RANDOLPH, Mass. (October 14, 2004) - Beginning today, Dunkin' Donuts launches a new multimedia advertising campaign to support the company's core coffee business, specifically with ads touting a new brand positioning around "Rituals that Revive." The campaign introduces a new tag, "Bring Yourself Back," which reinforces the way that Dunkin' Donuts products can help revive you, and to the rewarding ritual of making Dunkin' a regular part of your life.
"We live in a fast-paced world, and for real people leading busy, hectic lives, a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee offers a quick, simple way to revive yourself," said John Gilbert, VP of Marketing at Dunkin' Donuts. "This campaign demonstrates how our coffee beverages help make peoples' lives a little easier, providing a unique competitive advantage for Dunkin' Donuts."
The "Rituals that Revive" positioning was drawn largely from the results of a "deprivation study" conducted by noted brand expert and anthopologist Dr. Bob Deutsch. This unique effort to uncover consumer insights about the Dunkin' Donuts brand and its products led many passionate customers to feel that life is harder without Dunkin' Donuts."
The advertising campaign, created by the Boston-based Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, will primarily feature Dunkin' Donuts' line of Espresso beverages to start, and will consist of TV, radio, outdoor and POP. The core media tactic is in broadcast media, specifically Prime TV (broadcast and cable), early morning TV, and morning drive radio. Media will run in 60 markets, including Boston, New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta and Portland, Maine. The media spend for the fall campaign, running from October 11 through end of December, is in excess of $25 million, and is part of a larger overall marketing effort for FY2005.
"Dunkin' Donuts is deeply committed to promoting its overall coffee excellence, and we are investing in a broad spectrum of marketing and communications initiatives over the next year to tell this story to a broad audience," said Gilbert. "Not only do our coffee-based beverages represent a critical part of our business - more than 64% of sales - our legendary coffee is the number one reason people stop into our stores."
The effort will begin with ads promoting Dunkin' Donuts Espresso drinks, primarily Hot Lattes, to create a new afternoon ritual, as well as ads for a limited-time-offer Cinnamon Stick baked good available in 16 markets on the East Coast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Joining the rotation in November will be ads to introduce seasonal products, including Holiday-flavored Lattes - Peppermint Mocha and White Chocolate Raspberry - as well as Coffee-by-the-Pound and the Dunkin' Card.
"This campaign cements the message that we began crafting a year ago with Dunkin, and that is that they understand their customers have hectic lives. The reality is, few of us can take long, languid breaks to re-compose," said Patrick Reynolds, SVP Account Director at Hill, Holliday. "A latte at Dunkin' Donuts is the same great tasting product you might get at fancier places, but it's easier on your wallet and your watch. This new ad campaign illustrates that promise brilliantly."
A :30 spot, "Mom," shows an utterly exhausting day a mother has taking care of three young kids. After picking up toys strewn all about the room, heating baby bottles and feeding the children amidst total chaos, Mom finally packs the kids into the minivan. Here we see her begin to relax while sipping a Hot Latte from Dunkin' Donuts, as the screen splits and a child's feet kicking into the back of her seat become a pair of hands giving Mom and shiatsu massage. This time, voiceover talks about Dunkin' Hot Latte makes for the perfect afternoon comeback.
The second :30 spot for Hot Latte features a doorman experiencing moments of frustration while doing his job, such as when a dog bites his pant leg, and his jacket gets caught while closing a cab door, and gets splashed by a passing car in the pouring rain. Only when a co-worker hands him a cup of Dunkin' Donuts Hot Latte do we see the doorman begin to relax and become reinvigorated. As the doormen drink their Hot Lattes, the screen splits. On the bottom we see the guys with raised umbrellas shielding the rain, their raised arms lined up perfectly with a bunch of balloons. As this happens, the rain stops and, the screen disappears and the doormen lose their umbrellas and appear ready to go back to whatever their jobs bring their way. "Delicious Dunkin' Donuts Lattes. Made with milk and real espresso, they instantly brighten up your afternoon. Bring yourself back."
Three 15-second product shots employ a similar split-screen technique, replacing the top half of the beverage with images of a hot air balloon, or a bunch of spring flowers, to demonstrate how Dunkin's Espresso beverages help bring you back to life or give your afternoon a lift.
About Dunkin' Donuts -- Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is the number one retailer of coffee-by-the-cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day, nearly one billion cups a year. Dunkin' Donuts is also the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world and sells more donuts, coffee, bagels and muffins than any other quick service restaurant in America. Dunkin' Donuts has more than 6,000 stores in the United States and 29 other countries. Based in Randolph, MA, Dunkin' Donuts is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Allied Domecq PLC (NYSE:AED). For more information, visit www.dunkindonuts.com.
About Hill, Holliday -- Hill, Holliday, owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) and headquartered in Boston with offices in New York, San Francisco, Miami and Greenville, S.C., is one of the top communications agencies in the nation. Hill, Holliday has won every major award for advertising excellence and effectiveness and has among its roster of clients leading national and regional brands. Hill, Holliday can be found on the Web at www.hhcc.com.