Crisis Communication

Dunkin' Donuts has an extensive data base containing multiple ways to get in contact with its investors in case of a crisis. They typically send out both an email and snail mail form of an announcement to try to guarantee each and every investor sees it. The likelihood of that happening before they hear it from the press is probably slim to none. I know I get all the Disney investor email updates and just delete most of them before opening. I'm not too fearful that my 64 cent yearly check is going to change that much I guess. Assuming that Dunkin' knew this about people, they created a page on their website just for their investors.

The investor page offers everything people who actually check their stocks would care about. It gives information on how to contact Dunkin's Investor Relations Department as well as the phone numbers and codes to call in to the quarterly earnings conference calls. This page also features news that wouldn't make the headlines to people who aren't financially invested in the company; stories about stock price changes and how revenue and dividends will go up due to 25 new locations opening up in Louisiana. I imagine that if there was ever anything that Dunkin' had to get out to its investors quickly, in addition to sending out individual messages, they would post it to this page as well.

Dunkin' Donuts leaves a lot of its community communications to its franchises. I have noticed a lot of Dunkin' Donuts creating their own Facebook pages to get word out about an individual location. Instead of running national contests like Dunkin' Donuts' corporate Facebook page, the franchise pages tend to emphasize friendliness and putting a personality to the location. They post things like:

they show that they are part of the community. I think this falls under the category of furthering brand mentality. Once again, this is an example of Dunkin' proving they are just like the consumer.

Of course, corporate also has strategies for getting into the community. I mentioned the "Caught Cold" campaign in the last blog, where the Dunkin' Crew, sometimes with Celtic Ray Allen, went out in the streets of Boston and the surrounding areas and rewarded people they saw drinking or eating Dunkin' Donuts. The "Caught Cold" campaign was mainly in the greater Boston area, but Dunkin' does the same thing when spreading to a new area. When Dunkin' first moved to the west coast, they rewarded people to gain attention and spread word about the new locations.

As far as getting news to the public, Dunkin' Donuts tends to rely on its social media. In a crisis the website is constantly updated--sometimes you might have to look for it, but it will be on the Press Releases page--as well as the Twitter and Facebook accounts. I think this is the best way to get the word out in today's world. Usually if someone is a Dunkin' fan they are friends with Dunkin' customers or their family drinks Dunkin', so even if only one person in a household follows the company on Twitter, word will spread.

In a crisis, I think I would alter the investor relations strategy a bit depending on the situation. I would probably send out the emails and letters to the investors and then give it two to three days before releasing the news online to the public, even on the investor page. I wouldn't put anything critical on the investor page right away just because there is no where to sign in. Technically the page and its content is directed specifically at Dunkin' Donut investors, but in reality the information is open to the general public. I'm not 100% positive, but I think because it is a publicly traded company this might be the standard, but I would still like to see some kind of online place where only investors can check on things before they are made public knowledge.. ya know, if the SEC says it's okay.

I think the most important strategies in a crisis are to be honest with your team, investors and the media when you decide to release the information, and stay calm. I can hear the "Uh DUH!" coming already, but really these are things that I think people look over. Being honest is one of the biggest things, of course this can also get confused with "keep your story straight." Basically, if you go up there and try to spin and spin and spin the situation, you're going to get dizzy and the mess will only get messier. Just telling the truth and stating fact will keep the media or investors off your back while you and your team develop a plan to handle the situation. I have always been a believer that the best PR reps are those that can play cool under pressure because the media is going to get the vibe of the situation from that PR rep. If they take the podium at the press conference babbling and with shaky hands, the press is going to most likely blow the situation out of proportion. However, if you can step up there calm and collected, yeah they're the media and still might blow it out of proportion, but people might also think it's no big deal and the crisis will just fizzle out of the news allowing the team to fix it without bother.

Internal Relations

Whether or not Dunkin’ Donuts uses social media for internal communications is yet to be seen. After doing some research, I could not find anything from corporate directed at employees. Since Dunkin’ Donuts is mostly a franchised brand, this leads me to believe that most employee relations is handled on a location-to-location basis. Even the company blog seems to be aimed more towards external relations than internal.

Like I talked about a few posts ago, Dunkin’ Donuts has a company blog up on its main website that discusses corporate moves such as the partnership with Jet Blue Airlines, activities at headquarters like the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins paying a visit and the philanthropic work the company does.

I think Dunkin’ Donuts’ blog is a great example of a blog for external publics. Any company blog should keep the reader informed on company activity in a not so serious manner. You aren’t going to send a press release about merging with Baskin Robbins to the soccer mom in Rhode Island, but she can read about on the blog without being bogged down by corporate mumbo-jumbo language that would run in the Wall Street Journal. A company blog should be written by someone within the PR department, but not a publicist. The person should be within the company’s target market and not seem as biased as a publicist would. That way the when the writer is deciding what to write on he or she can take advice from the publicists, but write it in a way that the consumer would care about and find interesting. If the blog is coming from a customer-ish person then it should cover everything from the more traditional newsworthy things like mergers and financial aspects to the random things like a picture of someone in a Dunkin’ Donuts. I think customer input is big as well. I would recommend having your blogger have an email account just for emails from readers to inspire what to write about. After all, your customers are your No. 1 external relationship.

Dunkin’ Donuts has had a handful of celebrity spokespeople over the last few years. Rachel Ray was signed in 2007 to a three year deal that included television and print ads, promotional appearances and even time in the Dunkin’ Donuts kitchen where Ray was said to have had a hand in some recipes, which I’m not so sure. For some reason, I feel there would have been a noticeable difference in the food she created. In 2010, at the end of Ray’s contract, Dunkin’ Donuts decided to keep it local, signing two Boston athletes: Ray Allen of the Celtics and rookie Tyler Seguin of the Bruins. Both were to be part of the “Caught Cold” campaign. While the campaign mostly focused on the street team rewarding people drinking Dunkin’, Allen and Seguin were to be on the promotional side of it in T.V. commercials. Seguin’s contract only lasted through the 2010-11 NHL season at the end of which the Bruins won the championship, but Allen’s runs through the 2012-13 NBA season (wonder if that still pertains if there is no 2011-12 season). What all three of these spokespeople have in common is that they represent the New England area just like Dunkin’. Ray grew up here and Allen and Seguin play for loyal New England fans.

While I am not sure that a celebrity spokesperson is the best route for Dunkin’ to take, I do respect their previous choices. I think the fact that they all share that common New England bond is important, however, I think Rachel Ray was their best choice because of the fact she was not in sports. When companies hire a spokesperson it is to reach more people, but hiring an athlete is tricky, especially in the northeast. As a Yankee fan, I was not happy to see a pair of red socks last spring on my iced coffee cup. Was it enough to make me give it up? Of course not, but say Dunkin’ is trying to increase their presence in the Los Angeles area; a Celtic player would be a BAD choice! Laker fans will keep to their Starbucks.

Personally, I would not pick a celebrity to be the spokesperson for Dunkin’ Donuts. I would seek out a loyal, blue-collar, hard-working customer to be the face of the brand. I have said it countless times already that Dunkin’ has that laid back, we-relate-to-you attitude. So why pick someone who is already up on a pedestal above the average American to represent your company? 

Media Relations Strategies

In order to succeed with the new, you must perfect the traditional.  Just with their website alone, Dunkin’ Donuts covers both forms of media relations.

By scrolling all the way down on the main page, there is a link to their online press room. Here you can find anything and everything you ever wanted to know about Dunkin’ Donuts (I should know. I’ve used it plenty of times for this blog). It has everything from the typical “About Us,” “Executive Bios” and “Contact” to a PDF of the general company press kit.

Granted I haven’t researched a ton of big companies before, (okay you caught me, only 2) but I have never seen a company put its press kit online for the public. Naïve? Maybe, but I think it is such a good idea.  I have said before that I think the entire Dunkin’ brand is about being laid back and straightforward. Offering the press kit to everyone, I believe, further proves this. It’s like they are saying “Here’s everything about us. We have nothing to hide.” Of course, that is what we all hope for our big companies, but, as they say, everyone has something to hide.

The online press kit has all the components you would expect from a press kit: a cover letter, quick facts, history and company highlights. However, I think it goes above and beyond the major components. It also offers the community service the company does, their customer profile, awards they have won, and things they have improved on that they are proud of such as their nutritionally sound recipes and “culinary excellence.” I used quotes because I question how much culinary skills goes into toasting that bagel. All-in-all, I think the press kit sells the company very well, which of course is the goal.

Social media is quickly becoming a popular and necessary media relations tool. It is no longer necessary for the media to have to go to Dunkin’s PR rep and ask for the information they need. If they want some insight into the company or what its customers think, they can just go to one of the company’s many pages (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or blog) to find out.

Like I said last week, Dunkin’ Donuts seems to have all of its social media covered. I talked about how it created better relations with customers, but not about how it benefitted the media coverage. The YouTube page in particular is offering info to the media and almost begging to be covered. For instance, I’m sure Dunkin’ sent out a press kit on the “Create Dunk’s Next Donut Bake-Off,” and maybe the reporter was interested, but couldn’t get there. By putting up the videos on YouTube, it offers the media a look into the event so it can be covered.

I also think Dunkin’ uses its social media pages instead of press releases for the smaller things. Dunkin’ tends to announce smaller contests, such as the new “Holiday Giveaway” of a Keurig coffee maker, on the Facebook and Twitter pages. While this might not draw immense media attention, it is still getting the information out there.

Social Media

Nowadays if your business doesn't use social media, it means you probably aren't going very far. Every one who is everyone is using social media in one way to reach customers, and Dunkin' Donuts is no excepts. Not only does the company as a whole have a Facebook (social networking) and a Twitter account (micro blogging), but many of the individual franchises have their own accounts as well.

Dunkin' Donuts lives and active life on the micro blogging site Twitter. They tweet at an average of 10 times a day, mostly responding to customer complaints or responding to their encouraging remarks about Dunkin' and their products. I actually had interaction with Dunkin' Donuts on Twitter a couple months ago. There is this one Dunkin' on Whitney Ave. in Hamden right in the center of town and it is ALWAYS packed at morning rush hour, and the drive-thru line is slow as anything. Not being a morning person, and being frustrated I turned to Twitter to share my complaint. Before I got to work that morning, I had a response from the company apologizing for the inconvenience and thanking me for my patience. That made me laugh since typically I have none, but I appreciated the gesture. In addition to them responding to me, they also started following me. Just knowing that they were keeping an eye on me made me want to tweet about my Dunkin' experiences more. So a few days later, I tweeted about how the guys at the counter made my morning just by being super friendly. (Let's face it, people in the Northeast aren't the friendliest and especially not in the morning). I didn't get a response back for that one, but I there was that twinge of hope that because of my tweet those guys would somehow be recognized for their service.

 

“America’s favorite coffee” can also be found on Facebook. Dunkin’ Donuts’s strong Facebook presence is evident by their nearly 5 million fans. Dunkin’s Facebook page strives on consumer interaction. They’re profile default picture is their “Fan of the Week” smothered with Dunkin’ Donuts logos. They post about contests they are having, such as create the next Dunkin’ donut, as well as promoting external things. Right now, their main page has songs from nominees for “Latin Music’s Big Night!” Obviously Dunkin’ has some investment in this award show. At the bottom of the page it says “Check back soon to see photos from the Dunkin’ sponsored Las Vegas after party.”

Dunkin’ also has a YouTube channel. I think this is a good idea by them because it is an easy way to enforce the word of mouth idea. How many times do you go to tell a friend about a funny commercial and turn to YouTube instead of explaining it? (I mean it’s always funnier to see it than have to imagine it right? That’s why “you had to be there.) By putting their own commercials on YouTube, Dunkin’ Donuts can monitor how many people are seeing them. It also provides a place for them to put video highlights from Dunkin’-sponsored events like “Dunkin’s Next Donut Winner” and “Create Dunk’s Next Donut Bake-Off.” As of right now, the Dunkin’ Donuts channel has had 529,647 views and their videos have 1,503,047 views. Mind you, this is all in only 5 years.

But oh wait! There’s more! On their website, they have their own blog called “Behind the Beans.” The blog gives an inside look on what is going on inside the offices. It shares everything from the big moments like the contract to become the official coffee of JetBlue Airlines to the fun stuff like pumpkins carves with the logo or some of the champion Boston Bruins bringing the Stanley Cup by the offices. I think this demonstrates one more way that Dunkin’ Donuts tries to show that they are everyday people just like their customers. By showing what is going on behind closed doors, they are metaphorically saying “This is your company too. You’re opinion of what we’re doing matters. So here is it. Judge as you will.” Judgment obviously being whether or not you switch coffee providers. Clearly it would be bad PR to put anything super controversial or negative in the blog, but from what I read it is very straightforward.

I think Dunkin' does a great job of reaching customers on many levels through numerous social networks. No matter what you are looking for from the company--interaction, customer service, or an inside view--you can find it from Dunkin' Donuts.

Branding

Let’s face it, coffee houses aren’t exactly one-of-a-kind anymore. Walk around any big city and they’re on every block. While Dunkin’ Donuts is not your typical coffee house with big comfy couches, free wifi, big mugs, and art hanging on the walls, they still tend to be on every block. In Hamden, where I grew up, it seemed a new one popped up every year. I can name eight locations without even trying. So what makes Dunkin’ Donuts different than other coffee chains like Starbucks or Tim Horton’s?

In order to find Dunkin’s uniqueness I think it’s important to do as Halvorson says and “identify your organization’s competitive advantages and unique qualities.” Dunkin’ Donuts has a diverse menu and cheap prices, while that’s a definite advantage, it isn’t necessarily what makes them unique. What makes Dunkin’ Donuts unique is the enthusiasm the company puts behind every product. Every time a new item is introduced to the menu there is an energetic commercial. Even Dunkin’ Donuts’ trademark colors are energetic. Hot pink and bright orange are not very relaxing. They give off the same get up and go mentality that Dunkin’s target market has.

I always get a pretentious, hipster feeling at places like Starbucks or privately owned coffee shops. It’s like I need to fit a certain look to hang out there. Not that I do much hanging out. I’m one of those get in-get coffee-get out kind of people, or better yet, drive-thru. Dunkin’ Donuts has never been one of those places though. Even when coffee shops became chic in the 90’s, Dunkin’ never tried to become something it isn’t.

The Dunkin’ Donuts model of coffee and a donut has worked since Bill Rosenberg opened his first shop in 1948. There was never anything overly special about it. Back in the 40’s and 50’s if he tried to do anything Starbucksey people probably would have thought he was trying too hard and the business would have never become what it has. The simplicity and down-to-earth-ness of Dunkin’ Donuts is really a key to its success. On any given day, you can see a variety of people in line or in the drive-thru on their way to work. I think having a large assortment of customer types is a testament to how Dunkin’ Donuts has managed to keep that simple format. I think the most recent slogan “America runs on Dunkin’” was created around the idea that Dunkin’ Donuts serves so many different kinds of people. Aside from it trying to be obvious that Dunkin’ Donuts is a nationwide company that serves millions of cups of coffee every day, if you look a little deeper, saying that “America runs on Dunkin’” represents the eclectic mix of Dunkin’s consumers. Get it? Because America is supposed to be a melting pot? Did I just go to far? Maybe, but if you think about it, it’s true.

The laid back mentality that runs Dunkin’ Donuts is represented in its name. Have you ever heard anyone pronounce it “dunking doughnuts?” No? Didn’t think so. By using slang by dropping the ‘g’ and replacing it with an apostrophe, and misspelling doughnut in a way that is actually easier to spell gives the customer a feeling of relatablity right off the bat. Even if the company name actually was Dunking Doughnuts, people would still pronounce it “dunkin’ donuts.” This way it shows the customer “We’re just like you. We speak like you. We work like you.”

Dunkin’ Donuts definitely creates its own talkability with the ads for its products. Like I said before, the enthusiasm that Dunkin’ puts behind its products is what makes it unique as far as coffee houses go, but it’s also what gets people talking. Dunkin’ Donuts’s commercials use humor by showing chaotic, yet average, American lives. Even if it isn’t 100% positive talk, as I have found with the newest tuna and chicken sandwiches, any publicity is good publicity. As long as people are using the words “Dunkin’ Donuts” it’s always a good thing.

The Basics

The first Dunkin' Donuts was technically opened in 1948 by Bill Rosenberg on Southern Artery in Quincy, Mass. under the name Open Kettle. It was not until 1950 that it became Dunkin' Donuts. Rosenberg opened his coffee and donut shop with the philosophy "Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores." In 1955, the first franchise agreement is signed in Worcester, Mass. officially beginning the expansion of Dunkin' Donuts. By 1963 there were 100 Dunkin' Donuts open across the country and only 16 years later that number grew to 1,000. In 1970, the franchise saw its first international restaurant open in Japan. Up until 2004, the headquarters was still in Quincy, however with the company growing so rapidly, a new space was required so headquarters was relocated to Canton, Mass. Many of Dunkin' Donuts big corporate moves have come within the last decade, such as their partnership to be the official coffee of Jet Blue Airlines, unveiling a new prototype restaurant in Pawtucket, R.I. and launching its "America Runs on Dunkin'" campaign, its most successful ad campaign yet.

The "original Dunkin' Donuts experience" was just a coffee and a donut. However, in the last 63 years, the menu has grown to include an infinite number of coffee options, other hot and cold beverages, varieties of bagels, donuts and pastries, sandwiches and other snacks.Since Rosenberg opened his first shop, the franchise has grown to 9,700 restaurants in 31 countries making it the fastest growing quick service restaurant. I think adding the other products has helped immensely with Dunkin's popularity. I know a bunch of people who don't drink coffee but still go through the drive-thru every morning for a bagel or tea.

Dunkin' Donuts' mission statement is "Dunkin' Donuts will strive to be the dominant retailer of high quality donuts, bakery products and beverages in each metropolitan market in which we choose to compete." In my opinion, as a very loyal Dunkin' consumer, they are achieving their goal of producing high quality products, especially coffee.

The company says it's target customer is "busy people on-the-go--people who take what they do seriously without taking themselves too seriously. Dunkin' Donuts customers perceive themselves as authentic and true to themselves--they make the country run, they take pride in knowing who they are and where they come from and they feel comfortable in their own skin." Personally, I think they're thinking too much into this. I agree that their customers are busy people on-the-go. They typically aren't the kind of people who want to go sit at a coffee shop (aka Starbucks people) all day and lounge around, but past that I think Dunkin' went a little far in this description. Personally, I find a lot of Dunkin's speed comes from the fact ordering doesn't take a half hour. I'm overwhelmed when I try to go to Starbucks because I have no idea how they want to order. Last time I checked, "grande" meant large in a couple languages, not medium.