Brand Consistency: Overrated?

Or, Dunkin‘ what?

Eric Winick
8 min readMay 8, 2024
Meet my cat, who prefers salmon to turkey.

This afternoon, while shopping for cat food, I was dismayed to see that, once again, my cat’s favorite was nowhere to be found. Damn, I thought to myself, she’s going to have to make do with turkey again. Of course, it’s possible my cat likes turkey. She just doesn’t respond to it in the way she does to, say, salmon. I looked for another brand, thinking, maybe she won’t notice. Then I saw the can of grain-free salmon in savory gravy. Could it be…? I squinted at the label. It was my preferred brand, Wild Harvest. Only the look had changed. In place of the traditional dark label with “sun” snipe was a soothing illustration of a plant or flower of some kind. In place of the old, harsh serif font was a free-flowing, hand-drawn cursive. The lettering was now kerned out, making the text easier to read.

When did Wild Harvest rebrand? Am I crazy not to have noticed it? Why hadn’t they made a bigger deal about it, as some companies do, drawing attention with a snipe that shouts, New look! (As in the picture below)

Apparently, Wild Harvest didn’t think this was necessary, which is interesting, given Wild Harvest’s desire to become more transparent. In the company’s March 2022 rebrand press release, the CMO notes, “It’s about keeping up the quality of the products, but communicating it more effectively, and making it clear and easy for parents and families to make that choice, versus having to read and guess.”

That was two years ago. I didn’t see the new label until today. Perhaps that’s because it’s easier on the eyes? According to Wild Harvest, “emphasizing the brand’s commitment to organic farming and use of sustainable and safe ingredients“ led to a choice of “natural color tones and softer fonts.”

Left. “natural color tones and softer fonts.” Right: original design.

Which brings me, inevitably, to Dunkin’ Donuts.

As any New Englander knows, Dunkin’ Donuts is an institution. The SNL sketches parodying local fanaticism over Dunkin’ are no exaggeration. People are fiercely loyal to this brand. To New Englanders, Dunkin’ is as important as the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and steak tips.

I’m not sure how many people know, or care, that Dunkin’ initiated a rebrand in 2018, dropping the word “Donuts” from its name. Those of us who pay attention to such things understood the motive. In the company’s 2018 press release, Dunkin’ Brands’ CEO and Dunkin’ U.S. President David Hoffmann laid out the intention “to transform into a beverage-led, on-the-go brand.” He emphasized Dunkin’s need to “modernize the experience” for customers through “next generation restaurants” and “menu innovation and value offerings, all delivered at the speed of Dunkin’.” Hoffmann closed with, “We believe our efforts to transform Dunkin’, while still embracing our incredible heritage, will keep our brand relevant for generations to come.”

The most important takeaway from Hoffmann’s statement? The company was making its tagline “America Runs On Dunkin’” a symbolic centerpiece of the new identity. It was now less about the sit-down, have a donut, and read the paper experience of yore and more about the need to serve customers zipping in and out to grab a drink and a snack.

I’ve never considered whether Dunkin’ is faster or slower than its competitors, and I also don’t know anyone who goes to Dunkin’ for innovative selections. But then, I’m clearly out of the loop: according to Business Insider, Dunkin’ has done the following:

  • In 2019, Dunkin’ released a candle collaboration with Homesick.
  • In 2020, Dunkin’ rolled out a Matcha Latte and Refreshers (iced tea drinks with fruit flavoring); started offering Planet Oat oat milk; expanded its snack menu to include croissant stuffers, snackin’ bacon, and stuffed bagel minis; and partnered with Charli D’Amelio to sell “The Charli,” a Cold Brew with whole milk which D’Amelio promoted on Dunkin’s TikTok channel (3.3 million followers).
  • In 2021, Dunkin’ added Sweet Cold Foam and Smoked Vanilla flavored syrup to its roster of beverages; started selling avocado toast; introduced non-dairy milk to its menu with the addition of coconut refreshers; and added Taiwanese Boba Tea to the menu.
  • Recently, Dunkin’ announced the debut of something called SPARKD’ Energy by Dunkin’ and “doubled down on spring” with “cinnamon-forward sips” (Churro Signature Latte and Cinnamon Vanilla Coffee), Churro Donuts, as well as a Breakfast Empanada and Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (in time for National Banana Bread Day on February 23).

All well and good. As Hoffmann said, consumer brands have to evolve to stay relevant.

When Dunkin’ announced the rebrand, it stated, “New branding [will] be reflected on packaging, in advertising, online, and on new and remodeled restaurants beginning January 2019.” The first thing that went through my mind was, How are they going to change all that signage? Dunkin’ signs aren’t individual letters. They’re solid, full-name affairs, fixed to exterior walls or signposts.

What I imagine Dunkin’ wants all of its freestanding stores to look like. This picture was taken in Lynn, Massachusetts, not far from the site of the first Dunkin’ Donuts in Quincy.

So why, five years later, do some stores still feature the original “Dunkin’ Donuts” signage? I’ve searched for an answer to this question; nothing’s come up. (I also couldn’t find out why some stores feature the letters “DD” on the side. Shouldn’t it be just one ‘D’?) For locations such as those near me in Brooklyn, change has been slow — in some cases, nonexistent.

What’s the point of a rebrand if you can’t commit across the board?

When I discuss identity with my clients, I stress that branding has to play out across the full spectrum of digital and printed materials. Upon starting a job, the first thing I do is take a look at the existing brand, to determine how successfully it’s being deployed. For many small organizations, that’s usually somewhere between mildly and not at all. Not because they don’t care. They just have other, more pressing priorities.

And yet there’s every reason to consider what consistent branding can do for you. When I develop a “look” for a program or campaign, I work in established elements like color and font. Sometimes I bend existing branding to distinguish the campaign from everything else out there — without straying far from what makes a client “them.”

But branding is about more than colors and fonts. It’s about reputation and professionalism — and, of course, revenue. A good rebrand can change perception, altering the way people see and talk about you.

It can also attract new audiences. Founded in 1870, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) has been known, primarily, for art that spans centuries by the likes of Monet, Gauguin, Degas, van Gogh, Manet, Cassatt, Cézanne, Renoir, Rodin, Sargent, Homer, Munch, and Hassam. For years, it‘s been a go-to for such work, but it was never really thought of as “hip,” a place you’d find teens or twenty-somethings on a weekend or weekday evening.

MFA’s old logo

Enter Base Designs, which called out the issue: “Like many large museums, [MFA’s] grand Neoclassical building and prestigious reputation have in the past proven to be intimidating and off-putting to potential visitors. Even though the MFA has evolved its programming to feature more diverse artists and community initiatives, external perceptions had not until recently aligned with this shift.”

Base introduced a new tagline: “Here All Belong,” the intention being to “remind all Bostonians that its spaces and collections are for everyone, not just the elite.” Base intentionally drew the connection between “art” and “Boston” by “literally connecting the letterforms of the A and B” (see below).

Base Design

Base also devised “a bold, contemporary and slightly quirky type, including special glyphs that create a sense of belonging and connection; embracing from above and supporting below.” (See below)

Base Design

Base continues: “For visuals, a confident primary palette of white, black and the brand’s heritage red is supported by various vibrant shades. The messaging system incorporates a red triangle, an evolution of the museum’s previously used red square, as a flexible element to activate content that directs a viewer towards information and points to the future.”

Base Design

I love this design, but it wouldn’t work if there wasn’t programming to back it up. MFA introduced its identity in September 2022 with the unveiling of the Obama Presidential Portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, a smart move. Last month I visited its exhibit on the Korean New Wave, “Hallyu!,” which featured K-pop music videos playing on huge screens, a room screening the hallway fight scene from Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, an interactive “make your own video” installation, and flashy examples of K-pop fashion.

Hallyu! exhibit at the Museum of Fine Ar — excuse me, MFABoston.

All of this is branding: the tag, the glyphs, the music videos. And while I don’t have numbers, I have no doubt that these things have altered the way people think of the MFA.

Takeaways:

  1. Rebranding should be all-consuming. If you want to change perception, it has to be at every level, from the street to the cloud, from innovative menu items to the Korean new wave.
  2. Attention must be paid. For a rebrand to “take,” you have to get it out there. Press releases within the industry are fine as a first step, but to succeed, really succeed, you need to put it in the faces of potential customers. There’s no way Wild Harvest could have known I’d been purchasing their cat food, but perhaps there was a way to let stores and cat owners know that the new, pleasant-on-the-eyes can was the new them. MFA knew its customer base encompassed both locals and visitors, so it plastered its new identity on major tourist sites around town.
  3. To answer the question posed in the title of this piece: no, brand consistency is not overrated. There’s too much to lose when you don’t pay attention. Having multiple identities running simultaneously can lead to downgraded expectations, or worse, a loss of revenue.

As for Dunkin’, if anyone knows why they haven’t gone all in on the new name and look, let me know. It’s not like I’m losing sleep over it, but until I understand why the stores are currently going under two names, this marketer will not rest easy. Call me a concerned ex-New Englander.

Eric Winick hails from Marblehead, Massachusetts, birthplace of the U.S. Navy. He is a marketing consultant (winickmarketing.com) by day and co-host of the Scare U podcast (scareupod.com) by nights, weekends, and on Jewish holidays.

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Eric Winick
Eric Winick

Written by Eric Winick

President of the Derrick White Fan Club.

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