Ah.. the things you do for marketing class

Last Friday when I was getting off the bus at Bridgeport Station, I was greeted by this Starbucks ad.

I quickly looked and read it as I hustled towards the escalator. Thoughts ran through my mind, “Hm, I didn’t know that Starbucks was that environmentally friendly.. Oo I can save 10 cents if I bring my mug in next time.” And then I thought, “Wow, this is exactly like what we learned in class about cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of attitude.”

So, I stopped walking, turned around, and whipped out my IPhone to take a picture of it. Mannnn, did I feel like a dork. Ah.. the things you do for marketing class.

Anyway, the Starbucks ad fulfills all 3 components of attitude:

Cognitive – It made me aware that Starbucks cares about the environment and encourages their customers to care too.
Affective – The statement “One person can save trees. Together we can save forests.” makes me feel that I can make a difference and with other people, can make an even bigger difference saving the environment.
*Note: Also very suitable to put this ad on a bicycle rack so that the eco-friendly people who ride their bikes will see it.
Behavioural – It told me to bring a reuseable mug to save 10 cents.

My attitude about Starbucks prior to seeing this ad was just neutral. I didn’t understand why some people are such loyal customers of Starbucks eventhough most coffees taste the same. But after seeing the ad, I realized that Starbucks is very successful at differentiating themselves from other coffee shops; they have VARIETY (holiday drinks, super yummy whipped cream, frappacinos) and now, they are attracting eco-friendly customers as well as customers who value variety and unique drinks.