America runs on Dunkin’, so in 2018 Dunkin’ completely relaunched their espresso offerings with new equipment, a new look, and a whole line of handcrafted drinks. So, it was time for America to start running on Dunkin’ espresso, too. Because Dunkin’ maybe isn’t the place you’d expect to get a handcrafted Cappuccino, Latte, Americano, or Macchiatto. But we wanted to change that, with an unexpected campaign to help spread the word that sipping is believing.

Our goal was to convince people that Sipping is Believing. So, we made an unexpected campaign about these unexpectedly delicious new drinks: an unexpected TV ad featuring a 48- year-old man played by a 10-year-old boy. An unexpected social video with a faux-fashion line featuring “Cappu-chinos”—pants with pockets that hold your espresso drinks. And an unexpected taste test that disguised a regular Dunkin’ as a hip coffee shop called “S!P,” that fooled all the foodies. And those are just a few of the highlights. We launched a massive, unified media strategy that incorporated TV, PR, influencers, social media platforms, and OOH.

In 2017, there were 2.4 billion servings of espresso sold and Dunkin’ only made up 5.3% of the market share. America has always run on Dunkin’, but in 2018, they saw a business opportunity to get it running on espresso. They relaunched espresso with new equipment, a new look, and a line of handcrafted drinks.

Because Dunkin’ maybe isn’t the place you’d expect to get a handcrafted Cappuccino, Latte, Americano, or Macchiato.

Objective: steal share of espresso market from competitors.

Target Audience: everyday espresso drinkers, “switchers” who get their espresso fix from multiple locations (other QSRs, convenience stores or gas stations). They’re not taste or brand loyalists, but due to frequency of purchase, price is salient.

We drove the conversation with a 360 brand approach:

Video: Dialogue-driven video, “Subtitles” and “Gary,” celebrated the unexpectedly delicious taste of this new line of espresso drinks, using unexpected situations.

Social: A series of videos launching a faux-fashion line of Espresso-wear—clothing that allows you to hold your coffee in your clothes, leaving your hands free so you can go about your business.

OOH: Outdoor boards blanketed the country, in placements from rural highway boards to high profile locations like Times Square.

Sampling Activations: On a local level in Portland, ME, we launched S!P, an unbranded

? In Week 1, hot espresso made up 10% of all transactions at Dunkin’ locations across the country

? Iced espresso transactions increased by more than 40% in Week 1

? Media drove +4.9% lift in incremental store traffic

? Dunkin’ espresso conversation was 3.5x more positive than all Dunkin’ conversation in 1H’18, indicating that consumers reacted and talked favorably about the product

? At the end of the campaign period, average weekly sales for hot espresso grew 23%, and iced espresso grew 42%

? 73% of guests surveyed, who had visited a Dunkin’ after seeing the campaign, claim that their perception of Dunkin’ has improved thanks to new espresso

? Dunkin’ was named QSR Magazine’s most transformational brand of 2018

This campaign launch successfully laid the foundations for Dunkin’ to establish a new role in consumers’ lives for all their espresso needs.