Donut Design

In addition to the brand favoritism I have for JetBlue and their ingenious marketing/branding efforts, I’m also quite a fan of Dunkin Donuts. Now blame it on memories from my youth when my dad and I would take early Saturday morning trips to Dunkins to get donuts for the family for breakfast, or blame it on the delicious quality of the first iced coffee I ever consumed, but it’s safe to say I’m hooked on Dunkins.

My loyalty used to lie solely with the iced variety of coffee, namely blueberry (don’t knock it ‘til you try it), but spending recent years in MA and now living here, the weather doesn’t always cooperate for the drinking of an iced beverage. Hence, my taste buds, my need for caffeine no matter the temperature, and my frozen fingers have grown to appreciate the deliciousness and all-important warming factor of a hot Dunkins coffee as well.

I go to the same Dunkins every morning in the T, and I go to the same line with the same woman working. You know you do this too often when the only question she asks is whether you want a medium or a large today. And no, I don’t order just a black coffee; I take mine with hazelnut flavoring, skim milk, and two Splenda. Props to this very nice woman for remembering my order day after day, and it seems to be one of many orders she remembers from us regulars.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I haven’t consumed Starbucks, and it’s not like I don’t occasionally crave something like a green tea latte or skinny caramel latte. But as insane as it sounds purchase a cup of Dunkins on my way to work every morning and if I did this at Starbucks I think it’s safe to say I’d be close to broke. If you’re wondering whether I’ve calculated how much money I spend per week or month purchasing coffee, the answer is no. I’m pretty much avoiding doing that, but I’m sure there would be at least a little extra in my bank account if I made coffee at home in the morning.

Now down to the actual point of this post. In addition to Dunkin Donuts’ great “You Kin’ Do It” ad campaign, they have a creative consumer involvement contest running. Through April 7th you can visit dunkindonuts.com/donut and design an original donut. The grand prize is $12,000. Not a bad prize, the contest sounds fun, and who wouldn’t want to design their own donut and maybe see it in a store near them! Maybe I’ll have to give donut design a whirl. Check out the story here on BrandWeek to learn more.