Why the ice cream/GoT pairing? The delay in filming season 7 (since, in the show, “winter is here” and required more snowy scenes) means the Game of Thrones premiere coincides with National Ice Cream Day on July 16th.
This amazing combo inspired us to run a survey to get the full scoop on Game of Throne’s most popular characters…with a delicious twist. We wanted to know which ice cream flavor goes best with each character. (For you savvy marketers out there, you can run your own market research survey to create viral content.)
Plus, we wanted to show you you can use a survey to come up with naming ideas for a product–then test what you found to see which one’s a winner with your audience.
Keep reading for these delicious survey results, market research tips, and some amazing GoT-themed ice cream names.
How we surveyed Game of Thrones fans
First, we had to make sure we were talking to true fans of the show. We did this by adding a screening question to weed out anyone who hadn’t seen Game of Thrones. (You wouldn’t want someone to tell you what they think of the Mother of Dragons if they’re unfamiliar with the series.)
Out of the people we surveyed, 34% had seen the show, with 8% considering themselves “casual fans” and 15% considering themselves “huge fans.” Of the 66% who hadn’t seen the show, most cited disinterest (44%) and the cost of HBO (30%) as reasons why.
The results were telling: Jon Snow’s life has been a rocky road, White Walkers would prefer something minty-cool, while Sansa Stark would enjoy a sweet strawberry cone.
Your favorite GoT characters by flavor
What’s eating Jon Snow? More like, what’s he eating? We had fans choose what would be major characters’ favorite flavor of ice cream and why.
The results were telling: Jon Snow’s life has been a rocky road, White Walkers would prefer something minty-cool, while Sansa Stark would enjoy a sweet strawberry cone.
Check out what our respondents said about each character:
What would be Jon Snow’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
- Rocky Road (28%)
- Moose Tracks (16%)
- Vanilla (13%)
Why Rocky Road for Jon Snow?
“He is strong and sturdy”
“He’s always up for the next challenge! He keeps going and going.”
“He looks tough, but he’s a softy on the inside–like a marshmallow”
What would be Daenarys Targaryen’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
- Strawberry (17%)
- Vanilla (15%)
- Rocky Road (13%)
Why these flavors for Daenarys?
“Because it’s firey, like her dragons”
“She’s youthful and distracting”
“She’s pretty, yet powerful”
“She’s had to go through a lot to get where she is”
What would be Cersei Lannister’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
- Coffee (21%)
- Rocky Road (17%)
- Strawberry (12%)
Why coffee for Cersei?
“Strong, powerful flavor”
“She’s bitter, yet smooth”
“Because it’s the worst flavor, and she’s the worst”
“Because of the walk of shame she had to travel”
What would be a White Walker’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
- Vanilla (37%)
- Mint Chocolate Chip (24%)
- Coffee (10%)
Why these flavors for a White Walker?
“Vanilla looks the most like winter”
“Because they’re evil and white”
“Mint has an icy flavor”
“I’m sure a White Walker would appreciate the minty coolness”
What would be Sansa Stark’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
- Strawberry (28%)
- Vanilla (15%)
- Rocky Road (10%)
Why strawberry for Sansa Stark?
“Red–like her hair!”
“Under everything, she seems very sweet and innocent”
“Multi-layered–initially soft with an emerging complexity”
What’s in a flavor name?
Ice cream companies like Ben & Jerry’s are always coming up with clever ice cream flavor names. We had a little fun and came up with our own Game of Thrones ice cream flavors—here’s what people wanted most!
We figured fans would be just as creative (maybe more-so) and we weren’t wrong! Once we primed respondents with our own suggestions, we asked an open-ended question to gather other Game of Thrones ice cream flavor ideas. Here are some of the amazing names they came up with:
- Mother of Dragon Fruit
- Red Velvet Wedding
- Castle Black Raspberry
- Almond GreyJoy
- Backstabbing Banana Cream
And our absolute favorite response:
If we were Ben & Jerry’s, and we really were about to release a Game of Thrones flavor, how would we choose which one to go with? Our next step would be testing these names against one another until we found a winner. Because, when you play the game of (ice cream) cones, you win or you die. (Okay, maybe not that extreme…this is a family blog!)
So, what ice cream will you serve at your Game of Thrones viewing party? Will it be Dire Wolf Tracks? Or Castle Black Raspberry? Share your own awesome flavor names in the comments below!
About our study: We used SurveyMonkey Audience on July 5-7, 2017 to survey 408 adults aged 18+ in the United States. The sample was age and gender balanced according to the 2010 US Census.
