Behind Dunkin’s new big-moment marketing approach

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Stitcher. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! Dunkin’—which added plenty of star power to its 2024 Super Bowl ad after debuting in the game last year—is just getting started. The coffee and doughnut chain is embracing celebrities as part of a new marketing approach aimed at giving ads more polish. “For years we were very LTO (limited-time offer) driven,” Dunkin Chief Marketing Officer Jill McVicar Nelson said on the latest edition of Ad Age’s Marketer’s Brief podcast. “Every week we would change messaging on different products and value offers. Over the last year, we’ve been really trying to lean into bigger moments, higher visibility, maybe higher-quality content.” The brand had originally not planned to come back to the game this year. But it decided to go big at the urging of Artists Equity, Ben Affleck’s production company. The result was a two-part campaign starring Affleck that began with a Grammys ad (in which he appeared with Charli D’Amelio) and climaxed at the Super Bowl, where Dunkin’ won creative praise for its Boston-themed spot starting Affleck and his wife Jennifer Lopez, along with cameos from Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Jack Harlow and Fat Joe. “We like to joke that it’s the Dunkin’ cinematic universe and we keep adding more people. We’ve liked to authentically stretch who we work with in terms of talent,” McVicar Nelson said. The chain has also stretched its agency approach. While Leo Burnett was hired as Dunkin’s lead creative agency last year, Artists Equity seems to be getting most of the high-profile assignments of late. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here “We want to work with a variety of different partners in areas that they do best in,” McVicar Nelson said. “And so we work with a lot of different agencies. We’ve been doing a lot more with Artists Equity, and we'll continue to do more with them in the future, given a lot of the success we’ve seen in our recent efforts.” So will we see more of Affleck in Dunkin’ ads? “Stay tuned,” McVicar Nelson said. “Never say never in terms of maybe putting Ben in front of the camera again. We are working with Ben and his entire team through Artists Equity to think through creative ideas for Dunkin’ and continuing to find ways to replicate some of these really special moments that drive such great affinity for the brand.” Dunkin’ social mentions during the Super Bowl were up 65% compared to its 2023 spot, the brand said. The day after the Super Bowl, enrollment in Dunkin’s rewards program more than doubled compared to the prior Monday. The ad plugged a special DunKings menu that includes an iced coffee prepared the way Affleck prefers it—vanilla and cream, topped with sweet cold foam and cinnamon sugar. The brand has been investing more in paid and owned social content to attract Gen Zers and help build their daily caffeine ritual. “That consumer and that demographic, they like iced beverages, colorful, unique beverages, things that look good when you want to share them on social media,” said McVicar Nelson. “So having a variety of customization options from a product and menu standpoint is really important.” @dunkin love a saturday morning debrief with the girlies 🥰🥰🥰 ♬ Little Life - Cordelia The pandemic shifted consumer behaviors to be more adventurous in their orders, a change that is still being seen today. McVicar Nelson said the brand has seen more people come in later in the morning or in the afternoon as a break from their work-from-home days. Espresso drink orders have also gone up. The shifts caused Dunkin’ to do more messaging around the rewards app as a way to showcase its mobile order and pickup. “Finding unique ways to recognize loyalty is more and more important, especially in a competitive crowded space,” she said.

Behind Dunkin’s new big-moment marketing approach

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