It's been a few weeks since I last posted about Dunkin's marketing campaigns and success with social media — (has anyone had a chance to try the "Charli"?) This week, I'm back to analyze any changes in the success of the brand, as well as discuss how they can improve in the future.
The collaboration between Dunkin' and the famous TikToker is technically still going on, but the brand has moved onto bigger and better donut-related things including adorable spider donuts, crazy spicy donuts, and even a decorate-your-own donut kit!
In case you need a refresher, Dunkin' (formerly Dunkin' Donuts) is a coffee and fast-food company based in Massachusetts. They have a great presence on social media and a very loyal fan base. This blog post will analyze some recent donut campaigns that have gone well, in addition to some things that the brand could work on.
But first, let's talk analytics:
According to Google Trends, Dunkin' has had a few ups and downs over the past couple months but it is still maintaining an upward trajectory since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States back in March. These numbers are impressive, considering many other companies suffered greatly when quarantine and job losses significantly reduced people's spending. The final dotted line of the trend represents an extrapolation of data because the month of October is not quite over—but Dunkin's recent ad campaigns have been successful enough that we can assume things are heading in an upward trajectory.
We can see how well the marketing has been received by using Social Mention.
This 10:1 sentiment ratio is much higher than the last time I analyzed the brand (it was 4:1 then), which means that people still have lots of good things to say. "Dunkin'" is mentioned once every 30 minutes by 41 unique authors, and reach has increased by 6% since my last monitoring post. Unfortunately passion has gone down by 4%, but it looks like overall enthusiasm for the brand has been maintained pretty well.
Dunkin' has been able to drum up this enthusiasm by offering a variety of new donut options over the past few weeks. First, the company brought back its iconic spider donuts which are honestly adorable. They're quite simple to make—just pop a chocolate munchkin in the hole of a donut and add frosting for legs—but they sell really well because they match the spooky Fall aesthetic that everyone is looking for. The other donut that everyone is talking about right now is a strawberry-frosted Ghost Pepper donut, which spicy food lovers just have to try. Dunkin' shared this comical video on its YouTube channel of Sean Evans (host of the television show Hot Ones) interviewing himself as they try the new Ghost Pepper Donut.
People love spicy food challenges, so this donut is a great incentive to prove to your friends that you can handle a little heat. Even if it doesn't taste very yummy, Dunkin' was smart to market a donut that gives people a reason to drop in—maybe while they're there, they'll also grab an iced coffee to help with the spiciness.
The final Fall campaign that Dunkin' has implemented is my personal favorite: a DIY donut-decorating kit. What better way to energize the groundswell than to get your customers to create their own donut designs?
As a follow-up to the Charli x Dunkin' campaign, I think these donuts & donut-decorating kits are a great way to focus on target audiences other than Gen Z. The spider donut and the decorating kit are perfect for families with young children, and the Ghost Pepper donut is a challenge for any middle-aged person trying to prove that they can still handle the heat!
If I were to give the Dunkin' marketing team one suggestion, it would be an idea that we have previously discussed in this class that I have seen several other brands do: nostalgia marketing. A significant portion of Dunkin's clientele is older people who head to Dunkin' just to get their "medium iced Regulah". They don't need to be wowed by crazy spicy spider donuts, they just want what they know they already love. Dunkin' should give them some love right back to make sure they keep coming.
I don't know about you but I would totally wear this on a t-shirt.
To my all my coffee & donut fans out there: what would you like to see from Dunkin'?
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