Cannes Lions

DUNKIN' DONUTS

HILL HOLLIDAY CONNORS COSMOPULOS, Boston / DUNKIN' DONUTS / 2002

Awards:

1 Shortlisted Cannes Lions
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Overview

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Credits

OVERVIEW

Description

It started with a brilliant insight. Dunkin’ Donuts, a chain of 3500 coffee and bakery shops wasn’t really competing against rival QSR chains or coffee houses like Starbucks. They were competing against the consumer’s conscience. The consumers wanted our products. They preferred them. They went to Dunkin’ Donuts because it made them feel good. Vague health concerns were shackling them, holding them back. Our advertising role was to give permission to consumers to say yes more often… that it was ok to eat that gooey donut. The strategy was to humorously present the irresistibility of Dunkin’ Donuts, heighten the consumer’s already burning desire for our products, and then suggest it was ok to succumb ... To Loosen Up a Little.

Our goal was to reach consumers at relevant moments throughout their day to remind them “to make going to Dunkin’ Donuts a fun part of their daily routine”. And we wanted to bring the brand’s fun personality to life. First, our media followed the customer literally from couch to cash register to reinforce that making a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts is an important part of their daily routine:Sponsorships in morning television, to reach them first thing at home, including product placement with TV anchors in news and sports. This is to remind them to stop at Dunkin’ on their way to work.

Once the consumer leaves home, reach them via endorsement radio with top-ranked on-air radio personalities. Nothing better to drive a craving than listening to your favorite DJ talk about delicious donuts and coffee. Once they get to work, entice them with in-office radio promotions, including “Dunkin’ office breaks” to remind them to send someone out to pick up donuts and coffee for a mid-morning snack.

Weather triggered radio – special fun summer refreshing products that would be advertised when it got above a certain temperature in the market. “Cool Down with Coolatta”. Heavy prime and late fringe TV focusing on comedies and entertainment shows to wrap up the day and plant the seed for tomorrow’s visit to Dunkin’ Donuts. Then, it was all about getting consumers to loosen up in a very uptight world. We wanted to focus on times when they were stressing out and surround our message with an environment that was light and fun: Sponsored the fall premieres of Everybody Loves Raymond in syndication in key markets. “It’s Time to Loosen up a Little with Raymond and Dunkin’ Donuts” featured 15 second funny programme clips from Raymond married with a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial. These vignettes ran in high profile dayparts in the weeks prior to the programme’s launch.

Created and delivered over 500 themed radio promotions that let on-air personalities and listeners get loose and have fun. The strategy was to let people poke fun at themselves and to loosen up. Placed Spectacular Out of Home units in high profile traffic areas to remind consumers that Dunkin’ is all about fun. For example, we hung a huge 20 ft cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee from a crane over the major artery in Boston.Placed mobile billboards in congested traffic areas to remind tense consumers caught in traffic that Dunkin’ Donuts allows you to loosen up a bit and unwind. These boards moved around during the day and followed the traffic inbound and outbound. The client posed the challenge. The media department built the solution. The Dunkin’ Donuts idea is a great example of tying multiple media executions back into one unifying theme; but our plan was also built so that each component could stand on its own. This is extremely important for Dunkin’ Donuts because although they advertise in over 120 markets, every market’s media mix is different based on budget, maturity of brand, and overall sales. Our Loosen up a Little modular media plan allowed us to bring some or all of the individual components to each market. Why was this a great plan? Because it worked! Since the campaign began, sales for Dunkin’ Donuts have increased 7% in a category that has remained relatively flat.

Execution

The client posed the challenge. The media department built the solution.

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