Dunkin' claims taste-test win vs. Starbucks
Hill, Holliday has created a new commercial and Web site touting blind taste-test results favoring Dunkin' Donuts coffee over Starbucks. I conducted a test of my own, pounding down Dunkin' coffee non-stop all day yesterday and Starbucks today to see which buzz is more righteous and "far out." For kicks, I also wore a blindfold. The Dunkin' coffee made me hallucinate that the sexy field researcher in the ad morphed into a giant Dutch man-cat who got my doughnut order wrong over and over, just like the counter help at Dunkin' in real life. After my first dozen Starbucks lattes, I stripped to my shorts, adopted the nerdy mannerisms of John Hodgman and tried to convince co-workers that Vista's not really that bad, all while standing on my head. AdFreak's lawyers have advised me to add: Do not try drinking this much coffee at home! I am a professional blogger and do stuff like this all the time! (Or at least I say I do.) Now, what's a guy gotta do to get a refill around here? |
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October 21, 2008 in Dunkin' Donuts, Gianatasio, Hill Holliday, Starbucks | Permalink |
Comments
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I've given up on Dunkin Donuts. I was a loyal supporter of theirs for many many years, but the last several times I've gotten coffee there it has been undrinkable garbage. In several different locations in several different cities and states I have repeatedly gotten the same wretched gunk that tastes like they must clean the coffee maker with excessive amounts of 409. Nasty nasty nasty.
I used to live in Seattle, and I just don't get the whole super strong, massive portions thing either. And it always feels grainy.
Green Mountain Breakfast Blend, please!
Posted by: Marc Arsenault | Oct 21, 2008 1:16:58 PM
Dunkin' could benefit from studying their marketing history: Sergio Zyman says both Pepsi and RC beat Coke in taste tests. But New Coke beat them all. Yet nobody wanted New Coke. People didn't want a better soda. They wanted their favorite brand. And for most people, that was "classic" Coke. And Coke is still the market leader.
Dunkin' Donuts is going up again Starbucks on taste, a place where Howard Schultz is not weak. They should have selected an attribute where Starbucks was vulnerable and try to differentiate on that.
People don't go to Starbucks because the coffee tastes better (altough it's a damn fine cup). They're loyal because it makes them feel good; it's an everyday reward. They feel special when they carry that disctinctive logoed Starbucks cup. Dunkin' Donuts just doesn't have the same cachet...even if it DOES taste better.
Posted by: MickeyDee | Oct 21, 2008 2:54:25 PM
The problem here isn't that DD coffee tastes like crap or that Starbucks tastes good. It's the extreme inauthenticity of the whole ploy. How badly did DD beat 'bucks? Doesn't say anywhere on the site. I don't care what they say or what the site looks like or how the commercial looks, I want some numbers. I want some authenticity. And there is none.
Posted by: Jeremy Greenfield | Oct 21, 2008 3:07:09 PM
Beat a man while he is down...
Sorry I completely failed to make any comments previously relevant to advertising or marketing.
But the whole framing it in the classic Coke V. Pepsi style just seems a big mistake. It's free advertising for Starbucks. With such a wide market (drive through coffee) why single one out who is already in the middle of a big cutback (what is it, something like 900 Starbucks closing?) Their real competition is McDonalds who also have the breakfast sandwiches and have made a lot of noise about how great their coffee is lately. (and also have very limited options) No way are most DD and Starbucks customers entirely in the same segment.
How many people just get Starbucks drip coffee, anyway? I guess focus on that, since Turbo Hot and Latte Lite stand little chance against a caramel macchiato. The whole thing feels very dated, and not in any intentional way. The whole 'beats Starbucks angle' just spoils the potentially strong (and positive!) America Runs on Dunkin' theme.
Posted by: Marc Arsenault | Oct 21, 2008 3:30:23 PM
Ummmm... I agree completely with all prior comments. I prefer quality, service, sophistication, atmosphere, personality, over the crap drinks at DD.
Posted by: Caroline | Oct 21, 2008 11:11:29 PM
Coffee has nothing to do with taste. The majority of people that drink are simply hooked on the caffeine. Now that makes the question, where do I want to get my caffeine fix? Do want to grab a cup at gas station or donut shop, or do I want to go to the place that has people called barristas and fancy machines that go wooooosh? Maybe I won't look like a complete junky if I go to the fancy place with the machines that woooooosh! After all, they both serve a cup of coffee that is dark roasted and tastes of charcoal, so it doesn't matter in the end. And for all you caffeine junkies out there, if you choose a lighter roast of coffee, there's actually more caffeine in it. Oh and here's another one that will blow your mind. I know a guy who worked at Folgers, and Folger's routinely beats Starbucks 2 to 1 on blind taste tests. Folgers isn't dumb enough to market that, because they know they are no competition for the machines that go wooooosh and people wearing aprons with rings throught their noses.
Posted by: thatguy | Oct 22, 2008 9:56:46 AM
Actually the website and all online activities were created and executed by Dunkin' Donut's digital AOR - Studiocom, not Hill Holliday.
Posted by: peteB | Oct 22, 2008 12:05:03 PM
2 inch heels are ideal for running about America taking a survey! And they go so well with lab coats!
Posted by: Rebecca Cullers | Oct 22, 2008 4:15:02 PM
BTW, Hill Holiday had nothing to do with the online work, that is done by Studiocom.
Posted by: Ed | Oct 22, 2008 11:55:12 PM
476 total people took the taste test. the taste test was taken in ten cities across the US. of the 476 people, only 54% of the people liked dunkin better. that to me is not a big stat. i think in order to make a statement as big as this one, they need to have a much larger scale taste test.
dunkin released this press release:
https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/press/PressRelease.aspx?viewtype=current&id=100129&utm_source=DunkinBeatStarbucks&utm_medium=Site&utm_content=About_The_Test&utm_campaign=DunkinBeatStarbucks
Posted by: Aaron | Aug 29, 2009 9:47:05 PM
