Dunkin’ Donuts Takes On Starbucks
Why? The average Joe (pardon the pun) who regularly visits Dunkin’s is not going to Starbucks for coffee. I see these as completely different target markets. Am I off? Can someone explain it to me? Seems like a ton of advertising cash is going to this campaign?
Wouldn’t Dunkin be better served targeting the average Joe the plumber?
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October 22nd, 2008 at 1:09 am
Starbucks is generally perceived as silly yuppie junk by most “average joes” that I know. They could care less about Starbucks, and routinely mock it. DD would be far better off marketing the ways they differ from Starbucks, and emphasizing that they’re all about doughnuts: breakfast of ordinary folks.
(and God bless Joe the Plumber–at least SOMEone can still ask an honest question when they smell socialism in the air!)
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
What I find odd is that DD and McDonald’s are both fighting Starbucks with the same marketing pitch when they should be going after each other. At least DD and McD’s are pursuing much more similar market segments.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I agree, DD should focus more on McDonalds. I happen to like DD, McDonalds and Starbucks coffee like I like all different kinds of beers depending on what I’m thirsty for.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I agree with the above comments on who they should be targeting, but when talking about quality, Starbucks is the “authority” (although I do not like their coffee). I think its similar to when Ford compares their new sedan to Acura or another high-end brand – they’re doing it to demonstrate that while our quality (or other attribute, safety, gas mileage, comfort) is in line with high-end brands, we’re not charging that much. The goal isn’t to get someone who would buy Acura to buy a Ford so much as is getting them to look at their car rather than a Chevy. In this case, the goal is to get them to buy coffee at DD rather than the local gas station.
If MCD or DD just comes out and says, “We have excellent coffee”, would anyone really believe them? But by saying we’ve beaten Starbucks in taste tests, you can at least have something to back up your statement. So now you can get excellent coffee and a donut without going over to YuppieVille….
Just my two cents worth -
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Good points Steven but my brother who is a landscaper by trade wouldn’t be caught dead with a Starbucks but loves Dunkin’s. He doesn’t ever want to be associated to the Starbucks brand. On top of that the two coffees taste incredibly different.
Was Dunkin’s quality ever an issue? McDonalds, yes but not DD’s. I think they’d be better served targeting their market with a campaign that means something to them…
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Thanks for all the kind words about our coffee. This marketing effort is specifically created to report the facts of the taste test. We think a lot of people will benefit from realizing that Dunkin’ coffee is actually very high-quality and is often preferred from a taste perspective. Dunkin’ has been known in the northeast United States for years as the “go to” coffee place, but in some parts of the country that’s not the understanding.
I’m glad a lot of you really enjoy our coffee. There are a few online coupons on the above site, so if you want to save some money on your daily cup feel free to take a look.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm
How is DD taking on Starbucks. To me – if you want good coffee – DD all the way. If you want a Latte – Starbucks. McDonalds burns their coffee.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Scott – Brennan brings up a great point that I had forgotten. Down here in Atlanta, the brand impression of DD is different than up in Boston. When I was up there several years ago, I couldn’t believe how many DDs I saw. There was one on every corner! Down here, its that way with Starbucks (until they closed a bunch recently).
That demonstrates a great point – the difficulty in building and influencing a national brand when areas of the country already view your brand a certain way.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I live in a town of maybe 25,000 and we have at least 4 DD’s. Still, I’d like to use my budget on the target market which they describe as “hardworking”. I interpret that as more of a bluecollar group, like my brother.
Me, I order online through Gevalia. Good stuff.