Rebranding: How Did Dunkin' Donuts Rebrand for Success?
Have you noticed the swift rebranding of the popular coffee restaurant chain Dunkin Donuts? Many people have left this change unnoticed until recently, but this rebranding has been in motion since 2018, leading to alterations in the brands name, logo, and offerings. After almost 80 years of familiarity since its introduction, Dunkin’ Donuts is now simply called “Dunkin” and the logo’s font type has changed to emphasize that they offer a world of other products than coffee and doughnuts. This prioritization of coffee beverages and speedy food service was in turn to align their branding with consumer trend changes. Although this change may not have been noticed right away by consumers, the industry has shown it has not gone completely unnoticed as this rebranding has caused the company much growth in the market. Rebranding is a risky marketing strategy, as you can never be sure consumers will be accepting of the changes made within a brand. Although, it seems Dunkin’ Donuts has done it the right way. In this blog we will explore Dunkin’s biggest motivations, steps, and outcomes of this rebranding.
What Were the Goals/ Motivations of the Dunkin Rebrand? :
Dunkin has obtained over 13,200 restaurants in the United
States and more in other countries since their introduction in 1950, making
them one of the largest coffee brands in the world. Although reputably popular
among consumers, Dunkin decided to perform transformational innovations
involving a new business model and value proposition to keep up with
competitors such as Starbucks. Innovation through expansion offerings is key
for those brands in current markets to find ways to offer value that is better
than the competition. The overall motivation for this innovative rebranding is
to regain their dominance in the market and to reposition themselves away from
being beverage-focused as a brand. However, this motivation is more complex
than just that. Main motivations for Dunkin Donuts rebranding include:
1.
Attract new customers,
while maintaining loyal ones:
Attracting new customers is important for growth, but it is also
key to meeting the expectations of existing customers, so the consumer base
does not fall. Dunkin’ attracts new customers and maintains pre-existing ones by
offering new products but ensuring the heritage of Dunkin’ Donuts remains in place
with the recognition of the brand’s colors (pink and orange).
2.
Increase Sales: Any company wants to increase sales at any time. This can
be brought by new customers, product offerings, etc., but increasing sales from
existing customers is crucial to stay ahead. Dunkin’ attempts to increase sales
by generating awareness among the market with the adjustments in the logo and
name.
Dunkin’ Donuts has been motivated by these factors to rebrand the company as part of their “journey to transform into beverage-led, on-the-go brand” according to the Dunkin’ Donuts website. With these motivational factors, Dunkin’ projects that the brand will remain relevant for generations as they coincide marketing strategy decisions with consumer trends.
How Did They Go About Rebranding Dunkin’ Donuts?
“By simplifying and modernizing our name, while still
paying homage to our heritage, we have an opportunity to create an incredible
new energy for Dunkin’ both in and outside our stores” - Dunkin’ Chief Marketing Officer, Tony Weisman.
It is evident that Dunkin’ Donuts had many motivational factors pushing this rebranding to occur. Rebranding is risky and involves much change in the company’s physical appearance as well as the innerworkings of the company. To completely rebrand to a beverage-led brand, Dunkin’ made many changes to their strategy, but two major improvements stand out that allowed them to convey their new message to consumers.
Goodbye Donuts!
One of the most major alterations in Dunkin’ Donuts rebranding efforts was the shortening of their name. Dunkin’ dropped its last name and is now simply called Dunkin’ since 2018. What were the reasons for this change? Well, according to Dunkin’ Brands CEO David Hoffman, one reason is to provide an “increased emphasis on drinks” and to show the simplicity that speaks to the “breadth and depth of the menu”. By keeping simplicity and efficiency a core focus of the brand, new energy is created by Dunkin’ consumers and through dropping “Donuts” from the end of the brand name, the main focus of the brand’s recognition is emphasized on selling beverages rather than doughnuts. A survey report from Visual Object reported that 34% of people noticed the new name change directly and noticed the efforts of the brand. This coincides with the changes in consumer trends that American consumers are becoming more health conscious. Being more health conscious, consumers are not likely to purchase products from brands that are related to unhealthy stigma. So, taking the term “Donuts” out of the brand name still allows the brand to keep their recognizable name without wearing away consumers’ perceptions of the brand. This also allows the consumers to perceive that the brand offers more than just sweet treats and has a variety of options whether they are healthy or not.
Hello Future!
The other major change made in the process of Dunkin Donut’s rebranding was enhancing the visual appeal of the brand and its assets. First, Dunkin’ changed the physical appearance of their physical logo, specifically in the font by designing it as a rounder font than the original. It also has entirely gotten rid of the coffee cup as part of the logo to further instill that Dunkin’ is not limited. Surveys show that more consumers noticed the new name (34%) prior to noticing the new logo (32%), but this change was still necessary for the brand’s goals to be achieved
Further, the brand modernized its physical shops by adding aspects such as cold drink taps like those you would see at a bar. These drinks taps allow consumers in physical stores to not only have a better view of the different drinks offered, but also feed aesthetic needs of consumers changing the whole vibe of the experience. Consumers may also be enticed to read the labels on the taps and try new types of drinks that they would not have considered before based on the physical appearance of the taps.
Dunkin’ has also invested $100 million in implementing
technology into their stores with the goal of being more modern to consumers.
Most technology implemented is used in terms of the service process by the
addition of more efficient machines for preparation of food and drinks and self-serve
ordering kiosks where customers can place their own orders on the screen. This has
allowed them to not only become more modern in the consumers’ eyes, but also allowed
them to decrease the number of required workers while increasing efficiency
leading to higher profits and less costs. The addition of technology further shows
the convenience and simplicity the brand is trying to emulate.
Did Dunkin’ Do It Right?
When
deciding to rebrand, it is crucial that the changes made to achieve that rebrand
are (1) in alignment with your brand, (2) meet customers’ expectations, and (3)
cater to those customers. As evident from the information above, it seems that
Dunkin’ has been successful in achieving its goals for the rebranding by embracing
technology to modernize its brand, altering its physical appearance to convey a
message of simplicity, and even dropping parts of their name to emphasize that
message. Because of this rebranding, Dunkin’ holds 26% of the coffee shop
market share, which is a steep climb despite the competitiveness of the market.
To determine if Dunkin’s strategy was successful, we will revisit their two initial
goals and analyze how these goals were met:
1.
Attract new customers,
while maintaining loyal ones: Dunkin
has attracted new customers through the modernization of the brand. Prior to
the rebranding, Dunkin’ Donuts was not recognized to be somewhere you go if you
are health conscious. By listening to their audience and watching consumer
trends, Dunkin’ rebranded itself to prioritize beverages and simple on the go
snacks, rather than just doughnuts. While keeping the original products and
expanding product breadth, Dunkin’ has been able to keep its loyal customers
while attracting a new health-conscious audience.
2.
Increase Sales: Expanding the product line not only brought new customers to
the brand entirely but has also offered existing customers the chance to try
new products. Revenue for the company in just one year of rebranding increased
from $1.27 billion in 2018, to $1.31billion in 2019. Further proving the impact
of the rebranding for Dunkin’ on sales, the introduction of the new logo in
2018 resulted in a 57.37% increase in revenue from 2017 to 2018. Overall, these
numbers prove that Dunkin’s rebranding has increased sales for the company.
With the success of achieving their goals from implementing this market strategy, competitors will attempt to do the same. Rebranding and innovation brings much risk and uncertainty for a business. One way that Dunkin’ can ensure this risk is reduced and stays ahead of competition considering future changes to the brand, is to manage a portfolio of growth opportunities or to continue to enhance the customer experience with products and services. The question is though, how far can this rebranding take Dunkin’? In other terms, will Dunkin’ have to change their marketing strategy again in the near future, or will this impact have a lasting effect on the company?
Sources
https://www.dunkindonuts.com/en/about/about-us#:~:text=Dunkin'%2C%20founded%20in%201950%2C,Inspire%20Brands%20family%20of%20restaurants.
https://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/releases-20180925
https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/dunkins-sweet-rebrand-heres-what-they-did-right-and-why-some-brands-fall-short/
https://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/releases-20180925
https://www.delish.com/food-news/a23494352/dunkin-donuts-ceo-reasons-for-name-change/
https://www.businessinsider.com/dunkin-donuts-name-change-explained-by-ceo-2018-9
https://www.mcbrandsph.com/post/dunkin-rebranding-case-study#:~:text=The%20rebranding%20contributed%20to%20increased%20sales%20and%20revenue,to%20cater%20to%20local%20tastes.%20Stronger%20Digital%20Presence
https://propane.agency/lux/dunkin-donuts-successful-rebranding-in-an-evolving-industry-2/
https://companiesmarketcap.com/dunkin-brands/revenue/#:~:text=According%20to%20Dunkin%20Brands's%20latest,that%20were%20of%20%241.27%20B.
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