berman - dunkin donuts vs starbucks
TRANSCRIPT
Which Coffee Giant is Going
to Win This Social Media
Battle?
Drew BermanDunkin’ Donuts vs Starbucks
March 2016
Coffeeshop Battle:
Dunkin’ Donuts
vs Starbucks
1. Executive Summary2. Dunkin Donuts Background3. Starbucks Background4. Overall Social Presence Comparison5. Social Media Platform Battle
a. Facebookb. Twitterc. Instagramd. YouTubee. Vinef. Blogs
6. The Winner is Chosen
Executive Summary
Coffee is the second most commonly traded commodity in the world. The United States is the world’s largest importer of coffee. American’s love their coffee, and most would choose to start their day at either Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks. Beginning as small businesses in the U.S., these two industry giants are now popular coffee and pastry destinations worldwide. With many similarities, they also have many qualities to differentiate themselves against competitors.
If you’re an average American looking for a cheap cup of joe, you’re probably going straight to the drive-thru window of Dunkin’ Donuts because “America Runs On Dunkin” and has fueled us for the past 66 years. The coffeehouse and doughnut shop is most popular on the east-coast, as it originated in Massachusetts. Starbucks, opened a bit later in 1971 on the other side of the country in Seattle, Washington, and wasn’t really a big threat to DD at first. Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks co-existed for those 20 years when Dunkin’ was all about the donuts - but the booming coffee market put Starbucks ahead of the game. So, In 1990, DD retired its famous “Time to Make the Donuts” ad, as they realized focusing their attention on coffee, like their west-coast rival, was the right strategy. Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks have continued their coffee battle ever since. Dunkin’ might be the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chain, but Starbucks has been the most successful coffee chain in the past few decades. This year, an average of 2 million customers visit DD each day in the U.S. But, Starbucks has them beat in terms of company size, with double the number of storefronts and serve over 8.5 million customers per day. They also are leading in the financial sector as well - In 2014, Starbucks generated $16.4 billion in revenue, and Dunkin’ Donuts trailed behind at just $749 million.
Although Starbucks might seem like the clear winner here, there are other factors that should be looked at as well. What really sets these two apart is how they market themselves against each other and other competitors. Dunkin’s everyday american coffee drinkers tend to be sociable moms, sports fanatics and family travelers. Starbucks is known as the ‘luxury’ coffee brand, selling a stronger, more robust flavored coffee for a premium price. Their storefronts are hip, trendy and tend to attract drinkers that are college age, early adopters, and music enthusiasts. Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are two of the most successful brands on social media. Their marketing online is smart, creative and unique to their individual brand position and consumer target. In order to determine the winner of this coffee battle, i’ll need to look at each brand’s ability to reach and engage their customers on social media.
Dunkin’ Donuts was founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincey, Massachusetts. Dunkin’ definitely dominates the East Coast, But, the American global doughnut company and coffeehouse chain has since grown to become one of the largest coffee and baked goods chains in the world - with more than 11,300 restaurants in 36 countries.
DD put more emphasis into coffee in the 90s and in 2006 decided to go head-to-head with their rival coffee brand by specifically calling out Starbucks in a new commercial. It showed customers struggling to order from a “Fritalian” menu at Starbucks. 2006 was also the year when the famous “America Runs on Dunkin” campaign was launched.
Dunkin’ Donuts likes to think about Starbucks a lot in many of their campaigns, trying to distinguish themselves and attract customers towards their cheaper, less complicated products. This strategy stems from many consumers comparing the two brands already. Even this past winter, consumers compared DDs usage of their new festive holiday cup with the word “joy,” to Starbucks holiday cup, who was enduring a lot of backlash for debuting a new plain red cup. which was around the same time Starbucks was enduring backlash from their own holiday cup.
“”Users praised the design and lauded Dunkin’ Donuts for embracing Christmas and the holidays.They said Dunkin’ did “what Starbucks should have done” — reigniting the Great Starbucks Holiday Cup Controversy of 2015.”
·
Head-Quarters
Canton, Mass
CEO Nigel Travis
Years in Business
66 years (since 1950)
# of Locations
11,300 shops
# of Countries 36 countries
Starbucks Corporation was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. When brainstorming ideas for a name, the founders thought “St” was a powerful sound to begin a word with. They couldn’t think of anything good enough for their brand until, somehow, Herman Melville’s classic novel character in Moby Dick, “Starbuck” was suggested. After adding the sea-inspired, mermaid logo, they knew it was the perfect design. Their final choice ensued
classic | timeless | powerful - notable characteristics which are still distinguishable in the Starbucks brand today.
With 23,768 locations worldwide in 65 countries, the chain has seen huge growth and success since opening. Starbucks owns the Midwest, West Coast and most metropolitan areas in the world of coffee.
Starbucks doesn’t really talk about Dunkin’ Donuts in the same way they do in their own campaigns. They don’t feel the need to compete. They are the most widely known coffee brand worldwide because they have made such a quick, creative and intelligent entrance into the market. They are leading examples of how to market your brand and be successful.
Head-Quarters
Seattle, Washington
CEO Howard Shultz
Years in Business
45 years (since 1971)
# of Locations 23,768 shops
# of Countries 65 countries
Comparative Maps of Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts Shops
Starbucks has made coffee-drinking more of a luxurious lifestyle, rather than just a necessary, daily caffeine boost. Their social media displays a warm, natural aesthetic, promoting tranquil, comforting vibes. They often post pictures of exotic places where their coffee beans are harvested, or a well edited photograph of a latte with bold lettering targeting quality.
The brand seems to be lacking in strength, passion and reach compared to Dunkin’ Donuts. They are, however, receiving (64% or 66/184) positive comments, and (61%) neutral comments. Neither brand has many negative comments, but Starbucks also has less mentions overall. There engagement seems to be a bit lacking. I honestly expected starbucks to be doing better than Dunkin’. I went ahead and researched more about Starbucks marketing tactics, and came up with some interesting information.
Dunkin’ is known for their colorful logo and quirky personality, which they fully impose in their social media campaigns.The (71%) strength statistic doesn’t surprise me; DD radiates positivity, exacerbates constant energy, and demonstrates this through their social media posts. Their likability and engagement with customers creates that buzz online.
Compared to its competitor Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts has higher ratings in passion (34%) and reach (48%) as well. The brand’s audience-inclusive efforts have obviously paid off well in terms of overall social presence. They may not have the most followers or the most expensive drinks, but they are keeping their readers interested and “Run[ing] on Dunkin.”
How Do They
Measure Up?
Relies on Customer Demand to Drive
Simplicity
Dunkin is well known for just going for it, like the every-day American would. This is also true for social media - they’ll just try out a new platform, because why not? Although it has worked with apps like Vine in the past, it is a risky strategy and takes away effort from others. But i feel as though their success has definitely outweighed their losses.
“We work to consistently provide meaningful content and promote a two-way dialogue
between the brand and our passionate fans. We’re a fun brand, and our guests who rely
on us for coffee and donuts expect a little fun from us by making Dunkin’ Donuts part of
their daily lives, “
Because of DDs eccentric attitude, they can get away with a lot more than Starbucks can. They can also have less integration between their platforms, they don’t need to look exactly the same, or have posts every hour.. People just enjoy the content and engaging with them online.
Quality Over Quantity.
How Do They
Measure Up?
“Starbucks depends on word-of-mouth advertising through this ―third homeǁ which
had proved greater success than actual commercials¤ Starbucks aims to cultivate
brand versus traditional advertising¤
What makes Starbucks different, is that people are obsessed with their brand. Starbucks uses social media, not as a marketing channel, but a ‘consumer-relationship building environment.’ No matter what, Starbucks will have people following and liking everything they do. There advertising on social media are fairly unique, really targeting that trendy, unique customer looking for a cup of coffee to match his style. Ryan Turner, Starbucks director of Global Social Media.calls it,
“A reflection of the personal relationship people have with the beverage.”
Starbucks only found out a year later that users on Facebook created a fan page for their popular Frappuccino beverage. It had grown to over a million fans - all before Starbucks had noticed!
THE WINNER:In terms of reach, strength, passion, and engagement with customers Dunkin’ Donuts has Starbucks beat. But what I think gives them the win here is their positive attitude, constant energy and fun the present online. It is extremely attractive, and is just easy for Dunkin’ to keep its users interested.
I’d also like to add, that, their ability to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances is an attractive quality for any brand. It’s important for social media marketing because of how often technology changes and new platforms are created.
Being able to take risks, and get involved (& have that possibility of messing-up) makes Dunkin’ seem so much more human and relatable to consumers.
ROUND ONE:
“The beauty of what we've tried to actually advocate across the markets that represent Dunkin; is just really show the local flavor of your community and how they run on
Dunkin."
Dunkin’ Donuts is pretty active on Facebook and trying to stay up to date with everything going on in America, especially with millennials who are probably the brand’s biggest target on Facebook. Besides the normal updates on products including their colorful images, they also include videos and integrate other social networks with Facebook, like Instagram and Vine. After being a part of Facebook for the past 9 years, they have really created a community to interact and communicate with fans.
"Starbucks was holding Facebook promotions before most restaurants even
figured out this was a space they needed to be in," say Alicia Kelso, an editor-in-chief at
Networld Media Group. Starbucks' first large scale social media campaign was back in
2009, when it offered U.S. customers a free pastry when they purchased a drink before
10:30 A.M. One million people took advantage of the offer.
Starbucks doesn’t post to Facebook all that often, although they have a strong following of 36,142,789 fans, and almost 28.5 million ‘people have been here’. There updates include eye-catching, clever posts. They also include contests, tips and don’t push their products too much, although including subtle messages about buying Starbucks.
I’ll give it to Dunkin’ for really drawing you in, it’s a really fun page. The bright colors and lively posts are a big reason why they have 13,396,627 likes on Facebook (besides their amazing coffee). They post on this account once or twice a week - again, focusing more on quality than quantity. They have many shares on a single post the posts to the right have 11,000 shares and 71 shares, so it definitely varies. From pictures to videos to contests and information on new products or deals, Dunkin posts a little bit of everything to Facebook. They are always trying to keep their fans interested and coming back to check in!
Below is a great example of using their products in their posts and really making that connection to social media, as Facebook recently updated so you can also “Love” or “wow” a post. They stay up to date with what’s going on and makes them an interesting brand to follow on Facebook.
ROUND ONE:
This V-day post, shared 11,000 times, is the kind of post Dunkin’ Donuts tends to get the most attention and engagement from - basically anything around the holidays. This is probably why so many of their ads are focused on whatever American’s might be celebrating that month, like St. Patrick’s Day, New Years, Christmas, Etc.
ROUND ONE:
“According to Capgemini Consulting, « 94% of the worldwide Facebook
community have at least one friend who is fan of the Starbucks page or are, themselves, fan of the brand”
Starbucks Facebook page is more formal and has a much calmer aesthetic than Dunkin. They have a very active page and are good at not trying to push selling their products.
The page is used to inform customers, and promote their ‘corporate social responsibility’ - something they really pride themselves in. The post to the right talks about helping 25,000 students with scholarships who want to get a college education. This post alone has 11,000 views and 984 likes. Someone commented about their appreciation for the company to help her friend graduate. Starbucks is really good about responding to their customers and making them feel appreciated.
“They have simply created an online community, where fans and friends can come to share their comments,
pictures, stories, and insider news to everyone who enjoys Starbucks.”
THE WINNER:
Starbucks wins for their engagement and support for their fans. I think this is an essential part at being a successful company.
ROUND TWO:
Twitter has become such a necessary platform for many businesses, but many fail to see its potential.
Luckily, Dunkin’ Donuts knows what they are doing when it comes to Twitter. Their attractive page and entertaining description, “Tweeting to you from the DD mothership. America runs on Dunkin’”nicely compliments their brand image. Visually interesting and clever posts make Dunkin’ really stand-out to consumers and fans. They have sent 45.7k of them since joining the platform in September of 2007. They have 1.06M followers, follow 58k accounts and have liked 4,907 posts.
According to TweetReach, DD has been able to use their marketing skills to successfully reach 63,118 accounts with 73,633 impressions made amongst them.
“We also look for opportunities to run sweepstakes and contests around new products, holiday occasions, or conversational themes our guests care about.”
They post on this account everyday, one post a day and sometimes two posts a day. They tweet about their products, sales, promotions. The company usually active on this social media and use this social media to connect with its customers, so that people can buy its products and can give their feedbacks about it. Dunkin donuts also replies to their customer’s feedbacks
Tweets 45.7k
Following 58k
Followers 1.06M
Likes 4,907
Joined September, 2007
In comparison, Starbucks is in a whole other league even though they joined over a year after DD had. They have sent out 62.1k tweets in the past 8 years, to their 117M followers. They have liked 9,744 posts and followed 99.9k accounts. The TweetReach statistics for reach (628,519) and impressions (725,011) prove the coffeeshops success at connecting with their fans. Interestingly, they have also had 23 large accounts with <100,000 followers tweet about them in the past - this is a huge jump from DD’s small number of just 2 <100,000 accounts. .
I enjoy Starbuck’s strategy to engage with as many users as possible, and really connect on a more personal level - rather than just posting and spamming their devoted fan base.
A strategy that most brands don’t follow online.
Tweets 62.1k
Following 99.9k
Followers 11.7M
Likes 9,744
Joined November 2008
ROUND TWO:
One thing i really enjoy about Dunkin’s use of the Twitter platform is it’s variety of content and posts to create engagement among their followers. There’s posts about everything from sports-related to holiday-related, to event-related. Like with other social media sites, they try to stay up to date with the world and what’s going. You can easily tell they are paying attention to their users likes and dislikes and trying to center their posts around them.
They are great at making their brand feel more like the original, small-town coffeehouse and less like a monster, global chain.hey don’t usually get too serious, which again helps them seem more personable and appealing to consumers. They care about their customers, and will respond to negative and postive comments in pretty good time. DD has addressed concerns with their products, negative reviews and any questions users might have - establishing their credibility and building trust with customers.
Twitter accounts, like Noelle in the photo above,
are constantly snapping pics with their coffee and putting it on social media.
Dunkin’ pretty much retweets all of the pictures fans tag them in. It makes
the consumer feel good and promotes their product and brand
“We are always looking for timely, of-the-moment opportunities to develop
integrated marketing campaigns around
programming and events our guests care about.”
Dunkin’ creates campaigns that include
on-air and web placements, as well as
social media content and engagement for big events such as a big game, or the
finale of the Bachelor. These posts have small
amounts of engagement, however, which is
surprising considering their high levels of
engagement on other platforms.
ROUND TWO:
Starbucks doesn’t post nearly as much as Dunkin’ Donuts does. While Dunkin’ is more carefree with their Twitter profile, Starbucks uses a more strategic approach when it comes to sharing content. They make each post count - each one is unique, timely, and personable. But, Starbucks does talk a lot about their in-store or product experiences with their fans when they occur, similar to DD. They usually respond with an email address to contact about any issues. Taking these conversations out of the public eye is probably a smart move, as businesses should be extremely aware of what they post - things go viral quickly on Twitter.
Another interesting type of post is their ‘drink ideas’ and ‘fun facts.’ With supposedly 36,000 different combinations of Frappuccinos, It’s interesting to see what other customers have ordered, or what possibilities there are for changing up your own order. You really wouldn’t think about a lot of these things if you just walked into a Starbucks and looked on the menu.
THE WINNER:
On Twitter, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are great examples of what to do and how to be successful. I think both are able to really make an impact online and can get responses from fans. Their audiences are really enjoying what they offer, and I can definitely see the connection between what they post and what their brand stands for.
IT’S A TIE!
ROUND THREE:
INSTAGRAM Starbucks’ Instagram is truly one of kind
and beautiful. It’s simplistic assortment of photos are related to the coffee community and culture they try to promote. Each photo is carefully crafted and edited, and reminds that a simple cup of coffee can be a true statement. It also includes more than just their products but again promotes that coffee lifestyle-type of picture
If t
Posts 1,031
Followers 8.2M
Following 1,867
Posts 788
Followers 763k
Following 6,825
Instagram is one of the best platforms for both Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. Dunkin’ has 764,000 followers! Their 788 posts center around holidays and the seasons. Compared to starbucks, they tend to really target their American customers. Because it’s instagram, it’s a little bit less adventurous and wild than DD tends to be with Facebook and Twitter. They still are able to hold onto their vibe with a lot of cute pictures that make scrolling through their Instagram enjoyable
ROUND THREE:
"When you think about food, people eat with their eyes. A lot of what we do with our visual content
strategy on [Instagram] is to be an all-day, everyday part of people's lives. Visuals are a
great way to tell a story; they're a great way to get people to pause and interact. A great beautiful
mouthwatering photo of a doughnut is going to spark your cravings and keep Dunkin top of
mind. “
Dunkin Donuts’ promotes a colorful feed showing off their offerings and really make everyone more aware of the Dunkin’ Donuts’ brand. By making everything holiday related, you crave those flavors in your drinks and can be enticing for Instagram users out and about on their phones.
DD tends to really promote their drinks and foods on Instagram. I saw many posts really pushing their products or deals-in-store. I’m not too big of a fan of ads commercializing products on Instagram. I’m really just there to see pretty pictures.
ROUND THREE:
Let’s start with the numbers, because I think they are pretty staggering. 8.2 FOLLOWERS? That is insane! With over 1,080 gorgeous, well-thought-out posts, it’s easy to believe that many people wouldn’t want to see Starbucks show up when scrolling through their feed. They also love to like and comment on their posts. Look how delicious that starbucks iced coffee looks, with its simplicity, it really stands out.
They also include a lot of photos about the lifestyle of drinking coffee - and not just after buying it in stores. Recently they started a campaign using the hashtag #CoffeeAtHome to show you can still get Starbucks blends, and have it taste as good, as when you buy it in stores. They have lots of pictures of Dads with their kids, or a girl holding a cup while sitting outside her house enjoying the warm spring weather. It really showcases the drinks, but also the people who drink them. Starbucks is able to promote their brand while still being so customer-oriented.
One of my favorite photos I saw when scrolling through their Instagram happened to be pretty recently. This photo to the right of the “World of Coffee” drawing i thought was pretty interesting. Somehow they manage to be so informative, talking about the background of coffee and where it all comes from, while still maintaining that classy, artsy image the promote online.
THE WINNER:
Starbucks is the winner hands down.
Starbucks not only wins against Dunkin’ Donuts in this Instagram round - they win against most companies on Insta.
ROUND FIVE:
VINE
Starbucks might have a vine account, but
they’ve never used it. Maybe the don’t see it as a
great fit for their brands’ image, but what if they are
missing out on such a great opportunity to extend
that image across these new, developing platforms?
Vine is a place for fun mini-moments of
creativity and show a sense of humor. This is where
Dunkin excels. They were one of the first companies
to actually use Vine for business-related purposes.
With almost 70,000 followers they are reaching
their fans in a new and exciting ways.
ROUND FIVE:
VINE
Their first post was made entirely using vine and really targeted a younger demographic. It showed a latte flipping a coin to start this hot coffee vs iced coffee football game. They created four more after that, airing throughout the season in 2013. Combining their fans love for sports, and especially monday night football which has one of the highest view counts for games, with this unique brand awareness is such a unique idea and created a lot of conversation about the possibilities for companies on different social networks.
Dunkin’ Donuts decided to really get into Vine around september 2013 when they made one of the most creative and unique marketing plays out there.
Pairing up with ESPN Monday Night Football, Dunkin’
Donuts “premiered what’s being touted as the first-ever commercial made
entirely using Vine.”
In addition to this Monday Night football vine commercial, they also started the #DunkinReplay Vine which features their menu items and products. Vine, which is owned by Twitter, is well integrated between the two sites and Vines can be shared easily on either platform.
THE (OBVIOUS) WINNER:
Unexpected, Original & Entertaining
ROUND SIX:
BLOGS Starbucks didn’t always used to be so savvy. In fact, in 2005 they fired a few employees for blogging about the company.
THE WINNER:
Clean, Professional and Informative
The Overall Winner?
STARBUCKS COFFEE
Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have both done a great job with engaging their audience.. Although this has been a close battle, I would have to say Starbucks is the overall winner. They are the front-runner in creating not only engaging posts that interest their fans, but actually showing the experience of what it is like to drink their Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is recognized all over the world and understand what to do to stand out amongst their competition, and online in general. Although Dunkin’ has done a great job at being fun and quirky, Starbucks differentiates themselves with strong, well-executed posts and clearly defines their brand online.
Social Network Round
Dunkin’ Donuts Starbucks
Overall Social Presence
Vine
Blogs & Apps
COFFEE BATTLE
WINNER!