Dunkin’ rang in 2025 with a campaign built around one of 2024’s breakthrough stars: “Shake That Ess’” served up racy, punny fun with Sabrina Carpenter, the pop singer behind song-of-the-summer contender “Espresso.”

Developed with Artists Equity, the production studio founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the campaign is the latest attention-grabbing effort from a brand that has found a new level to its cultural standing in recent years. Many of those efforts play off the deep brand loyalty held by figures like Affleck and Carpenter, who told The Hollywood Reporter that “Dunkin’ was my childhood.”

“We're very lucky that we are a brand that so many people have grown up on or can easily connect to,” said Dunkin’ CMO Jill McVicar Nelson. “We have been trying to tap into that and put that front and center, because it's part of what makes this brand so special. It's not just a transactional experience.”

The long consumer lifecycle — from after-school Munchkins to coffee on the commute to work — helped Dunkin' keep store visits close to 2023 levels in 2024, despite consumer headwinds around discretionary spending, per Placer.ai data. The chain looked to address those concerns with a $6 Meal Deal. The offering’s success “highlighted the effectiveness of affordable, efficient deals” in the QSR space, according to Kristin Lynch, Paytronix’s senior director of strategy and analytics, in a recent report from the group.

Nelson, a Dunkin’ veteran who became chief marketer in 2022, discussed how campaigns like those with Affleck and Carpenter are part of a “cinematic universe” that helps the brand engage with distracted consumers, the role of loyalty and more.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

MARKETING DIVE: How did the “Shake That Ess’” campaign come together?

JILL MCVICAR NELSON: Dunkin’ has been focused on our espresso menu and espresso innovation for the last few years. We, together with our franchisees, had invested in all new equipment back a few years ago, and we've really been focused on growing that platform over the last few years. 

[The campaign] started with a great shaken drink that we had market tested about a year ago, and as we were thinking through ways to bring attention to the product, drive some trial and resonate with some key audiences… This just seemed like a no brainer. Partnering with Sabrina Carpenter — with her hit song “Espresso” — made a lot of sense on paper, but I think it also was just a really fun way to position this product in a way that was so classically Dunkin’ [and] that we thought would really resonate with our consumers and certainly her audience and fan base.

How does Dunkin’ balance limited-time offers with cultural plays, like the Dunkalatte campaign with Kristen Wiig last year?

We try to present a pretty well-balanced mix of messages and promotions. 

When it comes to some of the LTOs… it's tough to get consumers’ attention. We live in a world where people are consuming messages everywhere and distracted, and finding ways to really break through and get a little bit of attention, drop some interest in the brand and the product, and do it in a way that's so consistent with our fun personality… is really a balance. It's not just about doing these celebrity-driven campaigns in isolation. We lean heavily into our loyalty program and targeting people with offers and personalized recommendations. It's really all about creating a brand experience that people connect with and pay attention to.

Speaking of value and loyalty, how does that feed back into the marketing to help drive visits and sales?

Our goal is to put a cup of Dunkin’ in every hand — we want to be part of Americans’ daily ritual. We don't take it for granted [that] there are a lot of places where you can get a cup of coffee or breakfast; that’s why it's all the more important that our consumers care about and feel connected to the name that's on that cup. 

We try to form connections with our consumers in a lot of ways: by personalized value in our loyalty program, keeping [our menu] innovative and fresh, being part of the community, communicating in ways that are fun, humorous and relatable. These efforts aren't just about one tactic. It's really a whole strategy to create this brand experience that is enjoyable and that people feel good about. Our loyalty program plays a big part in that, and our value offering makes sure that we give our guests opportunities to try new products or to be recognized for their brand loyalty. 

What lessons have you learned from running Super Bowl ads that you apply all year round?

We've been so happy with the campaigns that we've worked on with Artists Equity and their creativity and their connection to culture. A lot of the campaigns that we've worked on are not just about the ads or the content themselves. There’s, of course, a 30-second or 60-second spot, like we had last year in the Super Bowl. But the way, for example, those tracksuits took off; I don't think you can go to a sporting event, at least in the Boston area, without seeing someone wearing one of those bright pink and orange tracksuits. 

It’s about the ways that we are connecting with consumers, showing up in culture and really extending beyond the ad content. [Artists Equity is] incredible at just capturing endless content and extending into music, fashion, collaborations and partnerships — they've really helped us tap into culture.

It's more important than ever that we figure out how to do that and find ways to really be front and center in consumers' minds, because people can tune out ads easily. Diversifying where we're showing up and how we're connecting with people is a key part of our strategy.

Can you tell me about the development of the Dunkin’ “cinematic universe” concept?

It all started with our first campaign with Artists Equity, with Ben Affleck at the center. We'd never really done anything like that. It was very fun to acknowledge his long-standing love and loyalty to Dunkin’ in our first campaign with him. From there, we've tried to very organically grow and build what that universe looks like. 

We're not just tapping into celebrities for their name alone. We have tried to always find a really good fit, whether it's with the product or a natural connection to our brand. We try to be pure about [using] someone strategically when they align either really well with the product or the message that we're trying to convey. 

A big topic in marketing has been and will continue to be the fate of TikTok, a platform where Dunkin’ has gone viral. How do you look at best utilizing platforms that are constantly jockeying for position?

We spread our messages across a lot of different platforms, and we have a nice balance of paid, owned and earned media. We don't really lean into just one area. We try to show up in a lot of different channels and in many different ways to get our message in front of people. 

We are part of the Inspire Brands family and work with a high-powered performance marketing team that helps us evaluate where we're spending in which channels and allocate messages depending on where we expect to see a nice return. We’ll always try to show up where our consumers are and where we see a nice return and not ever be just led to one platform.