This year, Shark Week will run on Dunkin’. Shark Week, television’s longest running must-see TV event, returns to Discovery Channel on August 10, and Dunkin’ Donuts has launched a partnership with the network to create a virtual feeding frenzy of innovative social and interactive programming, along with a special new donut that shark fans will love sinking their teeth into.
To kick off the partnership, fans are invited to “Take a Bite, Take a Pic.” Anyone who shares a selfie taking a bite out of their favorite breakfast item on Twitter or Instagram using the special hashtag #DDSharkWeek is eligible to win prizes including a $100 Dunkin’ Donuts Card and a Shark Week Prize Pack. Participants may also be featured on Discovery Channel’s “Shark After Dark,” as each night host Josh Wolf will encourage viewers to visit the special website SharkWeek.com/Dunkin to vote for the “Dunkin’ Bite of the Nite.” Winners will be announced and their photos revealed on the show. The winning pictures also may be featured on Dunkin’ Donuts’ billboard in Times Square.
“Each year, the anticipation and enthusiasm for Shark Week increases, and we are excited to partner with Discovery Channel for Shark Week 2014,” says John Costello, Dunkin’ Brands’ president of global marketing and innovation. “Through the combination of unique social programming, exclusive digital content and a special donut in participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants, together we’ve developed a truly innovative, immersive experience and opportunities for deeper engagement for our guests and all Shark Week fans.”
Dunkin’ Donuts and Discovery Channel are also offering their fans an interactive TV experience for Shark Week, designed and developed by Dunkin’ Donuts’ agency of record Hill Holiday, on the Xbox One video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Fans who are watching Shark Week through their Xbox One can "snap" their Internet Explorer browser window to the edge of their TV screen that will provide a live feed of #SharkWeek social content, interactive quizzes, real time polls, and more while they continue to watch live programming on Discovery.
"We’re excited to have been able to create this unique experience for not only Dunkin’ Donuts but also Xbox One and Shark Week fans," says Jamie Scheu, VP director of experience design at Hill Holliday. "This is the first time a paid advertiser has created an interactive experience like this for live television programming via the Xbox One. For Shark Week fans watching the show on their Xbox One, it offers additional content and a second-screen experience on their primary screen—their television. For Dunkin' Donuts, it represents an opportunity to create sustained engagement with people in their living room, not just for 15 or 30 seconds at a time during commercial breaks, but for minutes or even hours throughout a live national television event.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Dunkin’ Donuts this year on TV's must-see summer event, Shark Week,” says Harold Morgenstern, senior vice president of national ad sales for Discovery Communications. “Shark Week has a loyal audience and a large fan base which we are proud to engage in this unique partnership with Dunkin' Donuts to help drive brand awareness and bring our passionate shark fans into their stores and onto their website.”
Finally, for a bite of the sweetest kind, beginning August 4, fans can also circle around Dunkin’ Donuts’ special Shark Week–inspired donut, the new Shark Bite Donut. The Shark Bite Donut features a yeast ring donut topped with white and red icing designed to resemble a life preserver. It is available at select or participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide while supplies last.
