The Brand Man Speaks

Paula Deen may have swallowed her own poison pill. High Fat Food Chef hides Diabetes

Paul Deen the southern chef who rose to prominence in the past few years with her high fat generally unhealthy but delicious (to many-but not me) cuisine has finally disclosed that she has Diabetes. What is worse and threatens to destroy her brand is the fact that she hid this information from her "fans" and the public in general and then has gone on to become a spokesperson for a Diabetes drug called Victoza.

The problem lies in the fact that her claim to fame are foods that are unhealthy and could directly relate to causing Diabetes in those who indulge in such fat-ladden meals. Ms. Deen has said she "didn't know how to handle" disseminating the news of her Diabetes or her new spokesperson status given the nature of her brand's identity.

Famous recipes have included Deep Fried Mac and Cheese and Fried Butter Balls. Can you say "it might kill you" foods?

Fans of the Food Network have spoken loudly condemning Ms. Deen for making millions and not being honest with her fans and the American public in general.  Other notable chefs have gone as far as to make public statements about Ms. Deen that are not complimentary about this situation.

From a brand point of view, this latest twist (which includes now offering low(er) fat recipes and tweaking her famous Paul Deen Southern Cooking approach dramatically) may create empathy but it undercuts what her brand was all about specifically all her cookbooks and shows that are completely tied to fatty foods.

If she radically changes her shows books and endorsements the Paula Deen brand will be no more and likely to become a footnote in celebrity chef history.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Starbucks cutting off power access to customers who set up shop for hours in the cafes

Have you ever gone into a Starbucks to perhaps have a sandwich and a cup of coffee only to find that all the multi-seat tables are taken over by one person hogging them with laptops, printers and smart phones? Free office space (with free unlimited internet access) is what I have called it for several years and it was one of the reasons I stopped being a loyal Starbucks customer.

These squatters buy one Latte and nurse it all day while they use the free WiFi Starbucks offers to all customers. Now in an interesting offensive move some Starbucks locations in New York are blocking electrical outlets to "discourage" the space hogs. Finally Starbucks is admitting what many of us have been telling them for years that allowing a few folks to make it untenable for others to sit and enjoy their coffee pastry or sandwich is hurting their business.

Good move Starbucks send these cheap skates to the sidewalk or have them ante up every hour like using a parking meter.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Crisco sells extra virgin olive oil. Anyone else but me see a brand problem?

Today while I was perusing the Sunday newspaper, ( yes I still read a hard copy with my coffee--a tradition I will not give up to read the paper on my iPad), I was going through the grocery coupons and came upon one for Extra Virgin Olive Oil. No big deal you say.

Well, maybe it's my age, but the brand being promoted is Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I do have a problem with that. To me, from a branding point of view, the brand name Crisco will always be associated with lard...white colored fat cooking stuff used I suppose instead of butter or shortenings in all kinds of recipes. The stuff was always questionable in terms of nutritional and health values. So seeing that brand on "healthy" olive oil just doesn't work for me.

You may say the products are sort of in the same category which to some extent is true. People cook with olive oil instead of lard or butter these days because of the health factor. I just can't get beyond the brand ID. I wouldn't buy olive oil from Crisco. The same way I found Dannon water brand to be a conflict when it was introduced after years of exposure to the opaque thick creamy texture of Dannon Yogurt. For me the two didn't mix.

As I have written here many times, it is very important that the use of existing brand names makes sense when used with other types of products. The core brand idea must remain intact. A yogurt brand selling water doesn't make brand sense to me and after a major marketing effort to promote Dannon water you rarely see it around these days, (no wonder why).

As for Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I have the same issue and wonder how long it will be around. The only saving grace for Crisco could be that young(er) people know little about the original Crisco brand (which is rarely advertised anymore) and may not carry the brand baggage to the use of Crisco with an olive oil brand.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Tracking coffee drinker loyalty; McDonald's coffee consumers most loyal

A recent study conducted by a relative new market research firm, CustomersDNA, tracked coffee drinkers loyalty among the top coffee shop style brands; Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts.

Not surprisingly to me, McDonalds coffee buyers were most loyal. It is unclear whether it was for taste or price, I would suspect both since in my personal opinion Starbucks coffee is just too bitter most of the time and more expensive.

15,000 customers were studied with results indicating that Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts' customers were significantly more likely to "roam", (try other brands) than McDonalds. 53% who patronize those brands buy at other fast food retailers.

The reason the subject is important is the out of home coffee drinking market is not growing and the top brands are now vying primarily for market share; essentially looking for ways to steal from each other.

All the top companies now have loyalty programs in place but it is unclear whether those programs are indeed succeeding in creating notable loyalty.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

McJob to get brand overhaul. Can McDonald's reinvent its low-brow employment image?

McDonald's is making a big PR splash with its intended effort to re-brand its employment image. The company which employs thousands of low paid personnel world-wide feels it is important that McJob be upgraded so that it does not appear flipping burgers is a dead-end career.

Although I respect McDonald's effort to improve the brand image of its employees, the truth is it will be challenging to change a brand identity that has been so engrained into American culture, paradied on late night television and in movies for decades. More importantly, the sheer numbers of jobs they do offer are at the low end and ultimately only a small percentage of people get beyond the hourly wage position.

Additionally, with cost and competitive pressures to keep their very popular low price menus including the $1 menu from being eliminated or price increased, it will be hard for the company to raise wages at the company and increase the number of middle-level positions without impacting sales and profitability which remains king in this country, (primary due to Wall Street's influence).

The PR value of their announcement is worth millions, maybe more than the cost of the recruitment campaign which will bring down cost per hire dramatically. That was a smart move and one that will also likely tweak sales upwards a bit as well.

This will be an interesting brand story to follow once the hype has died down.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Coming to a hotel room near you; Starbucks single serve coffee

As part of Starbucks strategic restructuring over the past two years, (closing stores and looking for other ways to reach coffee consumers), it appears the coffee brand giant is on the verge of moving aggressively into hotel rooms with single serve coffee.

Since the brand does not have its own single serve machine, speculation is Starbucks will partner with one of the manufacturers of single serve machines like Green Mountain's Keurig (which is coming into hotel rooms to replace the out-dated Mr. Coffee type machines) to reach that valuable market. The more places consumers have to connect with the brand the better. As well the growth of single service coffee machines and pods is accelerating.

I recently was in a Bed Bath and Beyond store in South Florida where a store manager said they could not keep the Keurig machine in-stock there was so much demand for it after years of lack-luster sales of in-home coffee machines.

I would suspect that once Starbucks takes a hold of the inroom coffee game they will pursue single service pods in the home.

This strategic decision is a better fit than others in the past that included the brand going off target and into businesses like music and movies.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

The Brand Man Speaks launches "@elitalks" on twitter for current updates on marketing news

Beginning today, The Brand Man Speaks launches its first twitter account @elitalks to provide its readers with faster more current and sometimes of the moment comments on what's happening in our world of consumption.

Using twitter for its greatest strengths, @elitalks will comment on news, rumors and information as it happens/surfaces that sparks a Brand Man response or reaction.

Please sign up for my twitter account.

Thanks

Eli

Starbucks goes nameless with new logo treatment; smart move? or repeat of Gap misstep?

Starbucks has unveiled a new logo that drops the words "Coffee" and its name "Starbucks". The brand identiy assumes (likely correctly) that the majority of consumers now know the brand from its mermaid visual alone. Further, the company says this move is being made to embrace products beyond coffee as the company continues to try to find growth areas as adding new stores or more coffee drinks isn't cutting it anymore in terms of revenue and profit increases.

Unlike Gap whose one-week long logo change was loudly rejected by consumers (and they reverted back to the original brand logo) and Tropicana Orange Juice which in 2009 redesigned its packaging and logo which caused as huge drop in sales (and also reverted back to its original), Starbucks should have no trouble with this evolved change.

The mermaid isn't going away or being modified and now is strong enough to stand on its own. A testament to Starbucks success taking a page out of the Nike swoosh marketing play book.

The issue from a branding point is whether Starbucks' renewed commitment to explore non coffee products to grow its brand can be successful and is strategically smart. Previously, efforts in movies and music have failed. Recent launches of coffee related products that have gone from the coffee retailer's store to grocery chains like instant "Via" have been more successful. Starbucks has also be experimenting with wine and cheese type afternoon and evening offerings in newly modified stores to increase retail revenue in hours when coffee sales dwindle. (This test is still in its early stages in very few locations so the results are not substantial enough to launch US wide).

Likely as long as Starbucks keeps the focus on food and beverage related new products they will be able to stay strategically sound and not run a foul of their core brand strategy as in the past.

Watching out for you everyday

Eli

Starbucks venturing into wine and cheese in revamped coffee stores; good brand strategy?

Starbucks once the high flying coffee house retailer and community center brand has been tripped up by a variety of circumstances and off strategy activities in the past few years. Additionally, the recession hurt business as their pricey coffee products were substituted with less expensive and tasty offerings from McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts.

Starbucks now is testing a concept to offer wine and cheese and artisan beers after 4PM to bring more business back into their pricey real estate given a whopping 70% of their business in generated before 2PM.

Unlike their foray into music and movies which diverted their focus from coffee and their "community" center, gathering place brand strategy, (efforts that were deemed very unsuccessful), the evening come and relax after a caffeine fueled day idea may work.

Starbucks' brand was always intended to be more than just upmarket coffee. It was about creating an environment to enjoy a little self-indulgence in one's hectic life. It evolved into a place for friends to meet and for small business entrepreneur types to set up "offices" (not always to the delight of other customers) utilizing the retailer's WIFI internet service.

Bringing people back to Starbucks in the evening for another gatheirng experience seems to make sense and to be reflective of the original brand strategy. They have excellent real estate all over the country affording them the ability to create little neighborhood evening cafe environments during a time when consumers have cut back on dining out but still don't want to give up time out of the home to relax and unwind with friends.

With a focus on beverages that are a cut above average and priced slightly premium but not over the top, I believe Starbucks will find this an excellent new source of revenue.

The concept is being tested in one of their prime Seattle area stores that has been completely revamped to handle coffee sales during the day and wine, cheese, cured meats and beer during the evening hours. The store palate has been redesigned to increase a feeling of ease comfort and relaxing for evening patrons along with the use of environmentally friendly materials.

Finally, I also think this concept will help people on first dates. Instead of just meeting for coffee in a place that is comfortable for both parties (activity neutral I might call it), first daters may find that the wine and cheese offerings expands their repertoire of choices that are equally safe and benign.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Starbucks testing new retail concept without Starbucks' brand name

The recession has impacted many industries and businesses that might historically not have been hurt by a weakened economy. Starbucks which re-defined an entire industry around coffee has seen sales and profits plummet unexpectedly over the past two years along with much stiffer competition from fast food brands like McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts.

In addition, Starbucks has made many strategic missteps even before the recession in an effort to expand their business beyond coffee and the local gathering spot strategy. Music, movies, casual dining food are among the various "products" the brand has tried to add to its offerings....with mixed results. Most importantly, some of these elements worked to undermine the core brand strategy adding more problems beyond the recession's impact.

Now comes word that Starbucks is exploring new retail ideas but without the Starbucks name attached. Some industry experts think this is a mistake and another strategic blunder. I do not agree.

I have recommended to clients many times over the years the idea of establishing a new sub-brand to introduce ideas and concepts that might undermine the core brand and give an entity the opportunity to reach different/new audiences. The new Starbucks concept is called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea and will serve food and wine and beer beyond the coffee offerings. 15th Avenue will not have any Starbucks IDs on-site and will appear to be a completely independent concept giving even the most ardent anti-Starbucks consumer an opportunity to experience this brand's new ideas.

Starbucks can use its existing marketing muscle and savvy to successfully launch the new brand quickly if the idea is well received. The initial store is in the home market of Seattle replacing an existing Starbucks location. The company says additional locations will be in new real estate and not re-furbished existing Starbucks.

Success will depend on the actual concept itself, its appeal to consumers and uniqueness as well as how well the concept is executed in its test form.

I look forward to seeing this concept first hand soon.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli