Jen Kern: [00:00:00] Good afternoon, everyone. This is Jen Kern. Welcome back to Restaurants Reinvented. Really excited today to be joined by Brandy Blackwell. She is the Director of New Business Delivery and Catering at Dunkin Brands. Hi Brandy.
[00:00:37] Brandy Blackwell: [00:00:37] Hi, Jen. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:39] Jen Kern: [00:00:39] So really excited to get the show started, and I'd like to say let's set the table for our guests. And tell them a little bit about you and your journey into the hospitality and restaurant industry.
[00:00:51] And then we'll follow up with what brought you to Dunkin Brands, which I know you've been there a little bit over a year. What's your journey been like?
[00:00:58] Brandy Blackwell: [00:00:58] I have been in this restaurant space now for about 13 years, basically, pretty much all of my professional life post-college. I spent a year at an advertising agency and realized that I really wanted to be on the client side. So I ventured out into a really unique, fun irreverent, fast casual brand called Tijuana Flats in Florida in a marketing role and very small brand at the time with 40 units.
[00:01:31] So got my feet wet in the restaurant life, drank the Koolaid, never turned back. And the great thing about that is I was able to really wear all hats at that brand and gave me the ability to, understand operations to some degree, to understand how to running event how to prep food how to ring a cash register and then field marketing and all sorts of different facets of the restaurant business And then I was there about eight and a half years and decided it was just time for a change And I left and moved to Atlanta and took a role with McAllister's Deli within Focus Brands and the role was this new and up and coming role A director of off-premise which now is used every sentence of the restaurant industry And I worked under a leader that really saw this a few years ago as being a booming segment of the business and needing its own special attention And really it's on special department So it was lucky enough to build out a department overseeing catering delivery some of the online ordering Call center and in quite a few different things that related to anything that left the building So any takeout order of any sort or delivery Yeah And then was there a couple years and Dunkin came calling for virtually the same exact position and complete white space at Dunkin So I was crazy enough to move to Boston because Dunkin was that appealing to me And I grew up loving Dunkin So I said would would I regret it not taking a job with an iconic brand like Dunkin and I thought yes so I made the move And then just based on COVID coming back closer to the family I got granted the ability to work remotely from Dunkin So here I am back in Atlanta where it's a little bit warmer closer but nonetheless Boston's a great city
[00:03:33] Jen Kern: [00:03:33] I loved reading the story that you share with me that was on the Dunkin blog about you relocating and your first Uber drive in the snow And that was like and you cried in the airport
[00:03:46] Brandy Blackwell: [00:03:46] I had to Uber to work the first day So they said Oh we've had a really mild winter My boss now said I would I don't really Invite people up here in January to sell them into Boston especially people from the Southeast
[00:04:02] Jen Kern: [00:04:02] so you land in Boston and you're with Dunkin the big infamous coffee and donut brand What was it like for you
[00:04:10] Brandy Blackwell: [00:04:10] it was exciting And the reason it was so exciting is because the culture coming into Dunkin which is so welcoming and everyone there really lives and breathes that brand And I That was big to me I know people always talk about culture but talking about culture and living culture are really two different things And Duncan in the Northeast especially in Boston is in people's blood literally and figuratively and it's ingrained and it is it's on every corner and so it was you had to be immersed in that to really I loved it growing up but you really had to be immersed to feel the passion for it and feel it feel the true love A lot of tenure at the company and longevity which I stood out to me as something that was would it be able to make me Confident that decision to move my life up there was it was the right one When you have 10 years 20 years you talk to people and they say five years So I haven't been there that long five years or 10 years not that long but then you've got 30 years 40 years even And so it really is like a family there and it's very cool to see
[00:05:20] Jen Kern: [00:05:20] Absolutely Okay Let's talk a little bit about your role there So new business for delivery and catering Can you unpack that for us a little bit and help our audience understand what exactly your role is and how are you making an impact there
[00:05:35] Brandy Blackwell: [00:05:35] so we generally just say director of delivery and catering cause it's much shorter The title does say what it is It's new business for Dunkin for the most part when I came in last year what was most attractive was really the ability to pave the way for our delivery and catering business It was white space and there was a need for it There was a franchise franchisee desire for it and a brand desire for it So we had walking in and out Yeah In March of last year we had signed a deal with grub hub And partly one of the main drivers working with grub hub was because of the they were early to POS integration and that was very important to us as to have us integrations so our orders came directly into the computers to really help with operations and alleviate any stress on our crew members And after that the other selling factors with grub hub was really the footprint aligned with our urban footprint especially in the Northeast where a lot of our concentration is although we're national of course international too So it and really a favorable fee for our franchisees So we signed with them We started the roll out We had only had one store that was live in a alpha pilot And and then from there continue to evaluate our and build our strategy throughout all of last year and catering too we don't really have the formal program and where it could go And so the ability to lay that framework was really attractive to me
[00:07:14] Jen Kern: [00:07:14] And we met at Meg the market executive conference last year And you were a speaker there and you were on a delivery panel I think it was like a breakout panel And I remember you caught my eye because I remember hearing you say we finally put our foot down with delivery and we asked them to negotiate with us and we came to the table ready to negotiate And I think at the time Everyone in the room was just spinning around delivery Like how do we get our hands around this Beast it's just it's like a runaway train for a lot of marketers where we're not getting the data In some cases there were brands there that said they didn't even know there were delivery providers working at certain locations They weren't even sure they had contracts And I felt like you were really a leader when you spoke about how you structured your contracts with delivery and how you were working with delivery Now of course you have a big name You have a marquee brand that gives you more weight but talk to me a little bit about how you were able to do that
[00:08:14] Brandy Blackwell: [00:08:14] Yeah Thank you going back to last year one of the things that always came up was the high commissions the really high commissions and then also the Quality control and control and and contact well customer information that you don't get really from the delivery partnerships And you just don't own that data So I I do feel like those were the two themes that really came through last year but to that point I think everybody rushed in the past year to try to get these deals in place And not really looking at the margins fortunately I wasn't negotiating some of them before Dunkin Cause they have insight to see some of the mistakes that were made whether it just be not asking for Even if there's a low commission not asking for the marketing or the value or the added value from that delivery partner to really make the partnership compelling because you are selling on a third party platform And so the marketing is included and so you want good marketing out of it and you want better marketing than competitors are getting and better placement And I think that was the challenge For a lot of people to realize it's not always about every saving every penny on the commission deal It's about a decent deal that you can swallow perhaps setting your pricing at the right pricing so that your margin your higher a little bit higher than your rooftops your margins are attractive And then also the value add because if you're on the platform that you never get found by any customers it's gonna be a that's going to be a problem in itself
[00:09:46] Jen Kern: [00:09:46] Yeah So you have definitely helped to expand the relationships with all the delivery partners I know that we've talked about GrubHub UberEATS We rescheduled because you were rolling out 2200 door dash stores How did that go By the way
[00:10:01] Brandy Blackwell: [00:10:01] you're working with a third party There's always challenges I can't say that enough And I think the team that works for me when I came in I said and I got a good team but at the same time I said you guys gotta relax on the perfection because if that's what you're looking for you are at the mercy of a third party and we are not Going to always have it exactly the Dunkin way or exactly any way for any brand And I think you have to let go a little bit of that angst and still try to have as much control as you possibly can So we have we're at 1900 stores live prior to March with grub hub And then we added Uber eats in March and added 4,200 locations in seven weeks And we did sign with door dash and we are live with over 2000 locations with them as well All since Yeah Since COVID
[00:10:59] Jen Kern: [00:10:59] Congratulations Well so yeah COVID hits it's challenging environment for everyone I believe you had told me earlier that one of the things you were most proud of from a company and culture standpoint is that you did not have to lay off any corporate employees during COVID
[00:11:18] Brandy Blackwell: [00:11:18] The entire the company the entire corporate team our CEO is very proud of this And I am too as being part of this team is that we have not had any layoffs and the we took other hits other ways but in this in the scheme of things very minimal compared to...what people keeping their jobs the devastation out of people losing their jobs in this industry Including many friends that I know is probably one of the hardest things to see daily And it made me very proud to be part of a company that was very Just behind the idea of keeping morale up making sure that they are going to they're going to take that they have to take pay cuts Our leadership of anyone has to take whatever they need to do to keep people employed They're going to do it And that's I thought that was so cool
[00:12:08] Jen Kern: [00:12:08] it's fantastic It really is It's been a hard time to watch and I'm still thankful I have a job And one of the reasons that I started this podcast is I've really believed so much in this industry and bringing people together in this forum to talk about what's going on and to help each other And so you you didn't have to lay off any folks I believe all your stores stayed open
[00:12:31] Brandy Blackwell: [00:12:31] Not all of them Don't quote me on this but roughly 300 plus that were down for a bit of time we have over 9,300 locations in the U S so really minimal comparatively speaking to very small percentage And the majority did reside and they were in New York city some in Chicago but New York city had a lot of the closures Some had closures because of Other things that happen during COVID some of the protests and safety and just damaged buildings and everything that you can imagine And yeah you have to have people to show up to work and labor and people were scared to work in some places whether it be because of COVID or whatever else was happening across the across our big cities So New York for obvious reasons took the big hit Chicago had some closures and there was some times where people just had to or franchisees really had to limit their store hours which was one of the solutions in order not to completely close the doors and really find out if their profit was going to be big enough to keep their doors open during that time Or if it made more sense to shut down for a little bit
[00:13:35] Jen Kern: [00:13:35] and so where are you now in terms of percent open
[00:13:38] Brandy Blackwell: [00:13:38] We're pretty much completely back open still with some limited hours but again I think this is another beautiful thing about trying times is you try new things and trying times brings you so by nature we closed we shortened some of the hours Well maybe some of the restaurants Really didn't need to be open those two extra hours Maybe it wasn't beneficial to their to their bank account to actually be open those two hours So learnings
[00:14:04] Jen Kern: [00:14:04] yeah So I know you had your earnings call recently and you have some updates to the numbers Let's talk about the digital impact brand a year over year and then potentially maybe quarter over quarter What are you seeing in terms of your digital sales You're on the go orders which I know you've described as people using mobile orders whether they're loyalty members or not curbside what impacts have you seen and have your numbers changed
[00:14:29] Brandy Blackwell: [00:14:29] With the app we can consider any order that comes through our app to be a mobile order and an on the go order And then we also have our perks membership which is our loyalists And delivery also falls into a digital sale for us So year over year Q2 we were we went from 13% of total sales being digital to 18% So tremendous job that we're continuing to hang on to And then in regards to couple other key metrics our active perks membership year over year went up 110 during the second quarter So really great engagement from our loyal customers there And then from a delivery standpoint just over the past year we went from 1900 restaurants live on at least one delivery platform to 5,700 many of those on two or three platforms And then we also introduced curbside which we had in a handful of stores but a very small number and introduced that into the app made that a bigger deal and 1400 locations adopted curbside during Q2 period and not equated to over 2% of the of sales from those specific locations
[00:15:44] Jen Kern: [00:15:44] Wow That's awesome Congratulations That's a huge achievement for you as well being so integral with the digital strategy there Being able to roll out from I mean the jump up to from 1900 I think you said to 5,700 Using delivery partners and probably more than one two right At each location that's a big that's a lot of work
[00:16:04] Brandy Blackwell: [00:16:04] good thing I didn't have a social life during that time
[00:16:08] Jen Kern: [00:16:08] Yeah We didn't talk about work life balance
[00:16:09] Brandy Blackwell: [00:16:09] Yeah I could work I worked my life away and that's my and probably a few w will be gray hairs I assume but otherwise no we are really proud of it and took a I cannot take all credit for it Cause it took a lot of people and a lot of moving parts to make that happen
[00:16:25] Jen Kern: [00:16:25] I'm sure but still that's a huge accomplishment that's a lot that's a lot the other stat I saw that I've I was really curious about particularly cause I was thinking about it as myself as a consumer and how I'm now consuming my coffee and my comfort food was the day part chart that came out I think in just a few days ago that showed the changes when people are ordering during this period So your early morning your six to 8:00 AM traffic...was a little bit down of course because you've lost all the commuters everyone has right that the breakfast day part across the board for industry has been the most impacted I believe but you have a big jump in the 10:00 AM I think it was 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM or 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM That's over year over year it was a jump year over year and it was a jump also from last quarter to this quarter And then all the rest of the numbers of around the day parts were about the same And then at the evening there was a big jump and I'm thinking about it how I'm living my life with pandemic life My day is getting started later I'm sleeping in a little bit more I'm getting a later start I'm actually not even having breakfast that much anymore I used to live and die for my breakfast and I'm not getting my coffee until I have a little bit of tea in the morning I don't have my first drink of coffee until 11 or noon super late But when I saw that chart I was like this is exactly what I'm doing And then at night we're staying up later we're eating ice cream Maybe some people are drinking coffee and having donuts I don't know
[00:17:49] Brandy Blackwell: [00:17:49] Absolutely And I think we feel monotonous and like we're in this hamster wheel routine but yet our routines are so out of whack which is the irony of the whole thing but you're exactly right We have seen some very interesting shifts in our business first and foremost having about 70% of our locations having drive-throughs has been a very positive thing for us during this period so we're still accessible even when we'd have to shut dining rooms down But we are finding that a lot of our business is shifting to an hour or two hours later going from our historical six to nine six to 10 period really nine nine something to after that nine o'clock where people aren't having to get to work at eight 30 or before nine and we're seeing checks grow for both delivery and for our rooftop on the go People are buying for multiple people They're taking it back home It's a special indulgent treat And some of the indulgent items are really coming through as the biggest sellers and all of that has again made us look at our business differently because maybe we've generated trial in certain products or maybe our marketing has shifted to keep up with you know ...I’m a push your push your peak kind of person So if you're purchasing later I'm going to target you later I'm going to send my emails out later Like it's a it's quite a trickle effect in it and there's a lot of implications to your marketing efforts and to then the menu optimization and the items that you're bringing forward or the items that you're offering even even in our digital platforms we actually raise the threshold of orders that you can get at any given time Cause we said we'll take any orders especially during this time So instead of maybe a hundred bucks it moved to 150 limit and we just figured it out even with the limited menu due to some product shortages So I think it's a it really is looking at your whole strategy again and seeing right now it's not returning to normal but if it does Are people conditioned to started to look at their eating and consuming patterns different long term
[00:19:55] Jen Kern: [00:19:55] yeah And having 70% drive through that's gotta be boating well for you Are they open late the drive throughs Because I know sometimes I just need to get out of the house get in the car go to a drive through
[00:20:07] Brandy Blackwell: [00:20:07] 24 hours Yeah Some are 24 hours many are have reduced their hours like I mentioned but for the most part we're open almost every day of the year which again I look at how I can push sales during times when Like delivery for example is really weekend heavy when our is normally weekdays it traditionally And it was always like that even pre COVID So I look at how I can Push off times and compliment sales or from a digital perspective how I can hit you in the right time and talk to you in the right time that you want maybe an afternoon treat with your family or Sunday afternoon or you don't want to leave the house Sunday morning Cause you've already gotten used to not leaving house Good Or you wanna leave Cause you need a break I don't know It just depends on your situation
[00:20:52] Jen Kern: [00:20:52] So what are some of the ways that you have been exploring reinvention of your digital strategy and really doubling down on that digital transformation
[00:21:01] Brandy Blackwell: [00:21:01] so as part of it you know digital we are constantly with Dunkin specifically we're constantly focused on efficiencies and friction driving frictionless transactions And we're unique in that Basically all of our not basically all of our orders that are placed beforehand besides delivery are done through our app And so it's that much more critical that our app is working is quick Is easy to navigate and easy to understand So a lot of our efforts have been around not only making it a faster more frictionless experience through the app through the drive through if you're coming to the restaurant but also just how we can get you in and out very quickly less clicks less touch points less stress going through there And then also when you're when it comes to loyalty really trying to make sure that we are Looking at our program that is very tailored to your to you So I want to talk to Jen I don't want to just talk to somebody that is anybody and give them the same free coffee offer and really be able to speak in real time With customized offers and customize messaging to you And I think getting that framework in place is something my my leader has done a really great job of and she continues to I said that strategy and we work towards it and it's not an overnight change at all
[00:22:29] Jen Kern: [00:22:29] Yeah there's so much involved with the app And I know that you've brought some of that in house Which has given you a little bit more control and speed in terms of the releases and being able to personalize the experience and update those things And you also have a phenomenal following with your loyalty don't you have 18 million loyalty members or something
[00:22:47] Brandy Blackwell: [00:22:47] we do have an incredible loyal following with Dunkin as we talked about already and we call them our perks members So really one of our big biggest drivers is we see that our perks members spend significantly more come more frequently than your typical rooftop customer or on the go customer which is different So really trying to capitalize on the growth and expansion of those that perks membership because we know they are our loyal base So talking to them in a way that makes them feel special and driving sales from that not just digital sales but driving sales specifically from our loyal customers through digital channels is one of our main goals And we did have a big spike in perks membership A lot of downloads maybe we had competitors that had closed their doors and we capitalize on that too Perhaps we had a great during COVID we did have a huge 300 basis points spike in lift and and perks membership So it really was positive in some way even though naturally the business was down and we faced tons of challenges So not to say everything was beautiful during that whole period either
[00:23:57] Jen Kern: [00:23:57] And so what are some of your strategies and plans there for keeping those guests getting the check size higher getting the repeat visits What are some of the things that you're planning to do to keep that repeat business and increase that revenue
[00:24:13] Brandy Blackwell: [00:24:13] Going into COVID One of the things we did was really elevate our messaging and And increase it We increased a lot of the messaging that went out comparatively speaking to our standard messaging So double what we were sending out before So we would talk to our user basically we talked to our on the go users and trying to convert them to perks So we would do it with perks only deals if you will And they would be a lot of them where we saw great positive responses to points offers double points triple points Some people said it was the only thing that got him out the door their place And they said they were scared to leave but four times the points is worth it We're value driven and value is a Dunkin Value is a Dunkin staple anyways but during an uncertain time when people Don't know what they want to spend their money They don't know what the economy is going to look like The value was that was a big driver for us So we had our probably one of our most successful promotions to date which was free donut Fridays And you got a free donut with beverage purchase And it really did take off And it was that comfort like something to count on during an uncertain time and in the indulgence and the bit of you know well it's It's a bad time I can eat donuts all day It's like what I was thinking I don't know but also the repeat behavior the messaging was tailored to really repeat the behavior So we didn't just give you the same message and everybody we started to come back with one time it might be a value deal The next time it might be a points deal Next time It's a product focus and we're talking about a new product And then maybe we're just talking about how we're keeping our restaurants clean and we care about you and we're open I think that's something that that really has been interesting to watch And I think I said this to you before but it's amazing to me how many businesses you walk by and you don't even know if they're open during this period of time just from the exterior So focusing on how he can tell you That we were open in our messaging and that was across all our digital channels not just to our perks members so really just trying to talk to every message that might be applicable during an uncertain time And now continue to foster that relationship going forward with things that actually might be more relevant to you coming up coming into a safer period perhaps Cause I don't know that I wouldn't say we're there yet but let's say for a period talking to you in a way That now maybe was a little bit more like the way that we talked to you prior to COVID
[00:26:52] Jen Kern: [00:26:52] That's just so huge like you said Dunkin has always been known for the value piece but during this pandemic I have gotten so much more value conscious And giving away free stuff like who doesn't love free stuff It's just it's a no brainer So having the the free free donut Fridays Now you're doing free coffee Mondays I think I saw it's gotta be working for you I can't imagine that it's not And then on top of that the comfort food aspect I talked about this last week with Donna Joseph's from Corner Bakery Just having that comfort food right now we all need a little escape and I even think coffee falls in that category of comfort food a little bit of sugar a little bit like a little bit of a wake up call along with the pastry It's It's awesome
[00:27:35] Brandy Blackwell: [00:27:35] Yeah And I I think you're you're exactly right right That I actually said during while I was staying with my family my biggest the thing I look most forward Well if we were going to eat on like Friday night you know what we're going to have delivered or or my break to go out of the house and drive to a Dunkin or just drive somewhere to target things like that with the small things that you take for granted when you never wanted to set foot in the store all I wanted to do is walk into a store and shop for a little while so you know that and just she's really making things stress free for our customers and especially the new ones that are coming in and saying I'm going to choose my one visit and see if I liked Dunkin or not And Oh I haven't had Dunkin in forever So you know that first experience the first experience back is so critical for any brand and even ours and I think some of the things we had done in the last year set us up for success for that which was launching like multi tender payment checkout So really opening up the doors to pay different ways when you're checking out on the app and then also our guests checkout feature So you actually didn't have to become a perks member in order to use our app But we still kept we were still able to share some of your personal information and reach out to you and talk to you after you've made that transaction which is always good
[00:29:01] Jen Kern: [00:29:01] that's awesome And so you've touched on personalization and being able to talk to the consumer directly What are some of the ways you're doing that Like how would you being Jen Kern and knowing that I'm female not going to say my exact age but you know children how would you personalize to me can you give me a couple of examples
[00:29:21] Brandy Blackwell: [00:29:21] Okay I think we're I think it's two fold I don't want to forget about the rest of our business because our marketing messages are really out there talking to who we are trying to capture And we have a lot of research of course from a digital standpoint we're really trying to focus on a couple of different improvements One with like you said one to one personalization So in real time understanding Being able to see your order and then talk to you and target you back with something that's going to bring you back in the next 24 to 48 hours and then also we're looking AI is a big focus voice ordering We added a chat bot so it feels like you're not just talking to a wall or you're calling customer service maybe and not getting through right away which we know that happened with everyone during COVID but ways that you're feeling more connected through some of the enhancements or a curbside contactless payments all of those messages that we're sending out It's touching on somebody's emotions to some degree and some type of fear but really like it's giving you what you want in real time or as realtime as possible and knowing that okay Brandy drinks an ice coffee but Jen likes her coffee hot and likes it with a certain flavor And being able to talk to you in the right moment at the right time is really what we're really trying to do with our our loyalty program
[00:30:46] Jen Kern: [00:30:46] that's awesome Yeah that's great I'm always super impressed When people know what I like to eat what I like to drink what my favorites are and trying to get the consumer back in and that real time and that immediacy around like you said the 24 to 48 hours I think that's so important in terms of building that brand loyalty and that advocacy And then also I'm racking up points I love to see my point meter going up and that's fantastic
[00:31:11] Brandy Blackwell: [00:31:11] And that's a new feature too and being able to people want to track where they are They want to and meaning by they want It's a feeling of empowerment and status people spend more whenever they are customers always spend more when they can see their...visually see their...their acceleration and their wins and that I call it we're still we still have a lot of work to do I we even had Dunkin been around a long time We still have a lot of work to do and this and any technology there's always a challenge but the ability to push out quicker app releases and just have more ownership in through our technology platforms gets us even not a hiring eventually analysts designers gives us and real time data real time ability to change creative and to get our emails out quicker and react quicker when something happens whether that be covert or whatever something happens and we want to talk to you quickly And so a lot of that is outsourced with agencies being able to have some autonomy to do that and flexibility to do that in house is always a really good thing
[00:32:19] Jen Kern: [00:32:19] Yeah And you talked about working with your team in terms of dispelling the perfectionist streak that we tend to have as marketers and need to spend in my case a lifetime letting go of what are some of the ways you're doing that and working with your team to help them on each project that you're working on And as you're as you said you have a lot of more work to do What are some of your leadership styles there So
[00:32:44] Brandy Blackwell: [00:32:44] we're really big on cross functional work at Dunkin We've got taskforce in place that run delivery So nobody can say you didn't ask us about You didn't ask it it happens but you didn't ask operations So everybody has to that pretty much everything It makes it a little more challenging to move as quickly as maybe sometimes you feel like but the our biggest advocates and biggest selling point to really to say if it needs to be perfect or not are our franchisees we're a hundred percent franchise in our system And that's that is a blessing And it's sometimes a challenge because it definitely is not you're not able gonna move as fast on some initiatives but when you do move on it you've got buy in and you've got support and you've got no concerns That if perhaps something doesn't work that well that everybody has your back going into that initiative and vetted embedded and vetted again which part of during COVID we didn't go through all of the same form formality and processes but...some worked in our favor some made it even less perfect and more headaches and more unexplained And there's a couple of comments that we had just tested if we just normally we'd be able to test But I think that makes a I always tell my team that that's what makes a good marketer is the ability to understand every facet of the business You understand operations to some degree you understand and you're in the thick of things wearing that same hat Because you're now thinking about everything that could go wrong but you're willing to take the risk because the payout is better than yeah The risk is versus the reward I would say sales cures all a bit a lot of sales a couple of flip ups on the way aren't quite as critical and that certainly with delivery and certainly holds very true with delivery in my opinion because you do not own that customer You do not own that experience You own a piece of that touch point And once it leaves your building you better hope you packaged it you better hope the driver shows up with it and there's a whole plethora of things that can go wrong between point A to point D
[00:35:06] Jen Kern: [00:35:06] Oh for sure Oh my gosh There's a lot involved with that what's next for Dunkin and what's next for digital you've alluded to so we're starting to come out of this now Hopefully no one really knows How do you plan for what's next And what are you thinking in terms of what's next for digital at Dunkin
[00:35:25] Brandy Blackwell: [00:35:25] we have a new chief digital officer which is a brand new position at Dunkin And he comes from outside of the restaurant industry So with a really fresh perspective he's actually digital and strategy Really looking at where we've come from where we are today where we need to go as strategy with a very objective viewpoint It's just starting And we're really excited about that I think that the next year will really be about a lot of this year and last year were foundational in structure executional building And next year is really going to go more to optimization advancements to our loyalty program and the personalization that we keep talking about that's going to be the a big driver for us next year because we've gotten the frictionless Stuff the quick stuff the stuff that took you two minutes now down to one a lot of that which I consider executional just basics like one-on-one that needs to be done for delivery That need to be in the app rolling out stores executional Now we're going to phase it to me as is where it gets more exciting as a marketer because you're looking at how you grow your average check You're looking at how you put provide Just very unique things too and unique promotions versus blanket promotions and that's it for delivery and for our app and loyal loyalty program that's really tracking the exact same focus
[00:36:52] Jen Kern: [00:36:52] And so with your plans to scale as I know you've been growing and continue to open up new stores I don't know if you've opened up at any during the pandemic but continuing with Dunkin's aggressive growth strategy How do you balance that With keeping this culture and this high touch and the cross functional nature it's almost I feel like you're describing almost like a familial atmosphere that you have there How do you balance those two things How do you see the brand changing so how do you see that balance playing out for over the next 12 months Say
[00:37:23] Brandy Blackwell: [00:37:23] I truly believe that our digital over the past two years our senior vice president she has come in with a lot of experience She came in with a plan and she's executed against it and she's made digital a priority for the brand She has made digital priority She has made digital the biggest focus for the brand certainly like we have other priorities operationally and product focused but it's really the biggest priority for us And when you put when the franchisee is buying into it like I was saying when it comes to finding know and offers that are profitable for the franchisees that aren't just awareness drivers So not just that everything has an ROI that makes sense And the margins make sense cause there's pretty offers We can throw out BOGOs all day long but you will be hated by a franchisee when it's all said and done right So that balance but for the most part every offer we do is vetted voted in and It tends to work because the numbers work And so many have a say that by the time it gets to market we thought everything through there's still mistakes but it is really a vetted process And I think going forward now that foundation really is in place and people are buying into digital it's how can we move quicker that's the biggest that's always the biggest challenge is how do we move Quicker And that's one thing we're working towards with everything that we're doing and for delivery being new in the with Dunkin we've had to just show I've had to I've had to just share business cases I don't tell anybody to go sign up for something until I have some numbers to show them. And if they want to wait, they wait or if it's not for them, they wait and they can see, they rely on other franchisees and other people's sales to determine if they want to adopt. And if they have the infrastructure and labor to, support it, I think going forward, we just have to really, continue to have that buy in and show sometimes I think people forget to show your wins to your team, meaning like your broader team.
[00:39:27] So making sure you're communicating what worked and what didn't work in a big organization like this is sometimes a challenge.
[00:39:35] Jen Kern: [00:39:35] I'm curious, how was marketing viewed and how is it viewed today within Dunkin? It runs the gamut. I'm talking to marketers from brands of all shapes and sizes, and there are some cases where marketing is viewed as arts and crafts, if you will. And there are some where truly the head of marketing and senior marketing leaders have a say in the direction and the strategic direction of the company and technology decisions and important things like that are impacting the guests and data, and then there's everything in between. So where do you fall at Dunkin with how you view the world marketing in the organization?
[00:40:08] Brandy Blackwell: [00:40:08] I can tell you that Dunkin is a big believer in marketing. They will challenge you on every decision that's made and every penny and how it's spent. But that's how it should be. We are in a space now where everything is trackable. If not a hundred percent it's darn near close.
[00:40:26] And a good example is our CEO actually will stop me in the hallway and, discuss free delivery campaigns and different things. So if that's coming down from him and that's his hallway talk randomly, then you know, he's believing in it too. We are at a place now where again, our ROI has to make sense for the franchisees and they've already voted it in.
[00:40:52] So some marketing, you have to have a budget though. I want to just go ahead and say that out loud because you can't, you can do things more cost efficiently, but if you don't spend, you're not going to get a return. And that is where...it's really frustrating for a lot of brands and marketers, because what's the first thing to get cut your marketing budget, right?
[00:41:14] Perhaps marketing team members. And I think having operations in sync and franchisees in sync with everything that's going on and your message makes the promotions more successful. Cause if our, crew members can't execute a promotion because it's too complex. Then we might as well not do it.
[00:41:33] If it's too hard to get a product and we run out of the product, it backfires. So I think that it's everybody working together and believing in and understanding the messages, but you have to have money behind it. Yeah. It's not just, if you build it, they will come. So really in the spending it wisely, we still are pretty lean when it comes to that, but it's spending it in channels that are tried and true that we know work and, It's not just we got it.
[00:42:00] LTOs are my favorite. But if you send out an LTO and, Oh great. It was 2% of sales, but yeah, you spent 3% of sales on the marketing budget to talk about it. It's a little bud, right? It's impression. I'm not an impression type of girl. I like the, the numbers and the return.
[00:42:18] Jen Kern: [00:42:18] Yeah. The vanity metrics are so yesterday. And I love that. You said a couple of things. I just love one is that your CEO stops you in the hallway and wants to ideate. And throw out his ideas. And I have worked with a lot of CEOs. I love that. That's just, that's a marketer's dream because you're innovating and ideating with the entrepreneur of the company.
[00:42:36] And I think we all, a lot of marketers have entrepreneurial spirit and that's so much fun. I saw you just light up. I know our listeners can't see you, but lighting up thinking about Oh yeah, let's talk about some creative campaigns. Let's talk about the things we can do.
[00:42:48] Brandy Blackwell: [00:42:48] And he's an operator, he's an operator by heart or by nature. But when he's, when he is asking and engaged in marketing, he's engaged in marketing and that's pretty cool. And he's really been driving a lot of that digital across the system. And I think that, if you have advocates for you it's going to be.
[00:43:09] It's easier to get a budget.
[00:43:11] Jen Kern: [00:43:11] Yeah, absolutely. And you got to spend money to make money, You need a budget and I love, I can hear your grittiness. And your w when you talk about the accountability, like you just can't sit back as a marketer and be like, Oh, where's my budget. No, it doesn't work that way.
[00:43:27] If you earn the, you get the budget, you earn the budget to keep the budget. You need to keep working to keep the budget.
[00:43:32] Brandy Blackwell: [00:43:32] Yeah. the, what happened six months ago is not where you might want to spend all of your money, this timing, behaviors change. And I think there's a lot of marketers who get stagnant and get complacent and get used to doing buying the same percentage of billboards and the same percentage of radio.
[00:43:51] And the same DMAs and blowing your whole strategy up on a pretty regular basis and really revisiting and saying, is this really where, we want to spend our money. It's something that I think needs to happen on a regular basis and being open to not being right about that all the time is something that a lot of marketers don't like too.
[00:44:13] Jen Kern: [00:44:13] Yeah. Yeah, I like that. So you don't need a pandemic to blow up your strategy, just blow it up on a
[00:44:18] Brandy Blackwell: [00:44:18] Just double blow it up during the pandemic. Let me, do you have blown up?
[00:44:21] You're going to spend a lot less money, very wisely.
[00:44:26] Jen Kern: [00:44:26] Keep things interesting. So tell me what's the best career advice you were ever given?
[00:44:32] Brandy Blackwell: [00:44:32] It actually is two things. First is, to learn every side of the business is to, I'll never be a good marketer if I don't, if I don't understand operations and a franchisee's, P and L. So I started to learn on P and L and I understood the impact and where my spending went on that P and L hit them. And that is critical to me for understanding, before I go into any promotion. I don't even think about it if it's not asking aspirational and functional, not just aspirational. So I take both of those things into account. And then another was, when you're managing a team, don't always talk, work, start off by asking them how their day is. And I don't know that stuck with me and cause I think at a younger, I mean I'm blanking means old, but at a younger age, managing team members that were much closer to my age, I think was a challenge.
[00:45:27] And not really even marketing just in general to really get, you can be personal without being too personal. And that's how relationships are built in this industry. And I think sometimes, people forget that.
[00:45:40] Jen Kern: [00:45:40] Yeah, we can get so locked in. It's Oh, that's a human right. People are people.
[00:45:44] Brandy Blackwell: [00:45:44] Now we get on our own agendas and sometimes. If you kind to stop and take a minute and think about, it's like the Chick-fil-A effect that I told you when I watched the training, for Chick-fil-A, it's wondering how that person's day is before you're thinking about how it makes you feel.
[00:46:02] I always try to reference, I love that brand, so I always try to reference things that they do well, which is everything.
[00:46:08] Jen Kern: [00:46:08] Yeah. So what would you say is the biggest challenge facing marketers today?
[00:46:13] Brandy Blackwell: [00:46:13] Gotta be the clutter. You're in a very cluttered space. And, I think that, gosh, the amount of emails and inquiries on LinkedIn and things of new products and this product and rarely do I trust a stranger rarely. I, if I, unless I do my research on that person, after the fact, so we're in a very loud space and loud time.
[00:46:38] So being able to sort through that is a big challenge for me personally, and when really I have to keep my head down every day and just get things out the door. Taking time to innovate, taking time to learn about products that are out there. I would love to every email that came across my desk to say, and my computer to say, yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to watch that two minute demo on everything.
[00:46:59] I'm gonna watch that to learn about that. And I think it's like a time perspective. We're all living on time, but it's also a discipline. To put that time to, what it is that you want to learn, what it is that you want to get better at in this space and learn new products, because it's always changing.
[00:47:17] And if you don't keep up, you're going to be left behind. But most of the time I ping colleagues and I say, Hey, do you know about this? The solution I've heard about it. I know the bare minimum. And do do you use it, do you know anyone that uses it? So I get most of my insights from people I trust in the industry.
[00:47:33] Jen Kern: [00:47:33] Yeah, there is a lot out there. There's a lot to sift through. That's for sure. Finding the time and looking at the right things too. Sometimes you just don't know, like you said, it's hard to trust a stranger. And so is this, is it fake news or is it real news?
[00:47:50] Brandy Blackwell: [00:47:50] I tend not to be challenges with this. Is this product better than this product? I've heard a lot about both of them. If I were to, what does this one have? The five things. This one has it, this one doesn't have, but they're very similar. That happens. That happens a lot too. And the next best thing is, might be around the corner also.
[00:48:06] Do you wait and then you find something you love and it costs too much. That always happens to me. Okay. I got another question for you. Your most memorable mistake or failure.
[00:48:16] I would say that I, basically made a $50,000 investment when I was 24 at my first brand. That was a accident. For a bill, was one of, one of them. I don't have any failures for not accepting a job or moving somewhere or doing something, which I'm proud to say, but I would say that $50,000 spend on a, agency bill that I did not, was not approved and did not know I was doing did not, was a very bad one and a very scary one at 24 years old. And I am sure there's plenty of others, but that's what comes to mind as being the most frightening time day of my life. It would be double my salary. So there's that too.
[00:48:58] Jen Kern: [00:48:58] Yeah. Yeah. As we wrap up here, are there any special plugs you want to give? I know that Dunkin does a lot with giving back and they're doing the joy run right now for children and doing that with dogs as well. What special plugs do you want to put out there for Dunkin' for any LTOs is your running and it just any quick infomercials.
[00:49:16] So
[00:49:16] Brandy Blackwell: [00:49:16] our refreshers are out and they are wildly popular and I'm not just saying that wildly popular. They're delicious. So our refreshers are selling like crazy. And I think everybody is taking to them very well. And it's a really out there move for Dunkin. So I would recommend that.
[00:49:33] I, and then also just, when it comes to, getting back our joy and childhood foundation, we have Cooper dog who represents us, he's the office dog, but, the foundation is just incredible. It is all about, supporting children, especially ill children. And we do a lot of great fundraisers that are online, or we have swag and dog toys and all sorts of things that can be purchased either at Dunkin or online to help support the foundation.
[00:49:57] It is my dog's favorite toy. It might be sold out by now, cause it is that great. But otherwise, just, hope that everybody continues to really fight through this pandemic and. And do what they need to do to make it through. And hopefully we're on the flip side of this, cause that's not industry people, we kinda are this like pact, right?
[00:50:14] And, when it, or anything happens to any restaurant or any restaurant market or operator, it really breaks my heart. So I'm hoping that everybody comes out on top and things move in the right direction.
[00:50:27] Jen Kern: [00:50:27] Absolutely. Thank you so much for your time today, Brandy. Thanks for joining us and talking about all things Restaurants Reinvented and donuts. Oh, and don't forget. Snack and bacon bites. I saw that you have those coming in.
[00:50:39] Brandy Blackwell: [00:50:39] they can, yeah.
[00:50:41] Jen Kern: [00:50:41] Look amazing. Keto
[00:50:44] Brandy Blackwell: [00:50:44] comfort food all day long. So COVID comfort food. That absolutely is what it is, but we have ways to eat healthier too. I, my last plug will be don't eat donuts all day, every day for several months straight. Cause you will have trouble getting those extra pounds off... not speaking from experience or anything.
[00:51:04] Jen Kern: [00:51:04] That's awesome. Alright, well, thank you so much for your time. Best of luck to you and we'll chat again soon.
[00:51:09] Brandy Blackwell: [00:51:09] Thanks so much.
[00:51:10]