Dairy Queen’s Nissen says the right brand name can provide a big boost by communicating to customers in one word what the flavor pr ofile of a new offering is. When Dairy Queen introduced a spicy burger it purposely chose to partner with Tabasco in an advertising campaign. The company could have simply used Tabasco or one of its competitors, but by drawing up a licensing agreement and ad campaign, “It instantly communicated the flavor profile on this burger was different. It’s hot and spicy,’’ Nissen says. Nabisco notes, for instance, that its research suggests Oreo is considered its own flavor alongside chocolate and vanilla.

But not all branded products work in a quick-service setting. Some deals fail the financial or culinary test. Dairy Queen routinely turns down candy manufacturers who offer to pay to put a new product in a Blizzard. If customers aren’t already familiar with a candy, it makes little sense to do the deal, Nissan explains.

Dairy Queen’s efforts to work a sweet, name-brand cereal into its Blizzard haven’t worked from a taste perspective. “There have been some heartbreaks, brands we thought would be a good fit,’’ Nissen says. “With any branded product you have to ask ‘Does this produce a wow product?’ In many cases the answer is no.” And with the advertising dollars coming from the franchisees, Dairy Queen wants a solid yes before it proceeds.

With Oreo, though, the answer is virtually always yes. “All the variations on Oreo tend to be big hits. There is always a lot of interest in working with Oreo,” Nissan says.

At Baskin Robbins, a variation of an Oreo cookies-and-cream treat has been a top-five seller for years and product extensions featuring the Oreo are always a good bet, says Scott Colwell, vice president of marketing. “They have a lot of credibility with consumers,’’ he says. During the fall, the company rolled out six Oreo-themed products including: an Oreo cookie pie; a new Oreo cake; a new flavor, Jamoca; chocolate and Jamoca Oreo shakes; and an Oreo-layered sundae. The company won’t reveal sales figures but says the new offerings helped sales jump the first week they were introduced in August and are “exceeding expectations.”

Like pizza and Oreo, frozen dessert restaurants are in a competitive environment. The category’s sales increased by 2.2 percent from 2005 to 2006 while units dropped by 1.2 percent according to data gathered from Technomic. Dairy Queen sales were flat from 2005 to 2006 with a slight increase in same-store sales while Baskin Robbins experienced a 6.5 percent jump in sales with a small same-store sale bounce. Newer competitors like Cold Stone Creamery, which saw a double-digit jump in sales in 2006 and higher same-store sales, are chasing both venerable brands.

Cold Stone, of course, made its name with its smorgasbord of mix-ins. And like its competitors it has its own Oreo creation, Oreo overload.