Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Starbucks Gets It

Hooray! Starbucks gets it! The ground roast coffee category shifted the battlefield from flavor and aroma to caffeine more than 20 years ago! This is the first ground roast coffee ad, since Folger's "Best Part of Waking Up [is caffeine in your cup]" (my strategy), to figure out that heavy ground roast coffee users, the 20% of the audience that account for well over 80% of the category volume, drink caffeine in the morning day part to "THINK EARLIER." Other insights from the work of Calle & Company that enabled Folgers to wrench the category's icon lead and status from Maxwell House include the fact that caffeine enables heavy ground roast coffee consumers to "WORK AND PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS" (very Dale Carnegie: "How To Win Friends and Influence People". Heavy ground roast coffee consumers also perceive that they need to drink caffeine when they get to work because the caffeine helps them show their boss that they "SEE THINGS OTHERS MISS." Caffeine helps them become more alert! It has taken 25 years for this rich, robust and proprietary arabica and robusta bean breakthrough to migrate from Cincinnati to Seattle...but that's marketing in America. It takes a long time for young MBAs and creatives to learn everything all over again for the very first time. How else might the consumption of caffeine enable you to influence others? Thinking outside of the box, might it make you a better leader? Improve your ability to influence others? When you turn around,is anyone following? Now Folger's has Starbuck's on the same strategy. The next commoditization of knowledge in the category is about to ensue.

If you are a ground roast coffee marketer, there are many other ways that can help your brand defeat commoditization, improve the human condition and beat up on rivals. Contact Calle & Company!

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