« There’s still room for all of us | Home | The Facebook privacy issue explained »
The brilliance of Starbucks
By Charles Martin | February 21, 2009
{HOLLYWOOD BC SENT THIS LINK OVER THAT RELATES TO THIS STORY}
[listening to] – Mark Cary ~ Focus (what else would you listen to if you were writing about coffee?)
[drinking] – half-price Starbucks House Blend closeout from the back of the grocery aisle.
[added to the drink] – creme from the Aeroccino that I bought before the luxury shopping ended.
You read right. I might regret this post in a month.
But…
As I mentioned in the other post, I think Starbucks has it going on right now. If you think about it, what better time to develop and introduce products to the micro buyer.
Who?
The micro buyer. Mike Caffeine is a micro buyer who wants a good cup of coffee but has already given up his $4 a day habit due to a recent layoff.
- Mike is also a guy who, if he could, would buy a 1/2 pint of Hagen Daas (for 1/2 or less the price of a full pint, not the sad package size overhaul we are seeing right now in grocery aisles).
- Mike would buy a Rolex Luxe (same great workmanship, ONLY made by recently laid off American workers, heralded and worn by Obama, priced like a Seiko, and still backed by the value of being a Rolex)[Rolex doesn't have the balls to do this but...]
- Mike would buy a crossover version of the Cadillac Escalade called an Entre’. (smaller, same styling their fans like, better mpg, lots of electronic features, developed in a shuttered factory by GM and Chrysler together from TARP funds — buy one and you get your calculated portion of the TARP money back).
Some of these products already exist but you get the idea. If you steal my ideas companies, I want recognition.
Mike would also buy a $1 version of his favorite coffee – Starbucks.
The latter is a reality.
Introducing Starbucks VIA.
VIA is a $1 instant coffee that has the flavor, weight, and taste value of a $2 brewed cup from the store. There’s new technology in this coffee and say what you want about the corporate blah blah of Starbucks, but this is cool and ain’t your gramma Sue’s instant (remember the Folgers Flavor Crystals?). The taste tests are winning people over. You will be able to throw this affordable micro version of a personal luxury into your travel mug on the way to the job fair. I’ve been twitting with @Starbucks and the response so far has been unimaginable really. They gave away 4 “sticks” (remember what I said about new vernacular?) of VIA per second thanks to Twitter. I think that was 200,000 in total and there are millions more samples coming to your local cafe. If I had mentioned to Howard Schultz the idea of micro products when I briefly met him in 2000, he would have probably called security. I would be posting this from Necker Island today.
This is the age folks. This is what everyone is talking about when we say the bad down economy has a lot of warm and fuzzy money pockets in it. The HH already raved about the 10% card which I think EVERY brick and mortar retail marketer (and lots of b2b folks too) should offer. I think VIA is the next step of a bold plan to allow customers to buy and use just what they need of the luxury products they truly don’t want to give up.
The naturally derivative elements from this kind of marketing are awesome too: Better on the environment and good lessons to spoiled consumers that less really can be more. (are you hearing this fast food giants?).
I also imagine that the Dunkin’ and McDonalds drinker now has a coffee well priced and bold enough coffee to keep him awake on his way to the job fair. He can hide it in his “Mama’s Truck Stop” plastic travel mug so the boys won’t tease him.
Topics: Greats in business | No Comments »