Dunkin’ Donuts is targeting consumers in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region with a new campaign featuring New York Giants player Eli Manning that reflects the company’s continued mobile investments.

The coffee chain is partnering with Mr. Manning for the second year with a marketing effort that will continue through the next two years in New York. As part of the deal, mobile will play a big role in the correlating advertisements, and the campaign reflects the company’s continued investments in the medium.

“Eli’s Way to Pay’ is a fun and interactive way to engage fans with this year’s campaign right through their mobile devices,” said Cathy Chavenet, senior field marketing manager of Metro New York at Dunkin’ Brands, Boston.

“We know that our guests rely on their mobile phones, and having the chance to win fun prizes with a simple SMS entry is a quick, fun and convenient way for them to engage with Dunkin’ Donuts,” she said.

“At launch and into the present we’ve been encouraging downloads and continued use of the Dunkin’ app through a comprehensive integrated marketing effort that includes in-store, mobile media advertising, a dedicated page on DunkinDonuts.com, emails through our Dunkin’ UpDDate program, public relations and social-media based programming.”

Instant winners
Mr. Manning’s ads are meant to highlight Dunkin’ Donuts’ mobile payment application, which the company has been actively been promoting in the past year. According to the brand, the ads will also promote Dunkin Donuts’ iced coffee.

Dunkin’ Donuts is launching an SMS sweepstakes to support the Eli Manning campaign that runs through Sept. 29.

Consumers can text the keyword MPAY to the short code 74121 to win instant prizes.

In addition, the SMS message automatically enters consumers to win one of the ten grand prizes – a trip to New Jersey’s Quest Diagnostics Training Center with Mr. Manning for photos.

The SMS entry also automatically opts consumers into Dunkin’ Donuts’ mobile alerts program and includes a link to Dunkin Donuts’ mobile app that drops consumers into the correct app store, where it can be downloaded to their device.

The sweepstakes is limited to consumers within the tri-state area.

Marketing magic
The newest marketing effort from Dunkin’ Donuts is the latest example of the strong role that mobile plays in the brand’s multichannel marketing.

Dunkin’ Donuts originally launched its app last year to let consumers pay for food and drinks via a digital gift card that is loaded with money from a credit card.

Therefore, the majority of Dunkin’ Donuts’ mobile efforts center on driving app downloads.

Most recently, the brand ran a time-sensitive Twitter sweepstakes that encouraged consumers to take in-app screenshots or upload a picture of their favorite store (see story).

“Last month, Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated its one-year anniversary of the brand’s mobile application for payment and gifting,” Ms. Chavenet said.

“In just its first year, the Dunkin’ app has been downloaded more than 3.5 million times, giving people across the country a quick and convenient way to pay for Dunkin’ Donuts food, beverages and merchandise, as well as receive special discounts and offers,” she said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York