On the heels of their holiday cup and coffee menu release, Dunkin' has released a holiday merchandise line, to be sold at a virtual pop-up store. The products include a sweater, hair scrunchies and an adult onesie.
"The team started by thinking about the gifts we always wanted but never got, Dunkin' style. An electric guitar, a tin lunchbox, fanny packs; we indulged our inner child to recreate the 'gifts that got away,'" said Tosh Hall, global chief creative officer of Jones Knowles Ritchie, Dunkin's creative agency.
"The designs were inspired by the gifts you always wanted but never got as a kid," said Melanie Cohn, senior manager, brand engagement at Dunkin'. "They're Instagram-worthy and designed to bring out the inner kid in all of us."
Whatever the inspiration was, Dunkin' is certainly taking a page from Taco Bell's merchandise playbook, said Joseph Szala, principal at Vigor Branding, an agency that specializes in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Lately, Dunkin' is playing in the same fun and quirky arena as the Mexican inspired brand. And said Szala of the merchandise line, "I really do think it is on-brand for Dunkin.'" Particularly as Dunkin' tries to attract a younger audience.
Szala sees this campaign attracting millennials and Gen Xers as well as young families. Although these items aren't really about sales, more about buzz, he said.
The products all incorporate Dunkin's signature pink and orange, and that was by design, said Cohn. "This time of year can be a sea of sameness with red and green, so we decided to bring our fun Dunkin' spin to the season by reimagining the holidays in our iconic Dunkin' pink."
The brand's new holiday cups are that signature pink as well, and all feature Dunkin's 'Verbin' language, as Cohn calls it. The cups are decorated with words like celebration', sleighin', wrappin' and dashin'. The only issue with the merchandise as Szala sees it is a missed opportunity to add that 'verbin' language to these items.
"Sleighin' is fantastic for apparel because it is what someone would say about someone dressed fantastic," he said.
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