Charli x Dunkin'

It seems like everyone’s on TikTok these days. And even people that aren’t on TikTok know who Charli D’Amelio is. So when Dunkin’ Donuts announced that they have partnered with Charli and named a drink after her, you best believe that people stormed Dunkin’ stores for a sip of their new drink.

For those who may not be as familiar with who Charli is as others, she is a social media personality and dancer best known for her account on TikTok which has 86 million followers and over 6.6 billion likes on her collection of videos. She started creating TikToks late March of 2019, where she would post videos of her dancing to trendy songs on the platform. She was named the second highest earning TikTok personality by Frobes and was placed on Fortune’s 40 under 40 list in 2020. She is considered to be TikTok’s biggest star.

Charli is also known for her obsession with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, so it was no surprise when Dunkin’ named a drink after her. Charli’s go-to drink, a cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl became available on all Dunkin’ menus worldwide. To promote customers to come and get a taste, they offered an incentive. They were giving fans the chance to sip ‘The Charli” with Charli herself. Beginning September 9th through September 14th, fans can post a photo on Instagram recreating an iconic Charli x Dunkin’ moment using the hashtag #CharliXDunkinContest. On National Dance Day, September 19th, five lucky winners are going to be selected to hang out with Charli through a virtual coffee date, and get some tips and tricks on how to make viral videos.

In order to promote this partnership even more, Charli is taking over Dunkin’s social media channels in September, where fans have the opportunity to follow along all month long to catch exclusive content by Charli, along with a special AR Instagram filter, stickers and more. Dunkin’ is also giving the chance for fans to show off their best dance moves, approved by Charli, on TikTok to the beat of an original song they created that was inspired by “The Charli”.

After a careful analysis of the campaign, I believe that the primary objective of it was to promote their company in general, along with a new beverage. The partnership between Dunkin’ and Charli was an opportunity that had never crossed Dunkin’s doorstep before and it was a chance to improve their company value within the coffee and donuts industry. On top of this, I think that another big objective of this campaign was to increase brand awareness on the West Coast. From talking to friends from across the country, Dunkin’ seems to be big on the East Coast, but when it comes to the West, most people tend to go to Starbucks, Peet’s, or the Coffee Bean. With the help of Charli, I can see how more people on the West Coast would be tempted to go to Dunkin’ and try out their coffee, especially with younger generations, like Gen Z. It’s going to be interesting to see how successful this campaign is going to be, but I personally think it’s worked on me.

Hoj’s rating of ‘The Charli’: 10/10