The launch of Krispy Kreme in Perth had West Australians going nuts. F4 Consulting, a company that helps brands connect with their consumers, was right next to the throng and hype of the doughnut store’s opening. Here’s how it went down.

F4 Consulting was on the glazed ground in Perth to help launch Krispy Kreme on the west coast. The long awaited November 26^th launch saw unprecedented media coverage in the lead-up, during and post event.

Based on the passion of West Australians bringing back boxes of the sweet treats in overhead lockers on flights from the east coast, the store opening was always going to be big. A three-pillar PR strategy was developed to build buzz and leverage the cult-like status of the brand.

Exclusives were developed and secured with leading WA media outlets, with specific tailored pitches to cover the community, business and public interest angles of the story. 19-year-old marketing student Favian Lin proved to be a runaway hit, with his love for Krispy Kreme compelling him to camp outside the Perth store for three nights.

Media were succinctly managed and co-ordinated prior, to avoid chaos on the day among the thousands of eager, hungry, queuing fans. Key spokespeople were ready and available for interview on opening day, with vision and interview opportunities also offered with the lucky first in line and Australia’s biggest Krispy Kreme fan. Interactive behind-the-scenes access to doughnut making was also available for media and television film crews.

Perth showed their love for Krispy Kreme with zealous fans in the queue even live-tweeting their progress to doughnut heaven as #KrispyKremePerth trended around Australia. And one of several user-generated videos of the launch were uploaded to YouTube, one of the overnight drive-thru line is sitting at over 4,500 views.

As a result of the massive consumer interest driven by 78 pieces of pre and event day coverage, first day sales broke a global Krispy Kreme record, with a staggering 73,200 doughnuts sold between 9:30am and midnight. This in turn provided a new story angle and contributed to the hype that led to a further 40 pieces of post-event coverage.

Krispy Kreme Australia’s marketing manager Amanda Mita said: “F4 did an exceptional job generating media coverage to support our first Krispy Kreme store opening in WA. We were overwhelmed with the masses of positive attention, which contributed to an unprecedented public response to our launch, breaking a Krispy Kreme store opening world record in the process!”

Every major media outlet in West Australia were present at the launch, Perth’s Today Show featured multiple live weather crosses to the launch…

…and Mix FM was also broadcasting live on the day. Media outlets and reporters also live-tweeted throughout the launch broadcasting the moment when the “Hot Now” sign lit up and doors officially opened to the public.

Perth officially went nuts for doughnuts, with the fan-fare making mention on The Project two nights in a row and three Buzzfeed articles.

The event came to a sweet conclusion with 118 pieces of local, national and international coverage, reaching a staggering 18.9+ million. Krispy Kreme’s ‘Hot Now’ sign well and truly lit up Perth.