In discovery of the US airline industry, my respect goes to JetBlue for its attempt to stand out in the jungle of equality. With its credo of being the “fun airline”, reflected not only in the motto of “Happy Jetting”, but also in the 36 direct TV channels, free wireless, and the Customer Bill of Rights, I think there is something we can learn from this company not only in terms of the product itself, but also of how successfully engaging customers might look like.
The airline industry actually drifted away from being having differentiated brands, towards commodities. Whats the difference between Delta, US Airways and American airlines? Having trouble? Well, I can name you a similarity: They all try to squeeze you in like sardines, treat you like cattle and rip the last penny out of your pocket for a little bit of incremental revenue (I recently read that some airlines are considering to charge customers to go to the toilet). Whenever I get on an airplane nowadays, I end up checking my watch every 10 minutes, surprised at how slow time can pass. What happened to the experience? Big respect therefore to Jet Blue for its attempt to reestablish some points of difference to stand out in market like that.
Another example of how entire industries are becoming commoditized is what is going on in the conventional retail world out here. However, when going to Trader Joe recently, I figured out how much they are standing out as well from the industry standards. What’s the difference between Shaw’s, Food Master and Stop & Shop? No idea. A similarity? Maybe that they seem to spend 99% of their promotional budget on attracting the worst customer base imaginable- the cherry pickers who come in there only to go hunting for the special offers of the week. They have trained us to be like that. Or is there another reason a customer would choose one supermarket over another,- (except for the proximity to their houses)? So again, my respect goes to Trader Joes, which managed to really stand out in the retail jungle out there. It is price stable, offers a different shopping experience and true brand value. People are drawn to the great products rather than the price tags. Compare the online presence and that shows everything: Trader joe’s web site tells a truly unique story; giving an insight into the great brand world. Shaw’s homepage -on the other hand- consists to 90% of the latest coupons and saving strategies. Sales promotions remain the most dangerous tactis in the marketing communication portfolio. When not handled with great care, they can destroy a brand that has been built up over a lifetime- in the blink of an eye.
Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
October 23, 2009
Starbucks vs Starbucks
Starbucks definitely redefined the coffee business and showed what a strong brand can add to a mere commodity such as coffee. It is selling an experience, rather than a product, in a way that can serve as a how-to guide for many brands out there. Nevertheless, they too, have tried jump on the bandwagon of being everything to everybody. Introducing such item as Starbucks liquor or ice cream in the past, it fell victim to the typical management thinking that hurts us marketers: expand the business, rather than the brand and market share. That didn’t go anywhere. As a result, they lost the position of America’s No. 1 coffee retailer to good old Dunkin. Fortunately, the new CEO Howard Schulz, decided to get back to the roots of the business, which is coffee (surprise, surprise).
But now they try to get into the instant coffee business. That hurts anybody concerned the nature of building brands. And the taste test are supposed to prove that the powder stuff tastes as good as the real thing? Common, lets be honest. That move devalues the loser as much as it praises the winner. And that in its own stores! It would have been a great attack of an instant coffee brand against Starbucks, similar to the Pepsi Challege in the 80s against Coke. But the world’s leading gourmet coffee brand rather decided to set up blind tests directed only against themselves. That hurts.
Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
But now they try to get into the instant coffee business. That hurts anybody concerned the nature of building brands. And the taste test are supposed to prove that the powder stuff tastes as good as the real thing? Common, lets be honest. That move devalues the loser as much as it praises the winner. And that in its own stores! It would have been a great attack of an instant coffee brand against Starbucks, similar to the Pepsi Challege in the 80s against Coke. But the world’s leading gourmet coffee brand rather decided to set up blind tests directed only against themselves. That hurts.
Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
Traditional journalism’s reincarnation into the blogsophere
This article doesnt have much to do with my usual posts on brand strategy. However I feel like sharing, as it can give us bloggers something to think about.
Do you believe in Karma? This article from today’s Fastcompany (10/22/09) “Blogging Is Dead, Long Live Journalism” deals the fall of the bloggosphere and the rebirth of journalism.
It is nowadays possible to make a good living out of blogging with an average of $122,222 for full time engagement! This is a huge opportunity for small start-up journalists, as well as old, established journalists who suffered from the decline of traditional print media. Looking at these numbers it appears as if the scaringly inevitable force of globalization is finally reaching the blogosphere- the big ones get bigger, the small ones get smaller. If this consolidation continues, it seems as if we might soon have to redefine what blogging actually means. The medium risks loosing its essence.
So far it has been the hobby nature that made the medium so particular. However, in case in the future the primary interest will be of a financial nature, the medium risks becoming just as mainstream as traditional print media in order to attract the widest user base possible. Bigger bloggers might start to increasingly fight for our attention in order to receive more advertising dollars. And the big losers will be the everyday, hobby bloggers- those that so far gave the medium its fundament.
Our attention spans are shorter than ever and everybody prioritizes, following only a selected amount of blogs. There seems to be a significant danger that -over the long run- only the big blogs make it into our consideration set, while the smaller ones merely coexist. We could be the ones killing the traditional form of blogging.
On the other hand, its often talked about that the days of traditional journalism are coming to an end. And euthanasia of the medium should be the best solution. However, reading this article gives hope that there will be some kind of journalism Karma. Its spirit might just be reincarnated into a new medium- the blogosphere.
Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
Do you believe in Karma? This article from today’s Fastcompany (10/22/09) “Blogging Is Dead, Long Live Journalism” deals the fall of the bloggosphere and the rebirth of journalism.
It is nowadays possible to make a good living out of blogging with an average of $122,222 for full time engagement! This is a huge opportunity for small start-up journalists, as well as old, established journalists who suffered from the decline of traditional print media. Looking at these numbers it appears as if the scaringly inevitable force of globalization is finally reaching the blogosphere- the big ones get bigger, the small ones get smaller. If this consolidation continues, it seems as if we might soon have to redefine what blogging actually means. The medium risks loosing its essence.
So far it has been the hobby nature that made the medium so particular. However, in case in the future the primary interest will be of a financial nature, the medium risks becoming just as mainstream as traditional print media in order to attract the widest user base possible. Bigger bloggers might start to increasingly fight for our attention in order to receive more advertising dollars. And the big losers will be the everyday, hobby bloggers- those that so far gave the medium its fundament.
Our attention spans are shorter than ever and everybody prioritizes, following only a selected amount of blogs. There seems to be a significant danger that -over the long run- only the big blogs make it into our consideration set, while the smaller ones merely coexist. We could be the ones killing the traditional form of blogging.
On the other hand, its often talked about that the days of traditional journalism are coming to an end. And euthanasia of the medium should be the best solution. However, reading this article gives hope that there will be some kind of journalism Karma. Its spirit might just be reincarnated into a new medium- the blogosphere.
Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
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