blank skateboards and Starbucks Instant Coffee

[skategeezer]

oh yeah, Starbucks is about to #### itself beautifully...just like the skate industry with blank and shop boards vs. pro decks. The parallels are incredible!


from Laura Reis' great blog...the origin of brands...

Starbucks is Shooting Itself in the Cup

Starbucks latest offensive isn’t against McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts it is against itself. And if Starbucks weapon is as successful as it says it will be then they could be shooting themselves in the cup.
Starbucks new weapon is its Via instant coffee, a brand that went nationwide this week after several months of testing in Seattle, Chicago and London.

To support the Via launch, Starbucks will be promoting a “taste challenge” in its own stores. The “taste challenge” aims to convince consumers that they cannot tell the difference between a cup of Starbucks instant coffee and a cup of Starbucks store brew.
Instant coffee as good as store-brewed Starbucks? Sounds impossible.


But Howard Schultz is convinced people won’t be able to tell the difference. He has even been fooling people with Starbucks Via instant coffee for almost a year at home and at his office. Nobody including his wife, according to Schultz, realized it was instant.

It’s a brilliant idea for a new gourmet instant coffee to set-up a blind taste test against the world leader in high-end coffee. Especially if the instant coffee wins the taste test.
It’s an insane idea for the world’s leading gourmet coffee chain to set-up a blind taste test in its own stores that it hopes it will lose. Losing a taste test devalues the loser as much as it praises the winner.


Weaker brands have used blind taste tests for decades to try to take market share from leading brands. The “Pepsi Challenge” and the companion commercials of the 1980’s pitted Pepsi against Coca-Cola.
Blind tasters overwhelmingly picked the sweeter taste of Pepsi over Coke. The humiliation of the taste test losses in part led Coca-Cola to launch the disastrous New Coke. A key factor in the development of New Coke was that it should beat Pepsi in blind taste tests.
Today, Starbucks is using a taste test that could lead to another disaster. If a cheaper, instant coffee can be easily made at home or work and it tastes as good as the real thing, why waste time and money going to a retail store?
Starbucks really let the fox in the hen house by hosting the taste tests in its very own stores. Starbucks is telling consumers exactly what they shouldn’t be telling consumers right in its very own stores.
In the minds of consumers Starbucks is believed to be expensive but “worth it.” Consumers praise the high-quality of the coffee. Hosting a taste test in your own stores to tell consumers your product is no better than instant coffee is not a good message to send and not a good challenge to lose.
Starbucks, of course, claims that its instant coffee will not damage its core store brand since “portability” and “value” are the important selling points of Via.
Apparently, the inconvenience of long lines and extravagance of a high price are things consumers would not give up for a Starbucks instant coffee that tastes the same as the store brand?
A brand can often be successful by being the opposite of the leading brand. Target vs. Walmart. Scope vs. Listerine. Pepsi vs. Coke. Monster vs. Red Bull. But there is no potential for one brand to do two strategies at once and succeed.
A high-end brand needs to stay focused no matter what. Introducing cheaper versions of expensive products damage the credibility and power of the core brand.
In the current economic climate Starbucks has been under intense criticism over its “$4 cup” image. Starbucks needs to flight that by promoting a simple pricing strategy to drive home the message that $2 is really the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks and that it is worth every penny because it’s Starbucks.
Suggested headline for a Starbucks ad:

“Two bucks and worth it.”

Instead they are spending money on ads with this headline
“Instant coffee that tastes as delicious as our brewed.”

This ad and Via instant coffee at $1 a cup isn’t likely to tempt too many Taster’s Choice drinkers who get a cup of instant for 10 cents.
What the introduction, advertising and promotion of Starbucks Via is most likely to do is drive people out of Starbucks stores by denigrating the brand in the minds of the consumers.
It is the law of unintended consequence. Saying that an instant coffee (even an expensive instant coffee) can taste just as good as the Starbucks real thing devalues the brewed high-end coffee category.
It is bad enough when your competition knocks your brand, it is worse when you do it to yourself. Yet it happens all the time.

[pepperdro]

I don't know about the writers ability to remain unbiased. Look at the sales at Starbucks for Espresso based coffee vs. brewed coffee. Even if they lose the customers they do have from brewed coffee, they will still be receiving people that want their white mochas, caramel mochiattos, half caff, soy, no foam, extra whipped cream, chocolate german mocha...

Bottom line is Starbucks is jumping into another avenue of the coffee business. They have spent years developing their reputation for having gourmet coffee, and the majority of their customer base isn't going to stop going just because they are pushing out an "instant" variation. After working for that company for 1 1/2 years, I can tell you that people that go to Starbucks are in a league of their own (the majority).

Kudos to them for branching out... only time will tell if this was folly or not.


Great Topic for discussion, though! Thanks SkateGeezer!

[TIMORNE]

I don't know about this or coffee either-don't drink the stuff.
But I see patron's of Starbucks looking for an image thing-that's why they carry that cup like it's the holy grail.

[Drybones]

Originally Posted by pepperdro

I don't know about the writers ability to remain unbiased. Look at the sales at Starbucks for Espresso based coffee vs. brewed coffee. Even if they lose the customers they do have from brewed coffee, they will still be receiving people that want their white mochas, caramel mochiattos, half caff, soy, no foam, extra whipped cream, chocolate german mocha...

Bottom line is Starbucks is jumping into another avenue of the coffee business. They have spent years developing their reputation for having gourmet coffee, and the majority of their customer base isn't going to stop going just because they are pushing out an "instant" variation. After working for that company for 1 1/2 years, I can tell you that people that go to Starbucks are in a league of their own (the majority).

Kudos to them for branching out... only time will tell if this was folly or not.

I agree. Fancy coffee drinkers are die hard and these ads aren't aimed at them and probably won't change their spending practices.


Also, fun fact, the "Pepsi challenge" was later replicated in a controlled setting. Turns out that in the original challenge the "mystery" bottle of pepsi was always labeled with the letter M and the bottle of Coke with the letter Q. Psychologists found that people tend to pick "M" over "Q" regardless of the type of cola contained within, even when both bottles contained the same brand.


Anyway, this lady is just talking out her ass on the internet. Starbucks is a huge corporation that spends millions on research and development of their image and advertising. That's not to say they're infallible, but instant vs brewed coffee from the same company is more like a skate company who has manufactured shortboards for years suddenly coming out with a super fun longboard than it is pro model vs chinese blank.

[WillJ]

yeah, i don't know anyone that goes into starbucks for a simple cup of joe


another 'blogger' that's definitely not a qualified WRITER

[Rainbowlaces]

Originally Posted by Drybones

Anyway, this lady is just talking out her ass on the internet. Starbucks is a huge corporation that spends millions on research and development of their image and advertising.

They've spend a bunch of research on changing their brand actually. The new thing for Starbucks is fooling people into thinking it's not a Starschmucks. They are opening stores with "local" names like 8th Street Coffee and Tea on Queen Anne in Seattle (I think it's 8th). Everything in the store has 8th street from the cups, to the menu, to the labels....but it's owned by Starbucks and it's Starbucks coffee. Since the test subject on Queen Anne went so well, they are planning to open more...

I thought that kind of defeats the purpose of developing a brand...lol

I prefer saving money and just dumping a hot cocoa packet into my coffee for an instant mocha all for about less than $2.



Watch this and it will all become clear:

::ill Will Press:: NEUROTICALLY YOURS CARTOON: COFFEE-HOUSE PROPAGANDA

[WillJ]

guess who's not here to talk about skateboarding

[surfdubs]

the skateboard industry started mass producing blank skateboards? or was it people outside the skateboard industry trying to make a quick buck? because most of the blank skateboards i see come from china, aren't related to any core company, and don't have the same quality.

those instant coffees are pretty good though.

[snozzboarder55]

having worked for starbucks i say FVCK THEM! all they are interested in is money and this instant coffee (which is called "ready brew" not instant) is a ploy to get more money.

in all honesty if you can't wait the 5 minutes it takes to brew a pot of coffee you have other issues. drive through coffee is ridiculous enough but if you need "ready brew" then you have to be the most impatient person(s) ever.


starbucks is an evil place! friends dont let friends work for starbucks
/rant

[pepperdro]

Originally Posted by snozzboarder55

having worked for starbucks i say FVCK THEM! all they are interested in is money and this instant coffee (which is called "ready brew" not instant) is a ploy to get more money.

in all honesty if you can't wait the 5 minutes it takes to brew a pot of coffee you have other issues. drive through coffee is ridiculous enough but if you need "ready brew" then you have to be the most impatient person(s) ever.


starbucks is an evil place! friends dont let friends work for starbucks
/rant

wow... how do you really feel? lol. I enjoyed working there. I had a blast. I met a bunch of cool people, and my shop was filled with some crazy characters. We didn't really have those asshole baristas that had attitude, though.

Oh, and when you live somewhere that gets -65 F in the winter, you LIVE off drive thru coffee shops. we have little coffee houses set up all over the place up here, because it's too F'ing cold to get out, get coffee, and leave again.

[skategeezer]

fun facts....

1. I have had coffee only twice...never really enjoyed it...had two sips...maybe YECH!
2. it's more a situation about pro models vs. blanks vs shop boards...people THOUGHT they were getting something way different...turns out...well, you know remember how it went down

[BigRyeguy]

Originally Posted by skategeezer

fun facts....
1. I have had coffee only twice...never really enjoyed it...had two sips...maybe YECH!

Black coffee is really disgusting, hot roasted bean water...

But, I'm a sucker for a Mocha Frappuccino, stuffsgood.

[CasterTown]

Too bad brewed coffee sucks anyway... Its all about that Americano.

[snozzboarder55]

Originally Posted by pepperdro

wow... how do you really feel? lol. I enjoyed working there. I had a blast. I met a bunch of cool people, and my shop was filled with some crazy characters. We didn't really have those asshole baristas that had attitude, though.

Oh, and when you live somewhere that gets -65 F in the winter, you LIVE off drive thru coffee shops. we have little coffee houses set up all over the place up here, because it's too F'ing cold to get out, get coffee, and leave again.

haha, i did have fun, but things started to get really shady. our DM was two faced and so was our store manager. i can say that while working there i was a baller barista, serving up lattes with bears, butterflies, elephants, and other things in the foam haha.

but the whole instant coffee thing seems to be going against Starbucks like geezer says. your main focus is a product that is well thought out and made with passion and care. so they decide to take a packet and add water? its confusing

[Rainbowlaces]

your main focus is a product that is well thought out and made with passion and care

Hey, they thought long and hard about the packaging...and are passionate about making money!

[Bookworm]

they're trying to capture the entire market.

what's the one place they don't have a large market share? instant.

poof.

[pepperdro]

Originally Posted by snozzboarder55

haha, i did have fun, but things started to get really shady. our DM was two faced and so was our store manager. i can say that while working there i was a baller barista, serving up lattes with bears, butterflies, elephants, and other things in the foam haha.

but the whole instant coffee thing seems to be going against Starbucks like geezer says. your main focus is a product that is well thought out and made with passion and care. so they decide to take a packet and add water? its confusing

haha I have to agree with you there. Nice artistic flair, by the way...

[snozzboarder55]

Originally Posted by Bookworm

they're trying to capture the entire market.

what's the one place they don't have a large market share? instant.

poof.

but its bad business practice to not live up to the expectations you lay on your employees. to contradict oneself is bad as an employee, but when the president/owner/ceo/cfo are giving you mixed messages and changing their minds/expectations on a quarterly basis thats big problem. it is all adding up to selfishness on the higher ups' end.

one of the reasons my experience was bad was because i worked right across the street from your school Bookworm, SCU girls are cute but snobby as hell! didn't know that less than 16oz of nonfat milk was a huge part of one's diet haha.

[spaceghost0]

pepperdro's spot on. Starbucks is only selling short their in-store brewed coffee, which most people say is burned tasting (I don't know, I don't drink any coffee). Their product portfolio is so much grander than just brewed coffee which is how they achieved success to begin with.

Furthermore, Starbucks works VERY hard to create what they call the "third place," meaning it's not your home and it's not work... it's the other place you spend a lot of time. Being in a shop that smells of fresh coffee beans and pushing buttons on your home machine are two totally different experiences. Which would you rather have? Homebrew in your kitchen or something made by someone in a nicer place where you don't have to clean up? It's the same reason I go to bars to drink. I could do it at home (and do) but who cares. It's a social thing.

Further still, guess where VIA is sold? IN THE STORE.

(and yeah, I worked there for ~2 years)

[thaidiver]

Originally Posted by Drybones

Also, fun fact, the "Pepsi challenge" was later replicated in a controlled setting. Turns out that in the original challenge the "mystery" bottle of pepsi was always labeled with the letter M and the bottle of Coke with the letter Q. Psychologists found that people tend to pick "M" over "Q" regardless of the type of cola contained within, even when both bottles contained the same brand.

As I was reading the OP, this is exactly what I was thinking about, you just beat me to it. Here an article about it.