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Dunkin' Donuts Claims to Beat Starbucks in Coffee Taste Test

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:30:32 -0700

As colossal coffee chain Starbucks struggles to keep up with past profit margins, its competitors continue to move in for the kill. Earlier this month, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts introduced its version of a recession deal. Now, in its latest ad campaign, the chain is claiming it beat Starbucks in a blind taste test.In the campaign, Dunkin' Donuts, which is currently in the middle of a national expansion effort, airs a new TV spot and launched a website, Dunkin' Beat Starbucks, that will highlight the results of the taste test.

The blind taste test, conducted by A&G Research, polled 476 adults in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. According to a press release from the chain, 54.2 percent of participants surveyed preferred Dunkin' Donuts coffee to the 39.3 percent who preferred Starbucks coffee. Another 6.3 percent had no preference between the two.

I'm slightly surprised by the results: I recently had Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and found that I still prefer the coffee from Starbucks. What about you? Are you impressed by the study's results, or are you skeptical of the findings?

Source

Dunkin' Donuts One-Ups Starbucks With New Special

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:12:23 -0700

Responding to the economic hardship, breakfast chain Dunkin' Donuts has come out with its version of a recession deal.

Beginning today, small hot and iced lattes will cost only 99 cents from 2 to 5 p.m. The new special, dubbed "America's Latte Break," is the doughnut chain's response to the Starbucks $2 afternoon coffee deal that ended last month. The restaurants will also offer a 99 cent Egg and Cheese Sandwich — all day long — with the purchase of a medium or larger hot coffee. Both specials will run through Nov. 11.

What do you think of "America's Latte Break"? Will it edge out the competition? Will you visit Dunkin' Donuts for afternoon coffee over Starbucks?

Source

Advertising Advances May Change Your Food Decisions

YumSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:45:57 -0700

Recently grocers and restaurant chains have started to employ a sophisticated type of digital advertising. The videos and images influence a shopper's decisions as they browse supermarket aisles or wait in line to pay. At select Dunkin' Donuts in New York, people who order coffee in the morning see ads promoting breakfast items at the register. Then while they wait for their orders, the television screens show different images that encourage the customer to return for lunch. In Germany, grocer Metro Extra uses digital screens to sway a shopper. Certain goods have special tags attached to them, so when you grab a box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, the eye-level screen changes its message to display a sale price for, say, Wheaties.

At a time when shoppers are more cautious about how they spend their money, this could give certain food companies an edge. What do you think: Is this new advertising scheme brilliant, or does the technology to increase impulse buys creep you out?

Source

Raise Your Hand If You Like Freebies!

YumSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:51 -0700

Tomorrow, May 15, there are two fast-food freebies for you to catch. The first involves free chicken sandwiches, and the second involves free coffee.

First up, McDonald's is promoting their new Southern Style Chicken Biscuits and Sandwiches by giving them away at 14,000 of their US locations. If you purchase a medium or large beverage you can get a free chicken biscuit from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or a free chicken sandwich from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. They're expecting to give away over eight million sandwiches, so be sure to get yours!

If you're not a chicken or McD's fan, then head over to your local Dunkin' Donuts where you can score yourself a free iced coffee with no strings attached. It's a small 16 oz. iced coffee and is available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

So tell me, are you going to hunt down one of these freebies?

Dunkin' Donuts Offers Some Tax-Day Relief

YumSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:03:51 -0700

Doing some last-minute work on your taxes this weekend? Well maybe they'll be a bit easier to do if you know there's a reward at the end of the tax-form tunnel. Next Tuesday, April 15, Dunkin' Donuts is offering a bit of tax-day relief in the form of a free donut. However, I should warn you, much like your taxes, you need to read all the fine print. The donut is only free when you buy any sized hot coffee. If you're interested, find a Dunkin' Donuts store near you.

Dunkin' Donuts Hopes to Cash in on Starbucks' Closures

YumSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:28:31 -0800

Don't forget, your local Starbucks is closing this evening. From 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., they will be closed for retraining purposes. To take advantage of this closure, rival Dunkin' Donuts is offering small lattes and cappuccinos for 99 cents today from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. So if you need your caffeine fix, head over to your nearest Dunkin' Donuts. And if you want a little chuckle then check out their commercial, which clearly pokes fun at Starbucks. To do so, just

Rachael Ray Refuses to Work Without Her Coffee

YumSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:18:31 -0800

Our pals over at Grub Street are reporting that Rachael Ray might not be the perfect Dunkin' Donuts spokesperson. After all, shouldn't a spokesperson like the product she's hawking? In a second-hand story, Rachael is being quoted as calling Dunkin' Donuts coffee sh*t. She also refused to continue until someone brought her HER coffee, which happened to be Starbucks coffee.

I'm not sure if this is true, but it does sound rather diva-like. What do you think, would it surprise you if this was true? Perhaps she was just upset about the shake-ups at her magazine?

Also, would you agree with her? Do you like Dunkin' Donuts coffee?

Source

Rachael Ray is Dunkin' Donuts New Spokesperson

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:58:19 -0700

Is it just me, or is Rachael Ray everywhere these days? She's at the wax museum, she's on the box of Ritz crackers, she's on the red carpet, she has her own talkshow, you name it she's there. What's that, you're naming Dunkin' Donuts? Why yes, she's there too! I mean why wouldn't the new Dunkin' Donuts spokesperson be there?Yes you read that correctly. Rachael has just penned herself a deal to be Dunkin' Donuts new spokesperson.

[Rachael] will serve as the donut and coffee shop's "brand representative" and will "appear in a multi-platform marketing campaign for Dunkin' Donuts." Dunkin' Donuts also says that Rachael will "lend her perspective to the Dunkin' Donuts culinary team in the development of new, 'better for you' food and beverage options."

The campaign starts soon and will go until 2010. That means, that for the next 3 years she'll be on tv, in magazines, on the radio, in stores, etc... hrmm, I guess nothing's really changing, now is it?Source: Everything Rachael Ray Image SourceSo, what do you guys think of this endorsement?

Rachael Ray is Dunkin' Donuts New Spokesperson

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Free Caffeine Fix For All!

YumSugar — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:39:52 -0800

Since most of you seem to enjoy caffeine, I thought I'd let you know that there are THREE days this month (that's right, three!) when you can get a cuppa for free.

The first is today ( March 8 ) at participating McDonald's. They're handing out free cups of coffee to anyone who asks for it. This is because they recently beat out Starbucks in a taste test. On a related note, I just read that they're planning on expanding espresso drinks nationally.

The second is next Thursday ( March 15 ) - Starbucks is promoting its second annual "coffee break" by pouring free 12oz cups of brewed coffee between 10am - noon.

The last one is the following Wednesday ( March 21 ) - Dunkin' Donuts celebrates the first day of spring with a free 16oz cup of iced coffee.

So mark your calendars folks, free caffeine for all!

Thanks to our pals at Serious Eats for pointing us to these dates.