• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, September 22, 2009

What’s the purpose of social networking services developed by Dunkin’ Brands? To “solve a problem that many consumers didn’t even know they had,” says its brand marketing officer, Frances Allen.

One particular service lets uses design their own donuts, and send them to friends. So far, the “donut configurator” has inspired nearly 30,000 consumers to create roughly a third of a million original donuts. More to the point, Allen claims that donut sales are up “significantly” since the launch of the configurator â€" though she did not provide specifics.

Going forward, “We’re taking the challenge of adding social media to every campaign,” according to Allen.