If you saw the Wall Street Journal article over the weekend, you know that Dunkin’ Donuts has some big ambitions.
“Armed with fresh capital from December’s $2.43 billion private-equity buyout of Dunkin’ Brands Inc., Dunkin’ plans to remake its nearly 5,000 U.S. stores over the next three years, and have triple that number in less than 15 years. Dunkin’ plans to unveil the first part of the new strategy Monday with an advertising campaign aimed at rebranding the chain as a quick but appealing alternative to specialty coffee shops and fast-food chains.”
So the brief that our team received last fall was pretty clear. Equip the brand to grow dramatically, and make sure we appeal to both the loyalists (primarily in the Northeast) who already know and love Dunkin’, and introduce the company to everybody else.
Today we’re launching a simple brand idea that we think does that:
America Runs on Dunkin’.
The America that we’re talking about here are the everyday folks who get things done. They’re unpretentious, comfortable just being themselves, and like to order their coffee in small, medium or large, thank you very much. They’re busy people who use Dunkin’ to get fueled up for work or play. They don’t have time to linger, because they’ve got things to do. But they do like to have fun. This is their brand.
The Work
There’s a ton of work associated with this campaign. We’ll show you some of it on this blog, but there’s a lot more cued up to be unveiled in the coming months.
First up: the store itself. That’s the place where the promise of Dunkin’ becomes the reality of Dunkin’. It’s the one contact point that we had to get right if the rest of the campaign was going to be credible. We actually started by thinking about the attitude of the counter-person who was going to serve up your tasty coffee and bagel. What if they felt like they had a mission at work — to help keep America running? Beats just working a drive-through window. So the first thing we showed the client was an inspirational, brand-right handbook for employees. Something like this:
We also did uniform and store interior designs, and packaging ideas like this:
One other really cool idea. As you pull out of the Dunkin’ drive-through, hopefully re-energized and ready to roll, you pass this graphic painted on the driveway:
That’s just a tiny bit of the in-store work. There’s a ton more stuff to show — outdoor, guerilla, online. And oh yeah, there’s TV as well, a few spots of which are posted below. We’ll share a lot more stuff with you over the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned.
Baba Shetty 
The START line at the drive-thru is brilliant. Now if the sound of a starters gun going off as they pulled out of the drive-thru wasn’t such a scary sound…..:)
I like the icons. Am curious whether we’ll see them down here in Wawa-land. Nice work.
Nice idea. Love the start line. Employee handbook looks cool. One problem though, doughnuts are kinda the opposite of fuel – as far as the human body is concerned.
Very good creative … but is this target audience making their buying decisions off of these media sources? As a designer I am very impressed … as a true grassroots marketer I struggle to see the credibility of the TV spots. Can you go into a little detail about the way the target audience gathers their information and speak to that a little bit?
[...] Meanwhile, we have a chance to learn more of the Dunkin’ Donuts strategy through the blog of Hill|Holiday, the company launching the new campaign. As Baba Shetty blogs, “the brief that our team received last fall was pretty clear. Equip the brand to grow dramatically, and make sure we appeal to both the loyalists (primarily in the Northeast) who already know and love Dunkin’, and introduce the company to everybody else.” [...]
I read that …. and totally agree to that methodology. But … what i was wondering is why you need to spend the money on TV commercials for customers (loyalist’s to be specific) that already know about the brand. It seems that TV would only be used for, if ever, to expand brand awareness. Would it not be more worthwhile to invest that same money on the actual customers? Maybe using tactics that would further their customer evangelism and not just remind them of the brand? Also, even defining them as loyalist doesn’t mean they get there information via TV or traditional media anymore … thoughts?
You make a good point John, but the team’s plan was to rebrand Dunkin Donuts. Yes, there are some of us who love DD and will continue to drink their coffee regardless, but there are those out there that still need converting. The new ads are meant to “appeal to both the loyalists … and introduce the company to everybody else,” as a “quick but appealing alternative to specialty coffee shops and fast-food chains.”
Interesting. A better tag would be “Keep On Dunkin’” (a play off of Keep On Truckin’). It solidifies the brand in that it encourages Dunkin’s Loyals to do what they have been, and its verbal play encourages new folks to “hop on board” the Dunkin Express, so to speak.
I would also have rather seen an update of the “Time to make the donuts” campaign. Would have been interesting to see how much more stuff DD makes these days.
Just tried your strawberry smoothie this morning for the first time.
I like the flavor and the idea, BUT it is definitely tooooooooo sweet.
You are using too much of the sugary syrup. I know that the American
taste buds are accustomed to very sweet, but this is “over the top”.
You need to use less sugar, or more yogurt, or add some milk to tone
down the sweetness. I took it home, added some skimmed milk and a
few ice cubes, and put it in the blender. With that modification, it was
just right. Really delicious. It does not need much “tweeking”.
Think about it. My husband (and another friend) all agreed with the
“too sweet” verdict.
Even though Hill Holliday is a full service agency it has nothing to do with the taste of the actual drinks, that is r&d’s department, not creative or marketing’s job. Also glad to see D&D moving away from donuts because as krispy kreme’s stock has shown lately, it ain’t a garden of eden right now. Lastly, my prediction is that D&D will give up the “donuts” part of their name within five to ten years. Get ready for just “Dunkin”.
Slam Dunkin’
Great read in Monday’s edition of Slate magazine heralding a major overhaul of Dunkin’ Donut’s brand identity. The piece does an excellent job breaking down the strategy behind the change and why its tactics work. What? Never heard of Dunkin’
When will the new “Karate” commercial be posted on your site? I want to share it with my colleagues who have not seen it yet, but it’s not posted anywhere online as of now.
Thanks in advance!
I should preface this by saying I’m just a schmuck who stops for coffee in the morning and goes through phases of donut-craving… so I’m new to the marketing lingo, but maybe I have some pedestrian insights…
I love the “Pleather” ad (and haven’t seen others in the series). It was visually appealing to me before I even knew what it was for — I think my first time catching the whole thing was watching a taped show and actually rewinding it a few times.
The song’s catchy & what the voiceover guy says is pretty simple. More ads should be this good — I actually like watching the ad, it hasn’t gotten old with re-viewing, and isn’t the whole idea to have the product in my mind for as long (and attentively) as possible?
I usually get the hot coffee even in the summer — the iced coffee is good, but I don’t usually think about it. I guess now I will. I can’t say the feel of the commercial carries over to the feel of the stores (I’m out of Chicago) in my experience, which in contrast makes the stores a bit of a let-down. Too uncomfortable an ordering process, too much fumbling in check-out.
And as long as I’m rambling, if anybody here wants to hear it: get the credit cards in gear. McDonalds, Starbucks, Walgreens & more, I don’t have to sign
[...] Dunkin’ Donuts is making a mad dash to acquire the number two position in the coffee industry. The new owners have launched what they call the “most significant repositioning effort in company’s history focusing on American values of hard work and fun.” The campaign carries the tagline “America Runs on Dunkin’” and is aimed at rebranding the chain as a quick but appealing alternative to specialty coffee shops and fast-food chains. Go to Hill Holliday’s blog to read about the strategy behind this campaign. [...]
I’ve also been looking for the “karate” commercial… it’s strangely fascinating.
Interested to find the “karate” video. It is very interesting and hits a very different note than the Doing things spot.
Count me in on the Karate! smoothie commercial. great… like a link to the vid
Where is the “Karateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” video? By the way, Matt Clements sucks. Thank you for your time.
SOME ONE PLEASE GIVE A LINK TO THE SMOOTHIE COMMERICAL I CANT FIND IT ANYWHERE POST THE LINK IF ANYONE GETS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the Dunkin’ Run stuff especially the Karate ad. Shame the http://www.dunkinrun.com has to link to the stupid content on the d-spot. That site is terrible! I feel bad for HH having to work alongside the idiot vendors that put that together.
The icon doesn’t make sense. You show a map of the United States of America not America. What do people from North (Canada), South or Central America think? Your runner looks like a man in a martini glass.
I agree with Paco
I seem to recall an America Runs on Mobile campaign from some years back. Am I imagining that? Did that pop up in your research?
If you send me T-shirts with “America Runs on Dunkin” I will wear them. If you send me more than one, my brother and I will rock across this great nation belting out “Doing Things” and spreading the news about good coffee
Karate is awesome. For everyone who says anything negative about this campaign – zip it! I can tell you that my kids love it 5, 7, & 9…and they tell everyone about it…they shush the room when it comes on during the Red Sox games. And they beg for Dunkin Donuts on the weekends while we are on our way to various activities. The ‘won’t be hungry anymore’ is genius as well. PLEASE LET US FIND THE KARATE SPOT ON THE WEB…PLEASE!
Pure gold on the rebrand.
The icons are a throw back, as it is in the commercials. The tagline is perfect and would go perfect with the Lagwagon song – Mr. Coffee.
My name is Christine Boulos. I work at a DUNKIN DONUTS in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A lot of my customers love the new light blue
AMERICA RUNS ON DUNKIN t- shirts. I honestly feel that if offered at a
decent price that these t-shirts would serve as a cheap source of free
advertisment. It would benefit the company greatly as well as satisfy the consumer.
A lot of what they are is consistency and quality. Never had poor service, dirty tables or an inconstistent visit to a location. It\’s enough to let me know which exit to choose when I travel. The best coffee on earth helps too.
http://bestof.charlottecritic.com/dunkin-donuts-is-crack/
Where’s the Karate commerical!!!
Love the new karate commercial! I take at least one kid to karate 5 days a week and would love to find a Dunkin karate shirt. Are there plans for any to capitalize on the commercials? I tend to be fueled by coffee though, not smoothies.
The America Runs On Dunkin’ shirt is available on the DD website. It looks like a weird color though, not a nice light blue like the hat. It should have a big KARATE on the back! LOL!
I’m probably in the minority but I’m not a fan of this ad campaign. I liked the Bring Yourself Back campaign better. It’s understandable that that one couldn’t last for too long, as mixing it up with campaigns is how you stay fresh when marketing your brand. Just don’t like this one. The good thing, as someone else pointed out, is that DD is putting emphasis on its coffee and other products. Heck, they omit the word “Donuts” in its new slogan, by design I would imagine.
Got a great idea for any furure Dunkin Donuts ad campaign. How about “Respect The Bean”. -The ads could show folks getting bad coffee at poorly lit or unsavory locales (gas stations, car dealers, convenient marts). Then show the customers going into a well lit, friendly Dunkin Donuts for an awesome cup. The ads would be catchy and funny.
Pete
I have to admit it is a very, very successful campaign. It’s difficult to take on an established brand and try to reposition it and expand its market. The ads have bought a youthful, fun and (dare I say it) hip feel to the brand – something I don’t think existed in association with DD before.
The music is just spectacular, how closely did the creative team work with the composers in scoring the commercials? What instructions were given to them? Were they shown the storyboards first?
My own particuar faves are Pleather, Karate, Iced Coffee (Ton of Stuff), Coolada (Billion Degrees) and Smoothies (Taken my boat away). In each instance it’s the marrying of an extremely catchy tune to a parade of memorable images. I also see how adeptly the graphics from the campaign were married to other areas of the client’s business – well done!
A suggestion, has any thought been giving to doing some kind of promotion in regards to the music? They really are catchy songs – maybe MP3 downloads from DD’s website of the tunes without vo (perhaps a coupon along with them to drive traffic into the stores) or some kind of cd giveaway with purchase. Just a thought.
Again, terrific job!
I think the karate commercial is great. The commentary here and on other sites is very interesting (love it or hate — no in between), but no one seems to have noticed that the kids and the mom look alike. The karate kid looks like the mom. The other kids look like the karate kid. Are these people related?
Oops! It’s the oboe kid who looks exactly like the mom. And, the other bear a striking resemblance to each other.
Good Call ! That crazy “Karate” Mom is indeed the actual mother of Karate boy, soccer boy, and ballet girl, but not the oboe or swimming kids.
Enjoy the ads, love the consistancy!
Hey ,is any of the POP material (other than the hats and shirts ) with the “America runs on Dunkin” symbols available? I teach a 7th grade Geography class and my kids are always bringing in cups/boxes/napkins or teasing me about my “tie in” (last name DUNCAN). I’m looking for the large POP 1′ x 3′.
In addition, I’m available for commercial work depicting a harried, overworked, underpaid teacher who cannot face the world (or classes) without my morning Dunkin Donuts coffee.
Best Regards,
Kevin J. Duncan
Teague Middle School
Does anyone know the name of the actor in the window looking out as Richard Seymour of the New England Patriots pushes the tackle dummy from the stadium to the Dunkin’ Donuts shop ?
Thanks, Jim
We are interested in speaking with someone regarding a marketing idea with this campaign. Can you please connect me with the right contact.
Thanks
Starr Media Design
New York, NY
In the current climate of the world, America is often viewed as a xenophobic nation. It is unfortunate that the new Dunkin’ Donuts advertisements are perpetuating this belief, portraying Americans whose mouths “cannot form these words” of French or Italian or “perhaps Fritalian.” The voice over suggests that coffee buyers head to Dunkin’ Donuts where they can order a latte in English, ignoring the fact that the word “latte” is actually Italian. I like to think that Americans are smarter than this.
I agree completely on the “Fritalian” commercial and the pure stupidity of trying to use a “you order in English” theme to advertise a product with a french name. It’s just insulting. And not to over analyze it I also think it’s poor timing given the escalating immigration debate this country is experiencing. Does the “you order in English” thing remind anyone of this story?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13272368/
The ‘Fritalian’ commercials are not taking a stab at the complexity of saying “latte”. Its a direct stab at the mixture of how you have to order at Starbucks, where you are likely to order in French and Italian due to their size names.
triple H
Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. WWE
Does anyone know what the slogan for Dunkin’ Donuts is in Canada? Is it still America Runs on Dunkin’?
Great stuff, Baba. Look forward to connecting with you.
I used to work for a HHCC shop; but now teach branding and advertising. I’d love to see some of the numbers, but I applaud this campaign. It’s great positioning of DD as the “regular guy/gal” brand v. Starbuck’s “explorer” archetype.
Bravo. Er…I mean, right on, everyone.
Great creative; near flawless execution. You guys should be proud.
I like it awesome.
What was the first H|H dunkin donuts commercial with the “hip” music? Was it ‘Karate’ or something else? Is the same director or cinematographer “Fritalian” and ‘What I like to do”? They have a very interesting pop video look to them.
I am searching the internet to find a tshirt that says AMERICA RUNS ON DUNKIN but can’t find one…. any chance they are going to sell them on their website?