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.
I was actually an advocate of Dunkin' Donuts coffee for a while (3 years of highschool). In college, I drank it less because the actual place was a little far from SHU's campus and it was out of the way. I'm not a fan of the new additions they've made to the menu (tuna melt, ham and cheese thing, etc.)...I feel like they're trying to keep up with Subway.
ReplyDeleteI cant start any summer morning without a Dunkin ice. I agree with you Avery, they should have just stuck to breakfast pastreries. Dunkin does a great job advertising through their partnerships and sponsoring. I am from MA and Dunkin dominates the city through its partnerships with all the major sports teams. They are on billboards, banners in the stadiums and major advertiser with New England Sports Network. If your a fan of the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins or Celtics you are most likely a fan of Dunkin. I see the motion towards more starbucksy, modern tables, and earth tones lately though. Well see how that turns out.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Dunks needs to stick to breakfast food. Not that I eat tuna salad, but I am not sure I would ever try it from Dunks even if I did.
ReplyDeleteThey're partnerships with Boston sports was huge! Yes, as a Yankee fan, it pained me to see that dumb red sock on my iced coffee every day in Newport. But it gets deeper than that too. They are the coffee provider of a lot more stadiums. Every stadium on the east coast that I have been to proudly serves Dunkin Donuts. Most make it the only option. I think that alone makes up for the fact they are hard to find in the coffee-obsessed, Starbuck-loving west coast.
Is it wrong that I drink both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks? I'm currently enjoying a chilled homemade french vanilla ice coffee. They discontinued serving their french vanilla brewed iced coffee for a vanilla pump which makes me sick. Summers are DD homemade french vanilla, Christmas Starbucks gingerbread latte and when in need of a caffeine fix I will go anywhere to get it. In NYC aside from coffee, they breakdown like this; DD's are small, fast with no bathrooms while Starbucks has bathrooms, wifi & a million people inside a tiny shop.
ReplyDeleteHow clever the Boston Sports deal.DD's were not around Boston in the early 90's when I went to college. Not only did I lived close to Fenway Park, I had a great view from my dorm room.
I don't want to get beat up but I would drink a DD Red Sox and a Yankees cup.I'm just loaded with contradictions.
You mentioned that Dunkin Donuts describes it's consumers as "busy people on-the-go--people who take what they do seriously without taking themselves too seriously." The key element there is "with out taking themselves too seriously." As a coffee lover I do drink both dunkin and starbucks, but the taste of the coffee is not the only distinct different from the too. I have always seen Starbucks as more of the "designer" brand. For some reason Starbucks gives off a more chic vibe and i think that's exactly why certain people drink it, while Dunkin on the other hand, gives more of an "all-American" feel. When i think of Starbucks i think of new york city, fashionista and Dunkin, I think soccer mom. It might be interesting for you too look into how the marketing plays into giving each brand a distinct personality.
ReplyDeleteYou've done a nice job of describing the company's history and development. I also like your comments about their view of their target audience. I suspect you and some of your commenting classmates have a better handle on it than they do. Overall, a pretty good job of describing their brand.
ReplyDeleteOne factor worth looking at though is the way the brand focus changed. Originally, it was, "Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores."
Now, it's, ""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."
Notice, how the new statement broadens from just donuts to donuts and "bakery products," and from just coffee to beverages. Also, they don't just serve products but see themselves as "retailers." The questions is whether this (and even the sports affiliations) will begin to cloud and weaken the brand.