The Challenge

Five years ago, Crank & Boom began as a sweet addition to a locally owned Thai restaurant. Their only flavor? Coconut. Now, Crank & Boom operates out of two locations and is sold at more than 40 retail locations, with no plans of slowing down. Because of their growth, community involvement, and creativity in the realm of ice cream flavors (Kentucky Blackberry & Buttermilk, anyone?), this family-owned ice cream phenomenon needed help sharing their story and flavors with the world. And so, a partnership with Zipie and Crank & Boom was born.

The Plan

A plan to inspire further growth for Crank & Boom was set. Experts at Zipie got to work and began intensive market research, interviewing fans of Crank & Boom and brainstorming ways we could bring the family—Crank & Boom and its fans—together. With that information in tow, we created a sparkling new website to share the brand’s mission and story, inviting customers to join the family. The website boasts features like ice cream-themed illustrations showcasing the tasty flavors Crank & Boom offers, an online store chock full of newly designed merch, and a fully functional social strategy to get people to the site. A website—even a beautiful new one—doesn’t do its job if there are no viewers. (Think: if a tree falls in the woods…) So, social media experts at Zipie designed and implemented a robust social strategy including organic social content, Instagram advertising and a fun Christmas campaign encouraging customers to shop online or in stores with a different item (bourbon honey truffles and merch alike), all featured for 12 straight days. To drive Crank & Boom branding home, we added a new installation to the Distillery District location telling the Crank & Boom’s story. With all of Crank & Boom’s flair and Zipie’s expertise, customers waiting in line can learn exactly how coconut ice cream took hold of the Lexington community.

The Results

Our goal was to inspire growth and add more people to the Crank & Boom family. The new website has only encouraged these connections through quality social content and blogs. A frenzy ensued after the successful implementation of the Christmas campaign, doubling engagement on daily posts and growing Crank & Boom’s Instagram following by 149%.