DUNKIN’ DONUTS AND THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE TEAM UP FOR CORPORATE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

DUNKIN’ DONUTS AND THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE TEAM UP FOR CORPORATE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

Multi-year deal marks Dunkin’ Donuts’ first national sports league partnership and will make Dunkin’ Donuts the official U.S. coffee, donut and breakfast sandwich of the NHL

New York Rangers Captain Ryan McDonagh and Boston Bruins Center David Backes
will join Dunkin’ Donuts as official spokespersons

U.S. hockey fans have a new reason to cheer this season, as Dunkin’ Donuts and the National Hockey League announced a multi-year agreement today, making Dunkin’ Donuts the official U.S. coffee, donut and breakfast sandwich of the NHL®. The partnership, which marks Dunkin’ Donuts’ first national sports league partnership, will officially launch during the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® outdoor game in St. Louis on January 2, 2017.

As part of the deal, Dunkin’ Donuts will be prominently featured at several of the NHL jewel events, including the NHL Winter Classic®, NHL® All-Star Weekend, NHL Stadium Series™ and the NHL’s year-long Centennial celebration. Dunkin’ Donuts will be included in advertising, LED Signage and jumbotron displays, as well as on-site activations at each jewel event.

Dunkin’ Donuts also will have significant presence across NHL’s broadcast and digital platforms in the U.S. Additionally, Dunkin’ Donuts has a multi-million dollar partnership with NBC Sports that will include custom in-game features and dasherboard visibility, as well as advertising across broadcast, digital and social media channels beginning January 2 and continuing throughout the NHL season.

New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh and Boston Bruins center David Backes will join Dunkin’ Donuts as national brand spokespersons. McDonagh and Backes will be featured in a series of advertisements, along with U.S. Women’s Team Captain and star of the Boston Pride, Meghan Duggan.

“As the NHL celebrates its Centennial year, we are thrilled to be partnering with such an iconic league, giving our fans many more opportunities to engage with their favorite hockey teams,” said Tom Manchester, Vice President, Field Marketing, Dunkin’ Brands. “NHL fans, much like Dunkin’ Donuts fans, are some of the most loyal, energetic and passionate fans around. Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee, donuts and breakfast sandwiches are sure to keep hockey fans running throughout the season.”

"This groundbreaking deal, marking the NHL as the first professional sports league partner for Dunkin' Donuts, reflects the power and reach of the NHL brand and our ever-growing fan base," said Dave Lehanski, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Global Partnerships, NHL. "Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee, donuts and breakfast sandwiches are synonomous with hockey at all levels - whether you're a hockey fan, parent, or player. We're excited and proud to welcome Dunkin’ Donuts to our NHL family, and look forward to working together to engage hockey fans all across the country."

Dunkin’ Donuts will also offer special NHL team logo donuts for a limited time throughout the season at participating U.S. restaurants in select markets. 

Prior to launching a league-wide partnership with the NHL, Dunkin’ Donuts has maintained a proud history of local partnerships with several prominent NHL franchises including the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals.  As a result of Dunkin’ Donuts’ partnership with the NHL in the U.S., the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues have joined the brand’s roster of local NHL team sponsorships. In December 2015, Dunkin’ Donuts became the first official corporate sponsor of the new National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and entered into a partnership with USA Hockey that includes designation as the Official Coffee Shop of the U.S. Women’s National Team in February 2016.

To learn more about Dunkin’ Donuts, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts), Instagram (www.instagram.com/DunkinDonuts) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/DunkinDonuts).

To learn more about the National Hockey League visit www.nhl.com or follow on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NHL), Twitter (www.twitter.com/NHL) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/nhl)

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NHL, the NHL Shield and the word mark NHL Winter Classic are registered trademarks and the NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL All-Star logo, and NHL Stadium Series name and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League.  NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.   © NHL 2016.   All Rights Reserved.

About Dunkin' Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned a No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for 10 years running. The company has more than 12,000 restaurants in 45 countries worldwide. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of companies. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

About the NHL

The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, will celebrate its Centennial anniversary in 2017. The year-long celebration will pay tribute to 100 years of NHL hockey by honoring the past, commemorating the present, and celebrating its future. In 2017 the League will also celebrate 125 years of the most revered trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup®. Comprised of 30 Member Clubs, the NHL is represented by players from more than 20 countries across team rosters. Each year, the NHL entertains hundreds of millions of fans around the world. The League broadcasts games in more than 160 countries and territories through its rightsholders including NBC/NBCSN in the U.S., Sportsnet and TVA in Canada, and Viasat in the Nordic Region. The NHL reaches fans worldwide with games available online in every country including via its live and on-demand streaming service NHL.TV™. Fans are engaged across the League’s digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL® App; across nine social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, and on NHL.com, available in eight languages and featuring an enhanced statistics platform powered by SAP, providing the definitive destination for hockey analytics. The NHL is committed to giving back to the community through programs including: Hockey is for Everyone™ which supports nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America; Hockey Fights Cancer™ which raises money and awareness for hockey's most important fight; NHL Green™ which is committed to the pursuit of sustainable business practices; and a partnership with the You Can Play Project, which is committed to supporting the LGBT community and fighting homophobia in sports. For more information, visit NHL.com.

Contact:

Michelle King

Dunkin’ Brands

781-737-5200

Michelle.King@dunkinbrands.com

Nirva Milord

NHL

212-789-2123

nmilord@nhl.com

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