Did Dunkin' Donuts do the right thing?
John A. Quelch
Executive Vice Chancellor at Duke Kunshan University | Harvard | CEIBS | London | Wharton | Oxford | Miami |
It’s easy to understand why Dunkin' Donuts is dropping the Donuts from its name and logo, but is it a smart move?
An increasing percentage of store visitors come in just for coffee (much improved in recent years) and do not buy donuts. The popularity of donuts varies by region (stronger in the northeast, for example), limiting the franchise’s national appeal and store expansion potential. Plus today’s healthy lifestyles don’t fit with donuts. And as the second, not the first word in the brand name, Donuts is easier to drop.
Five years ago, Starbucks removed the word coffee from its logo (but not from the store name), giving it more freedom to branch into other beverages and food. Dunkin' Donuts plainly feels it’s current brand strength gives it the same permission.
I wonder. Named for the Moby Dick character, Starbucks has a brand meaning and a visual identity. The familiar green logo required minimal adjustment to remove the word coffee.
Dunkin’ on the other hand is an inelegant verb or adjective (it’s not quite clear) that doesn’t relate to what most consumers actually do with the products they buy there. Absent Donuts in the name, its hard to visualize the Dunkin’ brand and to define its brand meaning. Ask any police officer parked outside.
A brand name change often signals a highly profitable company with cash to blow that’s run out of marketing ideas that speak more obviously to consumer needs.
Digital Marketing & E-commerce Analytics Professional
6 年Dunkin may be considering doing away with the donut idea all together. Donuts are not driving sales like they used to. It doesn't seem like a stretch to imagine some small quick-stop Dunkins (like in an airport for example) that didn't serve donuts. If they test this strategy, the word donuts could actually be a hindrance. Dunkin's core customer has changed over the years. With the change of crowd, I think the brand change is a good idea.? None of what I just said matters as much as the ongoing issue with Dunkin's coffee consistency. Every time I go to a new DD and order the same coffee I get back something different. Can't count how many times I've had to have my coffee remade. Let's tackle that issue first before we change the brand name and give it a bad rep.?
Chief Marketing Officer, Miami Content Marketing
6 年So, Should Coca Cola drop the Cola part of their name because they now offer a lot of beverages that are not coke?? Of course not.? Dunkin Donuts is a brand that many have known for decades and have an emotional connection to the brand, just as people do with Coca Cola.? It is now part of their social culture, and evokes memories and feelings.?? Great comments Dean Quelch.? I agree with you.
Executive Vice Chancellor at Duke Kunshan University | Harvard | CEIBS | London | Wharton | Oxford | Miami |
6 年Thank you for your comments. It will definitely be interesting to see how this move will play out. A logo revamp is sure to come along with the new name (there’s already a new version of DNKN’ on the company’s Twitter page). It’s clear this transition will require a significant investment.
Consultant | Startup | Ideation | Innovation | Product Design | Systemizations | Training & Organizational Management | Director | Management Consulting | Analytics | Change Management | Strategic Planning | Scuba Diving
6 年I wonder if the cost and time of rebranding will have impact. They started with the “runs on Dunkin” campaign and donuts have a negative health connotation. A single D won’t work, and they don’t have a logo without the two color and recognizable DD. I think is will be an unnecessary cost center that won’t grow the brand. Focusing on healthier choices and better quality (read higher margin) drinks would help but many locations are setup for coffee and dunkachino which bases itself on high fructose corn syrup (unhealthy). A start might be not having a cheesy 70’s logo. However again just wasted money. Much of which will fall on the licensees