Let's Connect

* indicates required fields

By entering your name and email you agree to the processing of your personal data as described within the Privacy Notice.
Home Case Studies International Dairy Queen
dairy queen

Serving up sweet inspiration

International Dairy Queen had an ambitious vision: modernize the brand, transform the internal culture, increase collaboration and performance, and drive innovation. And they had to navigate all this while moving into a new headquarters.

Let’s Talk

Results

International Dairy Queen transformed their headquarters into a visually striking area, infusing inspiration and motivation into the team’s everyday experience.

Industry

Consumer goods and services

Problem space

Employee engagement

Services

The new rules of engagement

Recognition

Rewards marketplace

TECHNOLOGY

DayMaker

Modernize the brand, transform the culture

International Dairy Queen (IDQ) had an ambitious vision: Modernize the brand. Transform the internal culture. Increase collaboration and performance. Drive innovation. And navigate all this while moving into a new headquarters.

We had an appetite for challenge. The plan: infuse this transformation not only into the minds and hearts of the IDQ team, but also into the environmental space within the new headquarters.

Thoughtful design

The first solution was an office environment that addressed both utility (supporting the functional ways in which work gets done) and desire (driving performance and engagement in a way that promotes the ideal culture).

We hit on both principles with a design campaign aimed at rewiring how employees work and inspiring a high-performance mindshift. Through branded aesthetics, inspiring creative and strategic motivational messaging, each element of the space – from conference rooms to walls and hallways – reflected the new, invigorated culture.

Next up, creating a culture of recognition, celebrating, and rewarding high performance. We developed WOW, a rewards program aimed at driving behaviours around the IDQ values. The energetic and compelling creative brought the values to life, while a strategic launch aligned and activated both managers and employees.

A rewards program that energizes

The result: an exciting cultural shift that’s visually striking but goes far beyond aesthetics to infuse inspiration and motivation into the team’s everyday experience. Now that’s pretty sweet.

3D wall art in vibrant colors reads Lets MAKE Happy in an office hallway, with a purple, yellow, and red color scheme. Another sign with unreadable text hangs further down the hallway.
A wall mural with phrases about happiness, an orange background, and a large smiling sun face with radiating lines, next to motivational text and the words “Let’s Make Happy” in bold letters.
A laptop displays an employee recognition platform with user badges and achievements. To the right, a close-up shows six colorful circular badges with titles like WOW MVP, Circle of Play, and Making the Day.
Large teal letters on a white wall read, “TO CREATE POSITIVE MEMORIES FOR ALL WHO TOUCH DQ,” alongside red letters stating, “THE WORLD’S FAVORITE QUICK-SERVICE RESTAURANT,” with “MISSION | VISION” in circles between them.

Thought Leadership

Learn from the best. BIW thought leaders bring you a deeper look at the business of inspiration.

  • Hands typing on a laptop keyboard with digital icons, such as checkmarks and user profiles, floating above the screen, symbolizing technology, cybersecurity, or digital communication.

    Article

    How to integrate social proof into a customer loyalty program

    This user-generated content, or social proof, carries significant weight in our decision-making process. In behavioural economics, social proof is the idea that people look to and are highly influenced by the actions or opinions of others. Simply put, consumers use this content to validate decisions. Social proof and customer loyalty programs Overall, social proof represents […]

Share this resource

Related research

View all thought leadership
Two women wearing aprons stand behind a counter in a cozy cafe, smiling and talking as they discuss channel partner relationships. One holds a tablet, with jars of baked goods and warm lighting visible in the background.

Article

How to measure channel partner relationships

When it comes to the relationship between a brand and its channel partners, the ultimate goal is often loyalty. Channel engagement programs are designed with this objective in mind. After all, when we achieve brand advocacy and loyalty, we see increased sales, enhanced customer experience, and many other benefits. But how do you measure success? Are all […]

Hands typing on a laptop keyboard with digital smiley faces, checkboxes, and star ratings overlaid, symbolizing online feedback or customer retention.

Article

Tiered channel loyalty programs: Strategies and examples

In the world of channel partner incentives, the trend is to encourage specific behaviours and personalize rewards beyond just hitting performance targets for rebates. However, when it comes to building end-customer loyalty through a distribution channel, a well-designed tiering system remains one of the most effective and easy-to-understand structures. Let’s explore how we can leverage tiering to help […]

A smiling man in a denim shirt sits on a couch, looking at his smartphone with his hand on his chin, appearing happy and engaged—capturing a moment of employee engagement. A blurred cup is visible in the foreground.

Article

4 Es of employee engagement

What is employee engagement? Employee engagement goes beyond metrics like survey scores, satisfaction levels, or happiness ratings, though these are tempting because they’re easy to measure. Instead, engagement reflects the discretionary effort an employee is willing to invest in their work and organization. At its core, employee engagement is an emotional commitment that influences workplace […]