Starbucks move into social media with its Holiday 2.0 campaign

After its nationwide debut in mainstream advertising, Starbuck's move into social media seems like a more promising route to further manifest the brand mantra in the mind of the consumer.


The company offers branded holiday playlists on Pandora that lead into a "All You Need Is Love" CD that is available in its stores for free when making a purchase of $15. Moreover, on a microsite called the “Starbucks Love Project”,
consumers can draw their own Christmas cards, send them to a friend and have it posted in the online gallery. With each card each contributed, Starbucks donates 5ct to a good cause. The whole initiative is supported by interactive online ads.


Not only is the Starbucks initiative a great example of how to create an entire integrated campaign around the web, but has the potential to boost the emotions affiliated with the brand. Starbucks clearly seeks to associate itself and the values of the “third place” with the emotional spirit of the holidays: Love (cards to friends and family), caring (donation to underprivileged) as well as coziness (seasonal music). All this is done subtly but brilliantly, rather than jumping on the bandwagon of using the holiday craze for overt commercial interests. This promotional latency suits the character of the most high-end coffee retailer in America and can itself turn out to be a strong point of difference during the holiday period, when every company in the nation will fight for out money .


Every element of the campaign encompasses and immediate call-to-action, while word-of-mouth will probably be the most valuable measurement index for the brand. And wasn’t Starbucks built on word-of-mouth? Online initiatives like this make it possible to revitalize the brand in a way that is authentic to its true essence. If the initiative drives traffic, the campaign seems likely to create high levels of engagement by energizing its consumers and loading the brand emotionally.

Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com

Dos Equis- In Focus there is Strength

The Dos Equis campaign is a perfect example of how targeting on the basis of behavioral and psychographical factors can connect much more efficiently with consumers than the conventional demographic segmentation strategies. The Dos Equis benefits clearly infer the user type of the beer- male, occasional beer drinkers of any age who desire excitement and adventure. The beer category is heavily advertised and there is an army of different brands seeking their piece of the pie. However, surprisingly, the segment of occasional users has never been targeted explicitly by any of the numerous brands out there. It is a segment that does not care or cannot differentiate between rational beer attributes (half the carbs, coldest, less filling etc), but rather wants to make a statement about their persona when drinking. The ad is a great example of how brands can connect emotionally by focusing on consumers’ aspirations. In all advertising, the judgments of consumers are rather outcomes of inferential than literal processing- an approach that Zaltman clearly outlines as advantageous in his renown book “how customers think”. Consequently, the link to excitement, socializing and adventure are a clear reflection of the Dos Equis consumer’s desired self- the things that they aspires to in life. Just as older people often aspire to be younger, and younger people want to be older, many people in our work-oriented culture have subliminal aspirations of a life such as the “most interesting man in the world”. In above-the-line-communication, only the brands that manage to connect emotionally with consumers have a chance to break through the clutter and make an impact. And what about the exclamation at the end to “stay thirsty my friends”? The ad indeed made me thirsty for a Dos Equis- or was it the desire to go on an adventurous journey? Well done, Dos Equis!

Francesco Wesel
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com

Heinekens new commercial- so funny, but effective?

The recent Heineken commercial was a big success in terms of reach and frequency. Originally created by their Dutch advertising agency for the domestic market, the spot soon became a viral hit in the web and is now also aired internationally in mainstream TV (at least in the US). It has been lauded mostly because of its originality and creative wit. However, the fundament of successful advertising is its strategy. Creativity usually only assumes the role of magnifying the brand’s point of difference. Probably because the spot was initially destined only for the Dutch market, it fails to accurately fit into the international beer landscape.

In contrast to the US or most Western Europe, Holland is a much more horizontal culture, where individualistic proliferating is not regarded positively. Sayings such as “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down” or “if you put your head above the water, it gets chopped off” may well describe the archetypical Dutch culture. In the Netherlands, Heineken is not the leader, primarily because it is perceived as a global powerhouse. I studied there for three years and my feeling is that people prefer beers like Grolsh, because they are more modest and down-to-earth. Consequently, hoping to not lose track, at least in recent years, Heineken seems to have built upon the social value and friendship-forming ability of beer as its USP- a positioning that also becomes obvious in the recent “walk the fridge” commercial.

However, the beer’s major markets are abroad, and therefore also the communication strategy needs to be adapted more to the local audiences. Think global, act local. Heineken cannot take their ethnocentric approach and extend its domestic brand equity smoothly over the borders of its small country.

Interestingly- probably as a result of the failure of communication to steer the brand into the desired direction- in the international arena, Heineken seems to have drifted into the exact opposite position, as in its domestic market: The beer seems to possess a rather upscale image, and people don’t buy a Heineken for its great taste or because of its association with friendship, but rather to make a statement. Heinken stands for wealth, prestige and (arguably) style. Heineken should elaborate on what is already in the mind of the consumer, in order to make a difference, and clearly target a specific market segment.

Does this mean that Heineken should exclude all the average beer drinkers as a target? No, the target is not always the market. Just as much as Marlboro cigarettes are not only smoked by rugged, male cowboys, Heineken does not have to be consumed exclusively by upper class, social braggarts. Consumers assume different roles in their lives, and also the ones who just wish to be perceived as the latter would be potential consumers. One of my favourite branding quotes by the author Wiliam Feather - (also indicated on the right) illustrates this notion: "The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man is really two men -- the man he is and the man he wants to be."

Just as many other marketers, Heineken seems to view consumers’ minds as blank pages on which they can write anything they want- if only they can find a clever enough way to do so. But people don’t passively absorb these messages, but rather create their own meaning by mixing the brands messages with their own memories. And the Heineken ads might subconsciously confuse the perception they have build up in their own minds.

And the claim “serving the planet” seems to be misplaced as well- basically another meaningless slogan in a sea of meaningless slogans. What consumer benefit does it offer? Upon the question why does one choose Heineken, no consumer would respond “because it serves the planet”- the reason-why is missing. Even though the slogan fails to elaborate on people’s perception, the message of “the leading global beer” might be more appropriate, as people often equate “leading” with “superior”.

It seems a big waste of marketing dollars to try to jump on the positioning bandwagon of 90% of global beers with its focus on friendship and social ties. In its communication messages, Heineken fails to differentiate itself from the rest of the beer brands out there and therefore stays far behind the potential.

Francesco Wesel MA
Integrated Marketing Communication
www.francescowesel.com
www.brandnewtimes.blogspot.com