Word-of-mouth marketing has proved remarkably effective for doughnut superstar Krispy Kreme, but until now, the word only came in one official language. As Markham, Ont.-based KremeKo. prepares for its grand opening in Quebec this May, that situation is on the mend.

An omnibus survey conducted across Canada in July 2001 and followed up in March 2002 found that awareness levels in Ontario had jumped from 17% to 32% in eight months, while in the Greater Toronto Area awareness had increased from 32% to 63%. One in four people in Ontario had tasted a Krispy Kreme doughnut while the figure for the GTA reached one in three. Meanwhile, awareness in Quebec remained significantly lower than in the rest of Canada.

"Most people in Canada are aware that Krispy Kreme exists, and some people had already tasted the doughnuts before," says Mylène Forget of Massey-Forget, the Montreal-based PR firm hired to increase local awareness. "In Quebec, very few people had heard the name."

That's because Krispy Kreme has gained much of its fame through cameos in films and media impressions (over $2 billion worth globally last year) in the English-language press.

But before any PR work could be done, Massey-Forget worked with Krispy Kreme to produce effective translation.

"There was a lot of care taken by KremeKo. to ensure that the French used was of the highest quality and Krispy Kreme co-operated with the Office de la Langue Française to determine the best word to call the doughnuts," says Forget.

"Beigne is the more commonly used name but it implies a more industrial doughnut. Beignet [connotes] something more homemade and wholesome and stands for quality, and that's what Krispy Kreme is all about, but before tasting these doughnuts it can be very hard to convince someone of that.

"[After much discussion], beignet won out, I'm happy to report."

On Feb. 5, Krispy Kreme went out in full force, decaling a tour bus with Krispy Kreme graphics and driving thousands of doughnuts from Toronto to Montreal to greet people who were at the Bell Canada Centre to see Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace. In keeping with the "by-the-dozen" strategy, 500 dozen doughnuts were given away in approximately seven-and-a-half minutes.

That stunt was followed by two more doughnut drops to which the media were invited, and several more spontaneous drops on Feb. 6-8.

"More than 7,000 dozen doughnuts were distributed in just a couple of days," Forget says. "I was there in the morning. It was -20 degrees celsius and people were lining up for doughnuts."

Another survey is in the works right now to determine exactly how much work remains to be done.

"We don't have an advertising budget, per se. In fact there's pretty much none," says Krispy Kreme VP of marketing Judi Richardson. "The brand has really developed using grassroots local initiatives."

Krispy Kreme president and CEO Roly Morris, aware that they may not always be able to rely on media coverage, adds that the company may consider advertising if the number of units increased and sales went up.