Is there any problem that a doughnut can’t solve? This is the question being posed by Krispy Kreme as it seeks to help motivate the COVID-19 vaccine holdouts with the incredibly persuasive power of a hot glazed doughnut. According to reports, starting Monday (March 22), consumers who show a valid COVID-19 vaccination card at locations nationwide will get a free Original Glazed doughnut.
The freebie is valid at all 369 Krispy Kreme shops located in 41 states and available “anytime, any day, every day for the rest of the year,” Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme chief marketing officer, told USA TODAY. No purchase is necessary.
The North Carolina-based doughnut chain is also offering employees four hours off for COVID-19 vaccines, a move that mirrors Best Buy, Target and Trader Joe’s, all of which are making similar moves to encourage their workers to get the shot. But Krispy Kreme is, thus far, alone in the corporate world in taking the step of offering consumers an incentive in the form of a treat to make sure they take their medicine.
But the efforts to persuade the skeptics are myriad and ongoing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is holding “vaccine confidence consultations” with state and local officials on how to educate residents about the vaccine and combat misinformation, according to Politico.
Army officials at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg are trying something new with vaccine-hesitant soldiers, according to Washington Post reports: listen to soldiers, walk them through concerns and then turn the persuaded out to become vaccine ambassadors for the rest. “Soldiers in the barracks aren’t listening to Dr. Fauci,” Col. Joe Buccino, a Fort Bragg spokesperson, told the Post, referring to Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert. “Soldiers in the barracks are listening to soldiers in the barracks.”
The CDC has made it clear that converting the skeptical is critical to creating herd immunity that will stop the virus’ spread. According to the experts, 75-85 percent of the population would need to be fully vaccinated to achieve that goal.
According to PYMNTS data, progress is being made, as 66 percent of U.S. consumers are either vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated. Twenty-eight percent of the adult population have already received at least one vaccination shot, and 53 percent are either vaccinated or likely to get vaccinated when they become eligible. This is up from just 38 percent of consumers who had already been vaccinated or planned to get vaccinated back in November when the U.S. vaccine rollout kicked off.
But according to PYMNTS data, 17 percent of the population remains skeptical when it comes to vaccination. The reasons for that vary — concerns about its actual effectiveness, newness or potential side effects top the list — but there are beliefs and behavioral commonalities among that 17 percent that are worth considering for those looking to change their minds.
Skeptics have been the least avid digital shifters, with 65 percent reporting that they have not shifted to shopping more online, either for groceries or retail goods, and have not switched to ordering from restaurants instead of dining on-site — compared to the 55 percent of consumers who trust the three vaccines available in the U.S. who have not made any of these changes.
Interestingly, consumers who are skeptical of getting the COVID-19 vaccine do have some concerns of dying from the vaccine — about 27 percent of those who trust the vaccine report death from COVID-19 as a top fear, whereas 22 percent of skeptics say the same.
What distinguishes skeptics from consumers who trust the COVID-19 vaccines is the concern they express about the pandemic’s economic implications. Eighteen percent of skeptics who are concerned about the pandemic say it is because they are worried that the economy will continue to suffer as a result, for example. Only 12 percent of consumers who trust the vaccines say the same.
The study also shows that vaccine skeptics are more concerned about their own personal job security and that of their significant others. This is true for every factor that might impact consumers’ employment or their ability to perform their job. Skeptics are more likely to cite losing their job, their partner losing their job, losing work due to sickness, having already lost their job or their partner having already lost their job than consumers who trust the vaccines.
It likely will not be possible to persuade everyone who remains in the skeptical camp, nor is it necessary to create herd immunity. But to sell the vaccine to those who are not yet ready to opt in, it seems there are two sales to make: first, that the vaccine will work, and second, that it can help heal the economy.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More