Starbucks is more than just coffee…
A great post from Nick here that highlights a growing trend of brands putting (what we would traditionally call I guess ’cause marketing’ or CSR) reasons for caring at the heart of their proposition. He puts it nicely;
“How can we mean more than just [insert product here]…?” is the question that all of the greatest brands have asked and will continue to ask themselves.
More than just soap? More than just running shoes? More than just cola?
And most recently: More than just a Kenyan/American with an awkward name?”
Nick cited this latest campaign from Starbucks (beautiful score but that’s by the by)
Lots of brands, as he rightly point out, wrestle with this and here are two routes in my opinion to help uncover those areas where they can mean more to people than just as a vendor of a product:
- find an area where the business model already touches in some way for the company to care about. It then does not come across as contrived or awkward because the brand/business cares for a reason which will also ultimately affect profits e.g. Starbucks and coffee plantations, P&G detergents and smaller but more potent product sizes taking more delivery lorries off the road whilst shipping more units (this is a dubious one though as more concentrated detergents usually mean more chemicals). They have to be transparent in why they believe that caring works for their business too- if they can tell this story in a compelling way, they’ll win friends for just being honest and more personable.
- Find a cause for which your employees give a shit about and talk about it. Personalise the company by revealing the people who are behind delivering a product or service and tell the story of their commitment and concerns for the category/product or their environment. In an increasingly digital world, companies don’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) faceless anymore.
Companies need to have a relationship with consumers that extends beyond just flogging cups of grand skinny mocha choca lotta froth (hopefully a challenge that has been identified in marcomms meetings across the globe as the economy slows down and people increasingly look for reasons to switch brands).
So how about marketeers start talking to their customers on issues that matter to both of them so as not to come across insincere ? Starbucks can be more than just coffee, but the issues it adopts needs to align with the company’s core business values and contribute to the growth of the business otherwise the whole thing will just feel contrieved.
