Dunkin’ or Starbucks? Each one a short block away, do I turn right or left? That’s the morning question. The answer should be easy. I much prefer Starbucks coffee and their food selection. They have got great Wi-Fi and big cushy chairs. So how come I choose Dunkin’ nine times out of ten?
Brand loyalty is a strange phenomenon. Marketers need to remember that brands have an irrational dimension that can elude big data, focus groups, and demographic stereotypes. Brands also contain hidden qualities that don’t show up in positioning documents and brand playbooks. You can’t stereotype brands anymore than you stereotype why people like brands.
Despite having spent my career in advertising and marketing, I decided to examine my preference for Dunkin’ and see if I could identify what aspect of their brand pulled me in their direction every morning, especially since I’m not crazy about their coffee.
For all practical purposes I should be a Starbuck’s loyalist. I’m aligned with their corporate values, their business practices, their environmental programs, and their product line. And I think their coffee is pretty good.
When it comes to Dunkin’, I’ve got a few complaints. A regular coffee has enough cream and sugar to make a milkshake, and that’s not a compliment. Do we still need to serve hot beverages in Styrofoam cups, which by the way are a major source of litter in New England? Since they stopped making fresh donuts in individual stores, you can get better pastries packaged in cardboard and cellophane from a supermarket. Yet, despite my criticisms, I still love Dunkin’. Go figure.
To clear up one bias, I live and work outside of Boston, and Dunkin’ has deep and fabled roots in the region, having been founded in Quincy, MA in 1950. That might tip the scales slightly, but I’ve got other reasons for preferring Dunkin’ over Starbucks.
They say it’s the little things. When it comes to Starbucks, I just can’t bring myself to say Grande and Venti, when asking for a cup of Joe. The precise ratio of ice to coffee in an iced coffee feels more like a formula than a recipe for a perfect cup. The queue system for getting your drink looks too much like an assembly line. As passionate as I am about individual freedom, I can’t help but get cranky when I’m stuck behind a person ordering a Grande iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soymilk.
Seriously it’s not them; it’s me. With 20,000 stores and approximately $16 billion in annual sales, somebody loves them.
More than any specific product preference, my connection with Dunkin’ stems from a cultural alignment. Starting with the tagline, America runs on Dunkin’, the chain somehow manages to communicate a sense that the experience is about the collective us where the Starbucks experience is about the individual me. Although there are large operators that own hundreds of Dunkin’ franchises, a lot of stores still convey a small business vibe. You’ll find a broader cross-section of working men and women lined up in the morning. That common bond of facing the day together creates a sense of camaraderie. The recognition that we’re all in this together also seems to connect customers and servers on an equal footing that generates mutual respect.
This is a small detail, and it may be specific to Boston, or even my neighborhood. When you order your coffee, the server often asks, “Would you like something to eat?” While it may be upselling it has a very different tone than, “Would you like fries with that?” It reminds me of an informal question between friends that I learned in China: “Have you had your rice today?” It’s a simple expression of concern for the overall well-being of a friend.
You might say I’m going to Dunkin’ for more than the coffee. Some people might question where price fits into my equation. That may be important for overall market share, but the difference in price is nominal, especially now that both sell many of the same specialty drinks.
I’m an audience of one, so please don’t make any marketing decisions based on my opinions. As a marketer, this is about looking deeper than the brand attributes that get conjured up by the corporate marketing department. It’s about understanding the culture created by a brand and how that culture creates affinities with customers.
If there’s a lesson, it’s that brands should pay attention to the intangibles that exist outside of the advertising, the products, and the business model. It’s also accepting that brands and consumers often make strange bedfellows. Even if you’re Dunkin’, people may love you for other reasons than your coffee.
