Incite Kitchen

Starbucks says thanks, but no thanks

I just returned from a Forrester conference on Marketing Engagement in LA last week, during which time Starbucks announced its new Pikes Place coffee and extended an offer to try it for free every Wednesday through May.  The effort was just one in a string of attempts for the company to get back to its roots and back in the good graces of its customers. 

I'll have to admit I was impressed with the gesture, especially after hearing speaker after speaker talk about the importance of being transparent and real to your customer, and understanding what matters most to them and delivering it consistently, and dare I say cheerfully.

So I awoke yesterday morning eager to visit Starbucks and try something new.  Now, you have to understand I am a die-hard Skinny Vanilla Latte girl, so making a stop on a day I don't usually indulge my habit and trying something new, even if it was free, took effort on my part. 

Ironically, that effort included dealing with the increasing amount of guilt I was feeling about walking out with something I hadn't paid for.  Call it the G chromosome--unique to many mommies who suffer from some form of guilt at least once a day.  You see, I knew the company would lose money on me that day.  And being in business and married to a man who is self-employed, I understood fully what that meant. 

I passed my usual Starbucks and kept driving.  I'd just skip it today.  Then hunger pangs and a need for caffeine kicked in.  I had to stop.  Only now, I could rationalize stopping for the free coffee and paying for something to eat. 

So I'm standing in line with my Free Pikes Place Coffee card and I notice no one around me is taking advantage of it.  They are ordering my favorite drinks and many others I've never tried.  Guilt strikes again.  As I approach the counter, I watch the countenance on the staff's face go from friendly to slightly exasperated.  Before I could get the words out, they had turned their back to get my coffee.  No stop to ask if I wanted room for cream or not.  I raced to say, "I'd like a blueberry coffee cake to go, please."  All of a sudden, the sulk turned to a smile.  Then they were on to the next guest...a fully paying one.  No  "thank you for stopping in," or "I hope you like the coffee." 

To be honest, that's really all I wanted to hear.  The coffee was somewhat immaterial to me.  Needless to say, I found it to be just a bitter as some of their other blends.  I'm not sure if that was the result of the brew or the barissta.  Either way, I won't go back anytime soon.  There's a Bad Ass Coffee shop on my route.  And while I don't love having that name on my cup, I do like the way they treat me when I stop. 

Is Schultz the New Jobs?

I was one of the lucky ones.  Although I really didn't need it, while driving to work yesterday I was forewarned that Starbucks was indeed closing last night for a global three hour "reminder" of what the Starbucks brand is about.  I can only imagine droves of poor souls standing in the rain wondering why they can't get cup of coffee.  As the second "reminder" from Howard Schultz (who was recently reappointed Chief Executive) in a year... the first came in the form of this famously leaked email, I'm now ready to see if Starbucks can change course in the same manner that Steve Jobs famously helmed for Apple. 

For the most part, I have my doubts.  As a former barista who once had to tamp and pull my own (not machine-automated) espresso shots, while simultaneously steaming milk to a perfect temperature (often requested by the customer), all while holding conversation with two or three people about five or six subjects, I can't imagine a return to the Starbucks of old until more than better coffee happens.  The show needs to return.  Yes, it's about the smell of coffee as you enter the store and the taste of the coffee you drink.  But equally so, Starbucks was also about the magic of the barista who could pull perfect five to seven (or nine to eleven, if you preferred) second shots just by adjusting the pressure from their wrists when they tamped the coffee (and it was their pleasure to do so).  It was about a community of people who loved coffee so much that they would bring in their used coffee grounds from home, to recycle with ours, to be used as compost.  Until the magic of real baristas return and consistently half-assed attempts to make lattés go away, Starbucks won't return to its former self.  Even more, the notion of a third place is dead until all of their stores not only feel, but more importantly, behave like mine at home.  Note to Starbucks: take a lesson from Steve Jobs and thank all the people who have stood by you during the past few years.  They deserve it.

If you're wondering what a latté looks like when the barista actually does care about their craft, look below for a sense of Stumptown.

Life After The Super Bowl

Coca Cola Super BOwl Commercial: Parade Balloon

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According to ComScore, one in eight Super Bowl viewers watched Super Bowl ads on the Internet.
Of the 1139 US Internet users polled:
- 13% claimed to have watched a Super Bowl ad online after the game
- 13% said they visited an advertiser's website after the game
- GoDaddy, Coca-Cola and Pepsi were said to be the most visited websites

Not advertising related, but still somewhat interesting and worth knowing:
- 11% went online to keep tabs on stats and stories
- 3% visited the Internet to place bets

So, clearly having a connections strategy that includes, dare I say, traditional and non-traditional mediums, is important.  But what I really want to know is to what degree was the quality of the work the actual driver for people visiting the websites.  Coke and Pepsi, while both having strong spots (especially Coke), also had multiple buys and celebrity help.  And I think we all know why so many people went to GoDaddy.  Perhaps the more interesting measure is views on youtube, which would at least serve as some indication for the number of people that have emailed the link for the ad or showed the ads to friends... because they deserved to be passed on and repeated well after the game.