After 20 successful years of our iconic “That’s What I Like About Texas” campaign, Texas Dairy Queen was looking to boost traffic by driving lapsed and next generation customers in the door. The TWILAT campaign had established DQ as a Texas favorite, but we needed a fresh angle to signal positive change and make the brand top-of-mind for new audiences.
A sampling of online social commentary and man-on-the-street interviews confirmed our gut instinct: Texans young and old still felt a strong connection between the DQ brand and the Lone Star State. They were singing the TWILAT jingle back to us and telling generational stories of their DQ experiences. The proof was in the soft serve. The brand DNA that had been built over the past 2 decades was too powerful to walk away from. What we needed was an evolution.
Now was the perfect time to reinvigorate the DQ campaign from top to bottom. We could retain the cultural relevancy of the TWILAT campaign while engaging new audiences with a refresh of our sound, our look and our overall voice and tonality. The first step? Find a popular musical artist—a native Texan—who would embody the core values of DQ, appeal to a younger audience and create a buzz.
After a lengthy search, we found the perfect partnership with Texas country artist Josh Abbott. Josh was raised on DQ and possessed all the qualities we were looking for. From a messaging standpoint, we leaned into our strongest brand truths—unique menu offerings and a bold Texas personality—to create the campaign refresh line, “Nobody But DQ,” to be integrated across all mediums.
We would reach our core audience with a boldly spoken, “Nobody But DQ” platform, bolstered by a new VO, a new music track performed by Josh Abbott’s bandmates and, of course, the new sing-out performed by Josh. Visually, our TV campaign would be refreshed with new lifestyle footage of a diverse group of Texans enjoying their DQ favorites.
“NOBODY BUT DQ” RADIO
The new look for in-store POP and website assets would feature heroic, food-forward photography, while incorporating new typefaces and primary brand colors in a clean, contemporary design.
We created buzz by teasing the Josh Abbott partnership via social posts and PR, followed by a full campaign launch that included a behind-the-scenes “making of the music” video and PR releases to tell the story of the partnership.
Moving forward, the campaign refresh will continue to evolve at every touchpoint. A new library of lifestyle and food footage will be incorporated into TV spots and online videos. And social content will feature regular contributions from Josh as he further solidifies his position as “the new sound” of DQ in Texas. These integrated efforts will give new life to the DQ brand as we continue to grow the story, sustaining the “That’s What I Like About Texas” campaign for the next generation of Texans.
– Mike Sullivan, CEO & President of LOOMIS
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