Dunkin's Jon Luther: 'LTOs can define new brand directions'
Jon Luther, former chairman of Dunkin Brands/Baskin Robbins, addressed RCA attendees for the first time in 10 years as this year's keynote speaker. In his “culinary warrior”-themed speech, Luther stressed the importance of measured risk taking and chefs taking a seat at the executive table as paramount to successful innovation.
“Consumers today are accustomed to shorter marketing windows, which provide opportunities to push the envelope,” he said. “I’ve used limited time offers [LTOs] to define new brand directions.” One example he cited was Arby’s King's Hawaiian roast beef, which the chain co-branded with King's Hawaiian. “You have to be at the table; you have to listen to get product right, and then figure out how to scale up at the highest possible quality. The Kings Hawaiian roast beef, a launch that took a mixture of listening and risk taking, became one of most successful LTOs in Arby’s history.”
