, leveraging the apps’ ability to reach this segment.
Reaching people at the right time
Honey Dew’s offerings — which include coffee, donuts, refreshing frozen drinks, savory sandwiches and more — are typically impulse purchases, explained Jeanne Quinn, who has led marketing for the brand for 17 years.
Because Waze Ads can reach people on the go, at the moment they might be craving a cup of coffee or a muffin, Quinn saw trying them as a no-brainer.
Working closely with Goodway Group and Mediaworks, Quinn tried several different Waze Ad options. For instance, Branded Pins helped the team to raise the visibility of Honey Dew locations on the map, and running Takeovers allowed them to show enticing images of Honey Dew menu items to nearby drivers who had come to a full stop.
Promoted Search ads, which come alongside a Branded Pin purchase, enabled Honey Dew to connect with nearby drivers who were actively searching the app for a place to grab a treat.
Winning new customers with mouth-watering treats
Honey Dew and its agency partners faced some hurdles along the way. They saw tough competition from the largest brand in Honey Dew’s category, on top of the pandemic which disrupted people’s routines and buying habits.
But the brand’s research showed that people preferred the taste of their products to that of the competition, which indicated to Quinn that once Honey Dew got new customers in the door, they’d be likely to keep them.
And as the pandemic progressed, it became clear that people were eager to stop by their stores not just for donuts and coffee on the way to work, but also for snacks throughout the day. For instance, they might order one of their hearty sandwiches or a yogurt parfait for lunch, or a frozen strawberry Red Bull between afternoon classes or meetings.
Goodway Group used Waze’s dayparting tool to get the most out of Honey Dew’s budget and ensure the brand was top of mind for drivers at relevant times.
The team also used Waze’s ability to daypart, swap and optimize creatives based on performance to capture the attention of younger consumers. Knowing that sweet icy drinks are a big draw for Millennials and Gen Z, for instance, they made sure to feature seasonal imagery of iced apple cider and egg nog lattes.
Waze has really helped people find us. I think that’s why the program is so successful — it literally points them to their nearest Honey Dew.
Jeanne Quinn, Marketing Manager, Honey Dew
Sweet results lead to more campaigns
The team’s initial instincts paid off: their test of Waze ads performed so well that they decided to increase their budget. Goodway Group and Mediaworks helped Honey Dew to launch a more robust strategy to scale their efforts.
In 2022, Honey Dew’s Promoted Search and Takeover ad performance exceeded industry benchmarks and helped generate more than 25,000 navigations.
The brand also achieved their goal of using Waze to attract a wider consumer base. For instance, they found that drivers ages 25-34 were more likely than older drivers to take action after seeing a Waze Honey Dew ad.
Following this auspicious start, Honey Dew, Goodway Group, and Waze continue to find new ways to engage target audiences.
