America Runs on Dunkin (Donuts???)

I saw the commercial running last night of the Dunkin Donuts promotional to get a free iced coffee May 15th. Curious about the image they have recently been trying to reinvent, I visited their website, dunkindonuts.com. I also wanted to find a close DD so I could stop in to try their coffee.

I was on my iPhone at the time and they appropriately deliver a flash-less site for the device. However, I was frustrated by a couple of things. The store locator, which should be a priority considering the promotion, was one of several tiny links in the global navigation. And, when DD comes to mind, I think of delicious donuts of all shapes, colors, and tastes. I could not find an image of a donut until two levels into the nutritional facts section of the site. I understand the popularity of health consciousness, but consider the brand. With the recent commercial spots, "America Runs on Dunkin", is DD purposely transitioning to a brand not focused on tasty pastries.

When I visited the site today on my computer, the experience was more rich and targeted with Flash and running one of the humorous spots they now have on air. Locate a store was front and center as well as the promotion. But again, no donuts. I was intrigued by the "RSVP on Facebook" and visited the link to find 130,000 confirmed guests for the event. Well done! Nice Social Network tie in.

So, are we in for a new brand identity, "Dunkin", similar to the FedEx change years ago? Although that was driven by consumers, not the other way around. I predict within 2 years, they will be "Dunkin". They risk alienating their existing consumers but could potentially steal market share from the king of coffee, Starbucks. I'd welcome a little competition in the market to help bring more realistic pricing to the consumer.