“It [was] beginning to look a lot like Christmas” much earlier this year. In fact, on the day of Halloween it was easier to find candy canes and marshmallow trees at the grocery store than fun-sized trick-or-treats. By November 1st, garland and wreaths were going up at the stores. Two days later, Starbucks switched the white cups out for the red ones. TBS played “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” last Sunday night!
The consumer spirit of Christmas has been extra elongated this year – most likely the attempt by corporate America to rake in any cent of additional revenue with financial fears mounting by the minute. Already, Target is far from the bull’s eye. Lowe’s net is exactly the chain’s name. Circuit City’s power went out. Apparel stores aren’t even stocking up on seasonal staff. Detroit – just a disaster.
But is rushing in the season rushing in the spending? There’s something missing here and it’s not the sight of snow or the sound of a sleigh bell. There’s no organization and certainly no authenticity coming from the private sector. Instead, the efforts appear desperate and kind of pathetic. Everyone’s trying so hard to sell but consumers don’t seem to be buying into it, at least not this early.
Holiday goods hold value because they represent something special and how can something remain special when it’s widely available for a longer period of time? I mean, look where that got fruit cake…
Surpassing reduced-calorie coffee cake to become the number one food item throughout the entire company-wide chain, OATMEAL has become Starbucks’ most successful food launch of all time.
Now the analysts are asking WHY? It’s not that cold yet outside. It costs about 25% more than most other choices in the big, glass case. And well, it’s oatmeal for Pete’s sake! The descendent of grandma’s porridge! A food synonymous with an old man topped with fluffy white hair and a colonial hat!
Maybe it was the genius title that emerged from a Seattle-based brainstorm: “The Perfect Oatmeal” leaves little room to contest quality. Or is it the 1.5 million free coupons that Starbucks sent out to its rewards-program members? Or the frequently flashed fact that oatmeal lowers cholesterol? The packaging is trendy? Are oats 100% recyclable? Perhaps customers are just too intimidated by the word “piadini” to attempt pronouncing that instead during the breakfast rush?
Or is it something as simple as service?
YOU don’t just want oatmeal. YOU want it with brown sugar, nuts, dried fruit toppings or a combination. Three minutes of seeping later, YOUR oatmeal is fully prepared, ready for YOU to enjoy. It’s exactly like ordering the original coffee beverages that propelled Starbucks’ initial growth. It wasn’t a complicated idea. YOU order YOUR latte decaf, skim, not too hot, with an extra shot… The baristas are at YOUR command and while YOU are in control, YOU don’t have to do a thing except literally taste the fruits of YOUR hard earned money.
As businesses are fighting to keep clients and win new customers in these trying economic times, what kind of over-servicing will convince them that your same ol’ offering is more valuable than ever? How will you put your oatmeal at the top of their shelf?
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Inspired by “Starbucks’ Surprise Success: Oatmeal.” By Emily Bryson York. Advertising Age. 13 October 2008.
I didn’t score that high on my verbal SATs but I think I can manage a simple analogy here. Coffee:Social Networking :: Starbucks:Facebook.
Why do we love Facebook? It’s not because you can poke someone on the other side of the world. It’s not because for months you’ve been able to plant a comical or raunchy bumper sticker on your friend’s wall. And it’s certainly not because you can view advertisements that “magically” speak to your exact age and music tastes.
We love Facebook because we are naturally vain creatures! We love reconnecting with every name we’ve ever come in contact with and watching our friends count grow by the hundreds. We love filling out our profile with bands that show how cool we are or quotes that demonstrate our intellectual depth. We love that fuzzy feeling when someone writes on our wall (isn’t that why we initiate the conversation on someone else’s wall to begin with!?). And we definitely can’t wait to open up that picture that was just tagged of us - even if we untag it immediately because we look fat or possessed.
The original Facebook was about us. It was our platform to make ourselves look however stylish/ smart/ talented/ contemporary/ friendly/ professional/ original/ single/ in-a-relationship that we wanted to. Facebook was the tool. We were the artists.
The new Facebook is about how stylish/ smart/ talented/ contemporary/ friendly/ professional/ original that the creators of Facebook are. Facebook has become the artist. And every time I’ve signed on since the “facelift,” I feel like the tool.
Starbucks had an amazing business growing from just its simplest offering - consistently good coffee. Then the corporate office’s head got bigger than a venti and as we all know, the buck isn’t stopping there like it used to.
Mark (Zuckerberg) my words, Facebook’s fate is soon to follow…
Agree of disagree?
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Inspired by Fast Talk Question: Has Facebook made a huge mistake in taking away its old design? FastCompany.
