Monica Guzman at Seattlepi.com writes that: It’s a fine time to be telling people not to spend less on coffee.
But that’s just what Starbucks is doing in a new ad campaign that includes the slogans, “Starbucks or nothing. Because compromise leaves a really bad aftertaste,” and, “Beware of a cheaper cup of coffee. It comes with a price.”
“Lots of companies small and large have kind of gone to school on us, telling their story at the expense of Starbucks’,” Schultz said in a video filmed at two Seattle Starbucks stores and posted on the company’s Web site. “The time has come for Starbucks to tell its story.”
Watch Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz talk to Starbucks employees (partners) about the new Campaign (5:34)
The time may have also come, it seems, for Starbucks to hit back at McDonald’s. Taking full advantage of America’s new-found frugality, the fast food company launched an all-out assault on Starbucks’ prices when it released a line of specialty coffees last year.
It’s a gutsy move by Starbucks, considering what side the economy is on. But maybe it’ll work. Starbucks has been working to expand its drink and food options and give discounts to loyal customers, even launching a new line of instant coffees. And it’s not like things have been going great for the Seattle-based company. Still smarting from layoffs and store closures last year, Starbucks reported a quarterly drop of 77 percent this week (though revenue fell just 7.6 percent).
Another slogan from the campaign reads, “This is what coffee tastes like when you pour your heart into it.”
What do you think? Can this campaign work?
