Posts Tagged ‘Starbucks’

Decaf in the afternoon? Not at Starbucks

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Decaf in the afternoon? Not at Starbucks

I had a Twilight Zone moment this afternoon at my local Starbucks when I ordered my decaf drip coffee and was told the Seattle-based coffee chain no longer brews decaf in the afternoons.

You read that right: A coffee shop that doesn’t offer decaf in the afternoon—the largest coffee shop chain in the world, mind you.

After some prodding, I learned that they will brew a 1/4 pot so you can get your decaf fix, but you’ll have to wait for it.

I shared this with my Twitter brethren and it set off quite a response:

No decaf after noon at Starbucks? You’ve got to be kidding! Isn’t afternoon & evening when most people drink decaf? ~ @heblogssheblogs

Shouldn’t it be the other way around? decaf in the pm for people who don’t want to be up all night? Caf in the am to wake up? ~ @emilyinchile

I don’t like it one bit! I “caffeine load” to 3PM and then hit decaf …I want a formal tweet on the topic from @starbucks ~ @ericglazer

When Kari Rippetoe asked Starbucks (via Twitter) if this was true, first they said “No that’s not true, we brew regular and decaf all day,” but to their credit, they checked, came back and replied:

I’m sorry, it’s true. I just checked @karirippetoe, @patrickbyers, @ericglazer … all stores, decaf only brewed on demand

Yet another example of the way social media has added transparency for consumers and new challenges for business.

I’m not sure where this is going, folks. But I can tell you this much, we haven’t heard the end of yet.

What do you think of Starbucks new decaf policy?

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Posted in responsible or not?, social media, social networking, word of mouth | 9 Comments »

Serve your community, get free Starbucks coffee

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Starbucks has launched a new campaign to make it easier to participate in President Obama’s call for national service.

With a goal of helping raise over one million hours of community service, the Starbucks Pledge5 campaign is in full-swing running in-stores and online. With the leading question “Are you in?” the ask is for a pledge of five hours of community service in 2009.

Commit five hours between today and January 25th and you’ll get a free cuppa joe.

Kudos to Starbucks for using their reach to do some good—now if they could only get my drink right.

What other ways can corporate America encourage community service?

Any and all ideas welcome.

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. . .

Thanks to Melissa Griswold for sharing this story with me—keep the great tips coming!

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Posted in cause marketing, socially responsible, videos | 9 Comments »

Comparitive advertising: Love it or hate it?

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

You’ve probably noticed there’s a lot more comparative advertising being done lately.

Miller Lite v. Bud Light, Whopper v. Big Mac, Campbells v. Progresso and Dunkin’ Donuts (or McDonalds) v. Starbucks all immediately come to mind.

Of course, the poster child for comparative advertising is Mac v. PC:


View Mac v. PC on YouTube

Is comparitive advertising good or bad?

In New ads: battle of the brands, the Christian Science Monitor argues all this comparative advertising might backfire.

Why?

After a negative, protracted political campaign season, people are fed up with negative advertising. And when one brand compares itself to another, both brands receive publicity.

I’ll buy that.

But while some ads can be downright brutal, the fact is consumers are overwhelmed with choices and information, and by comparing one product to another—even though it’s biased—they are learning about differences they might not have been aware of before.

So, do you love or hate comparative ads?

Are there particular brands that you think are doing this type of advertising particularly well?

Comment below to share.

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. . .

Thanks to Bill Boyd for sharing the CS Monitor story with me.

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Posted in competition, love it or hate it?, message responsible, videos | 5 Comments »

Marketers get attention with Election Day freebies

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Regardless of how you plan to vote, chances are you are talking about the election. With estimates of turnout exceeding 130 million people, Election Day promotions make sense.

Starbucks is giving away free coffee:


View this video on YouTube

Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts:

Free donuts at Krispy Kreme on election day

And Ben and Jerry’s is giving away free ice cream:

Free Ben & Jerry's ice cream on election day

It’s a win-win:

The voters win, because they are exercising their rights and getting free stuff.

The marketers win because they are gaining the benefit of unprecedented election buzz while aligning themselves with an activity that’s both responsible and patriotic.

So, what other Election Day promotions have you seen?

Comment below to share.

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Posted in cause marketing, corporate responsibility, socially responsible, viral marketing, word of mouth | 4 Comments »

The coffee is $3. The GOOD is free.

Friday, September 12th, 2008

There’s something new at Starbucks, but it’s not on the menu and it doesn’t cost a dime.

The GOOD Sheet, a weekly “graphical exploration of some of the major issues facing us in this election season and beyond,” appeared in all Starbucks nationwide yesterday.

The goal of the GOOD Sheet is to stimulate conversation during this all-so-important election season regarding real issues that really matter.

It’s being produced by the folks at GOOD, “a collaboration of individuals, businesses and nonprofits pushing the world forward.” Their website, videos and magazine are at once visually and intellectually stimulating. I’ve subscribed to GOOD magazine for over a year now and have enjoyed some fascinating articles regarding the environment, health care, China, education and more.

Issue No. 001 focuses on Carbon Emissions. Here’s the inside spread:

GOOD Sheet No. 001 - Carbon Emissions
+enlarge

Distributing GOOD is a wise move for Starbucks:

  • By encouraging conversation among customers here (and on MyStarbucksIdea.com), the company is creating community online and off
  • It reinforces the Starbucks’ commitment to Social Responsibility—The company supports Conservation International, the Earthwatch Institute, the American Wildlife Foundation, Save the Children and MercyCorps
  • This costs them nothing—they are created by GOOD and funded by a sponsor

    • The GOOD Sheets will be available for the next 11 weeks.

    All this GOOD can’t hide the fact that Starbucks stock has been in sad shape for a few years now.

    Do you believe social good can play a role in helping the company rebound?

    Comment below to weigh in.

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    Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

    Re-positioning requires more than words alone

    Monday, June 9th, 2008

    Few brands ever truly reach the Holy Grail of marketing: Positioning so universal that the brand literally owns a word or phrase in the mind of the consumer.

    What pops into your mind when I say Starbucks. . . Volvo . . . Geek Squad? That word or phrase represents that brand’s positioning to the most important person in the world: You.

    As marketers, we talk about re-positioning a brand as if we are the all-being, capable of shifting public opinion by changing the wording on a website, a package or in an ad. But there’s so much more to a brand than that.

    If we’ve really listened, if we’ve really paid attention, we can indeed influence positioning. But positioning really happens in the mind of the customer based on all of the personal and word of mouth experiences they have had with the brand.

    “Grab life by the horns” sounds like a great phrase to plant in the minds of consumers if you are Dodge, manufacturer of Ram trucks and the high-output Hemi motor. But if “big,” “cheap,” “crap,” and “redneck,” are among the first words used to describe your brand, you’ve got problems.

    Sadly for Dodge, these are indeed among the largest words in the Dodge tag cloud on Brand Tags along with “ram tough,” “tough,” and “truck.”

    Dodge didn’t use these words to describe their brand—the marketplace did.

    The fact is, the words we choose aren’t influencing customer opinion as much as the customer’s interaction with the product, service or organization—before, during and after the sale.

    What say you?

    Comment below to weigh in.

    . . .

    Image: Dodge.com

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    Posted in branding, positioning | 2 Comments »

    The New Coffee Wars: Who will prevail?

    Friday, April 11th, 2008

    I drink a grande decaf over ice with heavy cream every morning. Although I eliminated caffeine about three years ago, it’s still part of my morning ritual. I still feel off if I don’t get my fix.

    Considering over 52% of Americans over age 18 drink coffee everyday, is it any wonder McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and a slew of others want a piece of Starbucks‘ action?

    Dunkin’ Donuts’ has moved much of its marketing focus to coffee and has taken direct aim at Starbucks:

    Over the last few years, McDonald’s increased its coffee ad spend, and even offers Newman’s Own Organic Coffee in some locations:

    In Western Washington, McDonald’s is currently offering an online coupon good for one of their new espresso drinks at select McDonald’s locations. You can print the coupon at unsnobbycoffee.com.

    The site is simple, but gives you the opportunity to interact with the brand. You can play Hotshot Pinball or do a snobby coffee intervention. Fill in the blanks, then sending it to a friend. Not a bad word of mouth tool.

    Snobby coffee intervention. Fill in the form and send to a friend.

    This competition couldn’t be coming at a tougher time for Starbucks. It’s stock is at $17.55 a share today (it’s down from $32 a year ago). Howard Schultz recently returned to the helm and has made a number of positive changes:

  • A return to the core business by eliminating a number of food products – “It smells like coffee again!” my barista told me yesterday
  • New “Pike Place Roast” coffee is fresh-ground and fresh-brewed every 30 minutes (I tried it yesterday – it’s honestly the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had at an SBUX)
  • New espresso machines that are lower so the baristas can see the customer
  • Free refills when you use your Starbuck’s card

    • The Starbucks refresh also included a new customer forum called My Starbucks Idea. It’s not a social networking site, but as a tool for creating conversation with customers, it’s quite good. In Starbucks adopts IdeaStorm concept, Shel Holtz did a nice job comparing it to Dell’s Ideastorm.

    Who will prevail?

    Dunkin’ Donuts is obviously known for their dunkers and their drip coffee. They may take some of Starbucks customers – especially those that care less about coffee or the coffee experience than they do convenience.

    McDonald’s has immense distribution, so they’ll always be a threat. McDonald’s employees will probably never be trained baristas. But if their coffee tastes good enough, some will buy it there instead of walking across the parking lot to a “real coffee shop.”

    My bet is on Starbucks. At a time when customers are seeking authenticity, they are returning to the recipe that helped them succeed. Their focus on service as well as improving and increasing the dialog they are having with their customers is the responsible thing to do, and I believe they will be rewarded for it.

    So, where do you grab your coffee, and why?

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    Posted in advertainment, authenticity, videos, word of mouth | 8 Comments »

    Why won’t Starbucks do something like this?

    Friday, November 23rd, 2007

    Go into any Starbucks and you can pick up one of their brochures sharing their corporate social responsibility. They are really putting some energy into their communications in this area, and I applaud them for it.

    Tully’s is a Seattle-based company that has followed Starbucks, literally, into many of Seattle’s neighborhoods. Their strategy: open a Tully’s across the street. Tully’s has a ways to go to match Starbucks in a number of areas, but they’ve one-upped the 800 lb. gorilla with one simple move: They have introduced the Tully’s Green Cup, a fully renewable and compostable paper cup.

    One other thing. One of my partners at Outsource Marketing asked an interesting question: “Ever notice how the person who rings you up asks you if you want your receipt, prints it, then throws it away?”

    What’s up with that, anyway?

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    Posted in environmentally responsible, socially responsible | 2 Comments »