Who says Dunkin’ Donuts anyway?
My name is Gianna, and I am fully aware that we do not have Dunkin’ Donuts in Northern Ireland. But I’m pretty sure that 99% of us know what it is, and I think that’s enough to write about this piece of news.
The fast-food chain announced the news on September 25, 2018, that it would be dropping the ‘Donuts’ from the name for customers to be aware that they sell more than just donuts.
It’s not a surprise that they are dropping the ‘Donuts’. Their slogan is “America runs on Dunkin’” and their logo is a coffee cup. Both aspects of the brand image lack emphasis on the sugary treat; rather it directs the audience’s attention to coffee, which coincidentally is what the company will now focus on in the New Year. A former CFO of Dunkin’ Donuts even stated in 2013 that the company is, in fact, a “beverage company.”
Fear not to those of you who have tried Dunkin’ Donuts, the company will continue to sell those original glazed donuts and other flavours you may have tried when you went to America for your holiday. They merely want to focus on beverages such as iced coffees, cold-brews and teas; a cheaper alternative to the iced salted caramel latte macchiato with two shots of espresso and no foam at Starbucks.
Though change is coming to the company, the font and brand image will remain the same. With its infamous clashing of colours of orange and pink. This new logo will be rolled out in all the company’s advertising, packaging, social media and website once the New Year begins.
People’s responses are not always the most positive. Everything and everyone has a doubter. Meryl Streep has at least 5 people despising her work, the Pixar movie Up is perhaps not the most loved movie of all time and the new Dunkin’ name will have people associating it with basketball, as a Twitter user suggests. This new name change could spark inspiration to other American fast food chains to change their brand to make it more catchy. The Chinese takeaway Panda Express could change to just Panda and maybe the Instagram-worthy fast-food burgers In-N-Out may drastically change to In/Out.
The social media team at Dunkin’ Donuts have been continually rolling out the new name via Instagram posts. Even though the company does not officially change its name until January 1 2019, bittersweet goodbyes have been already said by the company. Their Instagram bio cleverly states “We’re on a first-name basis with America” and a sentimental post stating “Dunkin’ means donuts. Always has, always will.” Tissue anyone?
This name changing trend is not unusual when you want to promote more than what the name states. Recently, Weight Watchers also changed its name to “WW” because in our body-positive, love yourself and be comfortable in your own skin era, the company did not want to be associated with the notion of dieting, therefore the emphasis of watching your weight has now been dropped. The marketing stunt of IHOP changing to IHOB was smart, but that is for another story.
Change can be useful for a company and it can also be terrible. But we won’t find out if the outcome of this name change is good or bad until the New Year. I don’t mind the name change, considering that I lived in America for a year. I did notice that not a lot of people said: “Do you want to get Dunkin’ Donuts?”. So when I heard the news about Dunkin’ dropping the Donuts, I thought to myself, “Who says Dunkin’ Donuts anyway?”
Now, onto more pressing news; petition to get Dunkin’ Donuts in Northern Ireland?
Gianna Pornasdoro is a final year BSc in Communication, Advertising and Marketing student at Ulster University. She can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianna-pornasdoro/