Starbucks goes competitive to re-establish brand superiority

The recession can be exemplified by how once high flying coffee industry darling Starbucks has stumbled and tumbled as consumers cut back on "mini" indulgences.

With strong competition from fast food retailers like McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts who promote superior coffee taste and lower prices, Starbucks has decided it can no longer sit still after a recent report shows profits are down 77% in the past quarter.

Starbucks will begin a proactive ad campaign to promote why its brand is both superior to and a better value than competitive offerings. This campaign plans to remind many current and previous Starbucks brand loyalists why they were attracted to the coffee lifestyle business in the past. This is an important lesson for all brands; not to lose sight of the need to continuously remind consumers what is meaningful about the brand and how it will impact their lives in a way other brands can or will not.

Additionally, Starbucks has said it will re-align pricing on some of its products to ensure value is evident. Some basic coffee products will go down in price and more complicated drinks may go up slightly in price. Further, Starbucks will continue to package food items with beverages for a combo price that takes a page out of McDonald's long history of matching items together for less money than buying them separately.

Sometimes events like this recession force companies to regroup and go back to their core reason for being after years of getting away with off-strategy business moves when the economy is robust and consumers are flush.

Watching out for you every day.

Eli

(PS. Sorry for the lack of updates on the blog recently. I have been involved in some activities that were very time consuming. Now I'm back. Thanks for your loyalty. EP)