Dunkin' might drop the "Donuts"

by Nicole Weston, Posted Apr 11th 2006 @ 9:01AM

The executives at Dunkin' Donuts are considering dropping the word "Donuts" from their sign, rechristening the popular chain "Dunkin'" to reflect their expanded offerings. They seem to feel that potential customers might be confused by the name, thinking that the shop offers only donuts.

Personally, I think that this would be a huge mistake on the part of the company. Over the years, they have built a successful brand that has a tremendous amount of name recognition. Not only does such a move reflect poorly on the perception of the intelligence of the customers, but it is just plain silly. Burger King has not dropped the "burger" from its name, despite the fact that it offers sandwiches and salads. And why not? Because they are most famous for their burgers, just like Dunkin' Donuts is most famous for their donuts.

Their new "America runs on Dunkin'" ad campaign might be a first attempt to see how people will respond to a shortened name.

Filed Under: Business, Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: ad, ad campaign, american runs on duncan, brand, chain, coffee shop, company, customers, donuts, doughnuts, dunkin, dunkin donuts, DunkinDonuts, executives, fast food, mistake, name, rebrand

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-11-2006 @9:16AM Jessica said... that is the worst idea ever! they'll never be able to escape the "donuts" part of their name, even if they try- and it makes no sense to me why they would want to
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4-11-2006 @11:04AM burns said... i disagree- i think it'll work well for them. but they blow anyway so i hope it doesn't. "dunkin'" -it's unique, and so's the text. it'll defintely bring some more diverse attention.
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4-11-2006 @3:02PM Kelley Ritchey said... I don't know what the dunkin' is without the donuts, but I guess they're trying to retain part of their name.

I think consumers have gotten used to food joints changing their menu. If they no longer serve donuts at all, I'd recommend a name change. But otherwise, keep the name as is.
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4-11-2006 @4:58PM Erin said... Some folks in the northeast already refer to it as Dunkies, so it might work. On the other hand, if anyone likes their tradition, it's northeasterners, so they might very well revolt at such a change.
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4-18-2006 @1:27PM Charlie said... If I were them...or if they asked me...I would tell them that if they feel they HAVE to change, I would keep the name, but add a tag line. Something like: "Dunkin Donuts"..."Donuts, Bagels and More..."
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5-01-2006 @7:56PM Carmelo Vazquez jr said... I have been a Dunkin Donuts employee for over 27 year's, and I haved adopted to all type of changes: however, I don't believe we should change what build these business the Title. Lets keep the only thing that people remember our service for.

Thank You, Carmelo Vazquez Jr.
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