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Dairy Queen is using the promise of a free Blizzard dessert to promote its Dairy Queen app. After downloading, mobile phone users get a coupon for a free small Blizzard. The coupon is good across the U.S., except in Texas.
Why not in Texas?
Because Texas, which has more DQs than any other state, has its own marketing association, the Texas Dairy Queen Operators’ Council.
Drive through Texas and you will see completely different DQ slogans, such as “Eat like a Texan.”
You will also see a different menu than the rest of the country.
Burgers called the Hungr-Buster and Beltbuster, and food such as the Texas T-Brand Tacos, Nachos Deluxe and the Beef Taco Salad, are Texas-only menu items. Yes, Dairy Queen’s famous cones, Blizzards, and ice cream cakes are all on the menu.
The different marketing campaign is holdover from pre-1998 before Berkshire Hathaway owned the quick service chain.
Texas operators held a lot of sway, and still do, and in the days before Berkshire, Dairy Queen signed all kinds of deals that it still has to live with. Some of those deals were drawn up on a napkin and were barely more than a handshake. That’s why you won’t find DQ Bakes! Artisan-style Sandwiches on the menu. When the company rolled out DQ Bakes! as its first year-round food campaign in 2015, Texas said no thanks.
I guess baked sandwiches sounded a bit too frou-frou for Texas, but they are missing out on such delights as the company’s Kansas City BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich and the Turkey BLT.
As for apps, Texas has its own DQ Texas app, which offers free treats and other rewards after five visits to a store where you spend $5 or more.
Just don’t look for a free Blizzard for downloading it.
For more information on Dairy Queen’s world-wide plans, read a Mazor’sEdge special report on Dairy Queen.
© 2018 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.