Friday, May 14, 2010
Seattle’s Best Coffee Announces Cart, But Where’s The Horse?
Over the next months and years, they plan to “show up in new ways and different places. Places where great coffee should be.”
This tactic is premature and not customer-ready.
Starbucks purchased Seattle’s Best in 2003. It was positioned in press releases as a way to offer coffee lovers a different taste profile than what Starbucks offers.
The two key drivers for buying Seattle’s Best discussed within Starbucks were:
- For their food service business, and
- To have a sister brand – of a lower tier – that would allow Starbucks (the corporation) to open in sites not suitable for the Starbucks brand. (Keep Starbucks positioned as premium, yet don’t lose business in those other spaces.)
Other than opening in Border’s bookstore locations, Seattle’s Best hasn’t done much during the past seven years.
And, each time one of those “second tier” locations became available, a Starbucks was built instead.
This has also helped to create a situation where consumers no longer see the gap of service / experience / quality between Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s / McCafé.
One of the original intentions was to not broadcast Seattle’s Best as a sub-brand of Starbucks… Rather to leave them perceived as separate and even, competitors.
Other than making Starbucks seem even BIGGER and intent on taking over the world – there isn’t much value in promoting Seattle’s Best connected with Starbucks. So it makes no sense why Seattle’s Best is being promoted with the tagline:
“The next big thing from Starbucks isn’t Starbucks.”
Unfortunately, more than anything, Seattle’s Best is showing us what NOT to do.
What’s Confusing
- Why Should Customers Care? Other than a landing page, a new logo, and a homemade video – there are no other changes. Especially none that benefit customers.
- Seattle’s Best has killed their own thunder. When they do make a meaningful change, it will be expected versus a surprise. They will “owe it to us” versus surprise and delight us.
- The ‘hope it goes viral’ video featuring Seattle’s Best employees breaking into the bell tower of Starbucks headquarters and covering up the Starbucks siren logo with the new Seattle’s Best logo doesn’t make any sense.
Covering up the old logo with a new logo is what businesses do when one business buys another.
Based on this tactic – to the average consumer – it appears Seattle’s Best has purchased Starbucks.
- Why is Seattle’s Best being promoted as “the next big thing from Starbucks?” What good does it do to promote Seattle’s Best as a Starbucks product?
Seattle’s Best was recently launched at the coffee brand at SUBWAY sandwich shops. The ads feature the old logo. It would seem to make sense to wait to launch Seattle’s Best in SUBWAY until after the brand transformation? Especially with exposure Seattle’s Best is getting of the old log in SUBWAY ads.
[Starbucks Bought By Seattle's Best?]What To Do Differently
Seattle’s Best has no news now. Stop trying to generate buzz and excitement for something that doesn’t yet exist.
- Make changes that benefit customers. (A spiffy logo is not a customer benefit). Do something new, different, or better than now:
- Better product,
- Better prices,
- Better environment,
- Better service…
- Relaunch this new, different, better at all locations on one day. Surprise customers – like an overnight beauty make-over.
I visit my Seattle’s Best location today and BAM! – there is a new logo on the building exterior, new menu boards, new cups, new logo on products, on the aprons, new ads, and SUBWAY locations change as well. All this unveiled the same day – all at once. Wow!
THAT is a brand transformation!
Instead, they’re are doing it piece-meal. Instead of a beauty make-over, we have to watch them slowly grow out their hair… So slow, will we care that it is happening (and I quote) “over the next months and years.”
-
Until there is anything truly newsworthy to share – keep this information internal .
- Focus on getting buy-in and participation from your franchise team.
- Get your employees on-board and excited.
- Focus on whatever it is that is going to make you better than you were – other than a new logo.
What do you think?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Paul Williams. Paul Williams said: Seattle’s Best Coffee Announces Cart, But Where’s The Horse? http://goo.gl/fb/PKQxC [...]
I found it odd myself. The logo to me looks like a logo fit for an oil company / gas station — but that’s beyond the point as you mentioned in the post. I agree with you that they had no benefit in “revealing” this new brand without substantial changes to what they were doing. What is SBC’s brand anyways? The little brother to Starbucks? Is it suppose to go against Tully’s? Is it suppose to be that neighborhood coffee shop? What are their plans? With this new launch, I’m still confused.
great analysis of what went wrong, paul, and your point “Focus on whatever it is that is going to make you better than you were” is good advice for any brand undergoing a “reinvention”!
[...] Last week I wrote about Seattle’s Best Coffee, Starbucks little sister brand, and despite a new logo – have no real news to share. Flavored beans and instant coffee are a perfect fit for the Seattle’s Best brand, and would be quite newsworthy for the brand. Let Seattle’s Best offer the gimmicky coffee, keep Starbucks premium. [...]
For those of us who lived in Seattle and enjoyed really good coffee the logo change is an insult.
It seems that the new VP wanted to make a mark. This is not how you go about it.
Most SBC fans would suggest selecting and roasting SB beans just like SBC. At least the SB coffee might taste good for once.
Michelle will be history in 9-18 months but the SBC brand will be around forever.
Your blog post is right on the money. I saw the logo change and the announcement and had sort of a ‘so what’ reaction. And I haven’t met anyone who is a fan of the new logo. Starbucks, and the things they do, really confuses me. Their marketing approaching seems to be more and more often driven by someone’s committee meeting results combined with lots of money spent on advertising, and less and less interested in passion.
.-= Melody’s last blog… "Yes, Virginia, there is a Starbucks Decaf Casi Cielo" =-.
I spied the Seattle’s Best Coffee being offered at an AMC Theatre 16 in Burbank CA about a month ago… I took a picture of the digital menu and forwarded it to Melissa Allison/Seattle Times.
I havent been back to that theater to see what type of machine spits out the espresso drinks…but I did see four women in the audience of my film with SBC cups….so something was working. There is a Starbucks 100 yards from this theater, but they have reinstituted the “no outside food” rule with a quick search.
I think the SBC relaunch is just a way to sell more beans myself. The subway, burger king crowds really arent the Starbuck’s customer….Border’s of course competes with Barnes and Noble, but is teetering on bankruptcy every couple months.
As for that “viral video”, I hadn’t seen that before….it is just beyond lame. It is even worse than the Via videos that were posted by Starbucks during that introduction.
spot on… that “viral” (see. fake viral) video was a bit over the top. Had Howard done a cameo I’d have found it more authentic…
.-= Pat Nerr’s last blog… "Coffee Stories #1" =-.
[...] Williams, former long-time Starbucks marketer, shares his smart take on the confusing brand reinvention of Seattle’s Best Coffee. Give it a [...]
I’m another who agrees with your analysis. This was not revealing of anything substantial. No news came from this other than some chatter about the logo. Brand work begins with doing/being. Here they are trying to start with talking. And no one is listening.