You’ve probably heard by now that Starbucks is abandoning its own brand name at an existing Seattle location, replacing it with the descriptive “15th Ave E Coffee & Tea.” This is part of what may become a nationwide “un-branding campaign,” in the words of the Huffington Post’s Marc Gunther. Starbucks made the announcement weeks ago, and so far, consumer reactions are mixed.
The driving forces behind this decision seem clear: declining sales, due in large part to the global recession (trading in expensive espresso for cheap home-brewed coffee is an easy budget cut for most), and growing resentment due to perceived monopolization—”those unique [local coffeehouses]…being beaten out of business by big nasty Starbucks,” as Kit Eaton put it in Fast Company. These two challenges are in no way specific to Starbucks, and are in fact hurdles frequently faced by many successful brands in a range of industries (Microsoft and Google—including their business-to-business efforts—are two easy examples).
Gatorade has been befuddling me ever since the beginning of their “What’s G” campaign.
First it was “What is G?”
Now it’s “Who is Gatorade?”
At first I thought the new campaign was meant to infuse the beverage brand with a little more urban chic, with Lil’ Wayne narrating and the implication that the Jabbawockeez are just as much athletes as are Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson.
Then came the Monty Python ads. Weird. Amusing. About as far from “urban chic” as you can get.
Yesterday I read Bob Hoffman’s amusing post about “death fatigue,” and it got me thinking about how much of the fear and fanaticism surrounding swine flu can be attributed to the name. It sounds awful. Much more unpleasant than bird flu, for example.
Then, on my 30-minute commute (plus or minus) into the office today, I heard 30 minutes (plus or minus) of NPR swine flu stories, and nothing else. I now know the status of swine flu preparedness for just about every country on Earth. A couple of the stories, both of which I found pretty amusing, were about groups that are upset about the name and the alternative names they’ve proposed.
Would you go to a coffee place for Mexican food? A Mexican restaurant for a great latte?
DeSpyro Coffee, a relatively new spot in Huntington Beach, is committing a common brand strategy blunder right out of the gate. In choosing a somewhat descriptive name (and they could have just as easily gone with something vague like “DeSpryo’s”), they’ve set themselves up to be perceived by patrons as a coffee shop—a well-established category that comes with a certain set of expectations.
