brand checkmate
Posted by Peter Feld on November 19, 2009 06:12 PM
It's got to sting when you go slumming, only to have the slum-dwellers tell you that you don't measure up.
To review: under pressure from Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's, and with its brand value in decline, Starbucks introduced Via instant coffee with an in-store taste-test promotion intended to prove that the new instant can't be told apart from the store brew. Not the best way to maintain a brand that was built upon premium-quality coffee and the idea that Starbucks stores are America's "third place" (after home and work), we thought.
Starbucks demolished Nescafé in the '90s. Why would they now want to copy them?
Nescafé had the exact same idea, it seems. En route to brandchannel HQ this morning, we saw Nescafé workers (happy to pose with their banner) setting up a sampling station for a taste test of their own. Their graphic contrasts an unbranded, but clearly Starbucks-looking paper cup of instant (over a package that uses the Via colors) with a ceramic mug featuring the updated Nescafé logo above a Taster's Choice package. The copy reads: "A lot of hype. OR a lot of flavor."
Ouch. But then again, if Starbucks wants to revive the market for instant coffee, why shouldn't Nescafé -- who owns the category -- take advantage? To protect their own market, they practically have to go negative.
We've called Starbucks out for brand dilution via Via, for the perplexing concept of decaf instant, for rebranding its signature Gold Coast blend with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" logo, and for removing its brand from faux-local coffee shops. But not every move has been a misstep: the revamped "Rewards" program is a winner, and the one-cup home brewing T-Disk line may catch on.
But Nescafé stands as a reminder and a warning: you can always take your brand down and compete on the low end. But don't expect your new competitors to take it lying down.
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