Day: January 23, 2011

Starbucks, from cup to corporate giant it has far exceeded expectations and borders as it is now one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Samantha Wong’s blog post entitled “Starbucks 2011: A Year for Change” focused on Starbucks rebranding concept and proposed strategy which the coffee house plans to implement in the coming year. By eliminating the ring around the siren in which “Starbucks Coffee” was written, Starbucks hopes to widen its horizons and utilize the opportunity to “expand into new markets” such as bagels, cream cheese, coffee makers, as well as many other Starbucks products and promotional material. Starbucks’ marketing department believes that the company’s brand outreach is strong enough to survive a change in brand direction and this shift will allow Starbucks to better showcase the company’s change in values. For instance, Wong indicated that with the use of the purely green logo, Starbucks plans to move towards a “green focused store” making it appear to be a more environmentally conscious business. Becoming more “green” is not only a trend in today’s world, it is slowly becoming a lifestyle. Starbucks is effectively changing with the times and is positioning its brand to be ready for the major change in lifestyle for its consumers. For Starbucks’ customers it might be just a “venti extra hot skinny caramel macchiato” over the counter. However, for Starbucks’ itself, its a step in changing the way we approach everyday activities and the world around us.

Quite simply, there are two types of people in the world; those who use BlackBerries and those who use iPhones. Both are committed to their phone of choice, with over 50 million BlackBerries and 43 million iPhones sold to date. The BlackBerry and iPhone comparisons are endless, ranging from touch screen versus keyboard buttons, to texting versus BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). Both company’s individuality and unique products give them a sustainable competitive advantage in their industry and ultimately the differences between them set them apart from their competition. However, a unique and thriving form of marketing has been able to capture the attention of both individualistic groups, mobile marketing. The Mobile Marketing Association defines mobile marketing as “a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network.”

Individuals spend more time on their phones than reading the newspaper, spending time outside, or even watching television in today’s world. As well, shopping via mobiles has grown tremendously over the last decade. It has been estimated that “shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones” as reported through a study conducted by ABI Research. As a result, companies globally are looking at methods to make their brands and services “scalable” for mobile technology, by creating apps, utilizing geographical social networks such as Foursquare and Twitter Places, as well as creating online coupons accessible through mobile devices in order to stay up-to-date with the flood of attention being given to the mobile marketing industry. As handheld cellular devices are essentially the center of life for consumers globally, they are also becoming a valuable opportunity for companies to expand their businesses.

It’s the first thing you check when you wake up in the morning, what you turn to when you’re bored, and what you use to organize everything from birthdays and events, to charity fundraisers to gain the attention of thousands of followers. It’s Facebook. It’s your everyday, all the time, go-to information bank. Facebook is the true definition of change and innovation, as it has redefined the way we as individuals operate on a daily basis. It’s simple beginnings of being a college website to connect with friends across campuses has been the foundation of the website’s now over 500 million people following.

Facebook does not only utilize marketing through sharing content via company groups and pages. Facebook is marketing. Content posted by people worldwide has become an invaluable source of information from which companies are able to develop their marketing tactics and ultimately gain a perspective on their consumers’ interests and values. Understanding what the consumer appreciates or enjoys about a product or service, as well as their dislikes and criticisms, enables companies to make important and vital modifications to their products and services, which can ultimately boost profits tremendously.

Additionally, Facebook’s easily approachable and recognizable brand has enabled it to far surpass its competition in the social media world. A format and system which is not easily imitated or duplicated, Facebook has a clearly defined sustainable competitive advantage which will allow it to both grow and remain a powerful force in the marketing and communication world.

What does Facebook mean to you? To me, Facebook has become a way we build relationships. In the value-based era defining a relationship between customer and consumer is the only way to truly build a bond with the consumer. Facebook continues to grow and so does that relationship.