22squared Inc. | Agency Profile, Contacts, AOR, Client Relationships

• This shift seems to have replaced Anomaly, Dunkin's incumbent creative AOR since November 2021.
• The shift also isn't a total Anomaly (you're welcome); we predicted an agency review would follow Dunkin's RockOrange.
  • McVicar Nelson is particularly focused on helping Dunkin' reach younger consumers via strategies such as emphasizing iced beverages.
  • Since joining the company over a decade ago, she has also helped grow the company's social media presence.
    • For example, she's raised its TikTok viewership to over 3.1m followers, partly thanks to a successful campaign with TikTok influencer Charli D'Amelio.
• The company will likely:
  • Continue focusing on digital/paid social channels to reach younger audiences
  • Seek additional influencer and sponsorship opportunities
  • Sharply increase spend in Q2-Q3 to promote its iced beverages during the hot summer months
  • Return to heavier digital ad spend
  • Seek additional new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Gen-Z: Podcast and paid social channels such as TikTok
  • Gen-X: National TV, OOH, radio, print, and local broadcast channels
  • Additional insight: Dunkin' has also started targeting Hispanic audiences more (more here).

Recent sponsorship:

• Dunkin' also teamed up with the Charlotte Hornets with a new "GO HORNETS" donut, which will be available at participating locations around Charlotte.
• The multi-year partnership named Dunkin' as the team's new Official Coffee.
• It will also allow Dunkin' experiential activation opportunities since it marks the company as the presenting partner of each in-game performance by the Flight Squad, a group of "daring dunkers" that hype up Hornets fans during game timeouts alongside Super Hugo.
• Dunkin' will also randomly distribute 40 gift cards after each performance and, at select games, present parachute drops holding a total of 50 gift cards.

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • 2021-2022 spend: Dunkin' spent approximately $67.6m on national TV commercials last year, an 8% increase from the approximately $62.8m spent in 2021.
  • 2022 ad programming: Its 2022 commercials targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as the Super Bowl LVI Pregame, NFL Football, NBA Basketball, Today 3rd Hour, and NHL Hockey.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • 2021-2022 spend: In 2022, the company allocated roughly $48.1m toward digital ads, only around half of the roughly $96.7m allocated the year prior.
  • 2022 data: Dunkin' earned ~5.7b digital impressions last year via Facebook (54%), Instagram (32%), desktop video (11%), desktop display (3%), and mobile display (1%) ads.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes OOH, radio, print, and local broadcast.
  • Dunkin' sponsors podcasts such as Armstrong & Getty, Adam Carolla Show, The Extreme Health Radio, The NewsWorthy, and The John Batchelor Show.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Additional agency reviews could easily follow this one, so get in touch soon to offer digital analytics, PR, and/or experiential services.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​Leo Burnett: Creative AOR
  • February 2021).
  • : Media and digital AOR
  • : Media and digital AOR
  • : PR AOR
  • : Creative and media AOR
  • : Creative agency partner
  • : PR agency partner
  • : Creative, digital, and experiential agency partner
  • : Creative and digital agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by Podchaser.