Dairy Queen made a splash in the news earlier this week about its new campaign, which will launch next week. Barkley became Dairy Queen’s agency of record in December 2012, and we are delighted to be working with them.

The brand new campaign features the tagline “Fan food. Not fast food.” In addition, Dairy Queen is kicking off a new product this summer, the S’Mores Blizzard treat.

Barry Westrum, EVP of marketing for Dairy Queen, told Nation’s Restaurant News that DQ wants to change with its consumers. While a younger audience is important, it goes beyond that:

“There’s no question the heavier users of our category are younger, but we need to make sure we appeal to that group,” Westrum said. “This isn’t an overt attempt at going after Millennials. The thing that unites our consumers, no matter how old they are or where they’re from, is that they root for us and think we’re not a giant corporate entity like our competitors. Our locations sponsor the Little League team or hold the fundraiser for the school, and that’s the relationship we want to capture.”

The new commercials will also include a Twitter hashtag, #LoveMyDQ. According to research by Barkley in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group and SMG, Millennials expect brands to engage in social media. More than one-third of Millennials surveyed said they like a brand more when the brand uses social media.

Read more about Barkley’s work with Dairy Queen:

Ad Age: Dairy Queen Effort Thinks Beyond the Blizzard to Burgers and Fries

Adweek: Warren Buffett Helps Pitch Berkshire Hathaway’s Dairy Queen as Barkley Airs First Ad for Chain

Nation’s Restaurant News: Dairy Queen to debut new ad campaign

photo credit: I-5 Design & Manufacture via photopin cc