Ready for His Close-Up: Todd Cross of Syracuse, New York is the Grand Prize Winner of Dunkin' Donuts' "Chance for StarDDom"

CANTON, Mass., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, today announced that Todd Cross of Syracuse, New York, is the grand prize winner of the brand's "Chance for StarDDom" contest, a nationwide online search for the country's most passionate Dunkin' Donuts coffee fan. As the grand prize winner, Todd will have the unique opportunity to appear in an upcoming Dunkin' Donuts advertisement, and will also receive free Dunkin' Donuts coffee for a year.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110224/NY53806LOGO ) 

Dunkin' Donuts launched "Chance for StarDDom" on September 29 in celebration of National Coffee Day, inviting Dunkin' Donuts fans to upload a photo of themselves to a special tab on the brand's official Facebook page, along with a caption describing why they are the biggest Dunkin' Donuts coffee fan.  The grand prize winner was determined by a combination of public voting and Dunkin' Donuts judging, based on passion for Dunkin' Donuts coffee, originality/creativity of photo and caption, and overall appeal of photo and caption.  In addition to the grand prize winner, Dunkin' Donuts has recognized 10 first prize winners who will receive free Dunkin' Donuts coffee for a year.

"Our fans' passion for our coffee is unsurpassed, and we were thrilled to receive many fantastic entries that demonstrated this dedication and enthusiasm for our brand," said John Costello, Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer at Dunkin' Brands. "We thank all of our participants, and congratulate Todd for being our 'Chance for StarDDom' grand prize winner. We look forward to seeing him in a Dunkin' Donuts advertisement soon!"

The grand prize winner, Todd Cross of Syracuse, New York, titled his "Chance for StarDDom" contest entry "Stay Dunkin'." As a passionate Dunkin' Donuts coffee fan and employee of a professional hockey team in Syracuse, Todd's entry featured him balancing a Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup on his hockey stick. In his entry, Todd credited Dunkin' Donuts' Box O' Joe for giving him the boost he needs to keep running during long gamedays.

Dunkin' Donuts' "Chance for StarDDom" online contest ties into this year's introduction of Dunkin' Donuts' "What Are You Drinkin'?" integrated advertising and marketing campaign that celebrates the dedication and passion Dunkin' Donuts guests have for the brand's coffee.  The campaign features "everyday Joes" and is anchored by a simple question and answer: "What are you drinkin'?", "I'm drinkin' Dunkin'."  The campaign is integrated across television, radio, out-of-home and online advertising, as well as social media, public relations and in-restaurant activities to ensure all consumers are engaged through as many outlets as possible.

According to The NPD Group / CREST®, Dunkin' Donuts serves the most hot traditional and iced coffee in America, selling more than one billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year. Dunkin' Donuts uses 100% Arabica coffee beans, and the company's coffee specifications are recognized by the industry as a superior grade of coffee. Dunkin' Donuts was recently ranked number one in customer loyalty in the coffee category for the fifth consecutive year by the 2010 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. 

For more information about Dunkin' Donuts, please visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/DunkinDonuts).

About Dunkin' Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for five years running. The company has more than 9,700 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2010, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales were $6 billion. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN). For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.  

Contact:

Jessica Gioglio
Dunkin' Brands
781-737-5200
[email protected]

SOURCE Dunkin' Donuts