Dunkin’ Donuts partners with Eli ManningDunkin’ Donuts partners with Eli Manning

Bret Thorn

Dunkin’ Donuts said it has entered a three-year promotional partnership with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, indicating that the quick-service chain’s much-touted plans to expand beyond its Northeastern stronghold have not kept it from developing special promotions in its core territories.

The two-time championship quarterback will be featured in Dunkin’ Donuts advertisements starting during this year’s football season. Manning will promote the chain’s coffee and limited time offerings, the quick service chain said in a release.

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“We couldn't be more excited to work with the New York football legend that is Eli Manning," Tom Manchester, Dunkin’ Donuts’ vice president of field marketing, said in the release “Dunkin' Donuts has a long and successful history of working with the New York Giants, and we are thrilled to extend that relationship by working with Eli over the next three years."

The regional ads will run in the New York state counties of Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester; in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren; and in Connecticut’s Fairfield County. More than 1,500 of Dunkin’ Donuts’ 7,015 domestic units are in those areas.

“Dunkin' Donuts has been part of my daily routine for many years, so I'm really looking forward to working with the brand,” Manning said in the release. "Dunkin' Donuts and the Giants are both well known for their passionate fans. This partnership is sure to keep people in the New York Tri-state area running on Dunkin’ all year long."

Dunkin’ Donuts also has a history of teaming up with professional athletes in its home state of Massachusetts.

Since November 2010, hockey player Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins has been a spokesman for the chain’s Turbo Shot drink and also for its “Caught Cold” promotional giveaway, in which winners are given tickets to sporting events. In addition, Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots signed a two-year sponsorship with the chain in March 2012 to make personal appearances and to be featured on television, radio, digital and out-of-home advertising. And Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox also currently stars in Frozen Coffee television commercials with Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine.

The announcement of the partnership with Manning comes three weeks after another New York-centric promotion, in which Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated National Donut Day by ringing the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock exchange and unveiling a 14-ton digital billboard in New York City’s Times Square.

Also on that day, the chain launched the first of a series of Twitter “sweepstakes,” awarding $50 gift cards to six followers of @DunkinDonuts who correctly answered trivia questions about Dunkin’ Donuts’ history.

On June 20, the first day of summer, Dunkin’ ran a “Summer Coolstice” sweepstakes, offering a chance to win $50 gift cards to followers who tweet their favorite Coolatta frozen drink flavor using the hashtag #DDCoolstice. Dunkin’ Donuts is offering eight such cards over the course of the day.

Dunkin’ Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc., based in Canton, Mass.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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