Starbucks as Ad Network/Social Media? OMG #blogboost
I just read a “sleeper” article that may be one of the most important trend pieces of the year. If you have any interest in future trends in marketing, demographics, consumer culture, advertising, or where our society might be headed in a few years, go and read “Is Starbucks the Most Dangerous Competitor to Facebook?” by Jay Baer and Clinton Bonner. Appropriately enough, I found this article via a Tweet, from Olivier Blanchard, a/k/a @TheBrandBuilder.
The article posits that Starbucks is working to reposition itself as an in-store information portal, with all sorts of goodies available to those who go to the stores and log on to its network—and that ads on this network could become the premier place to reach certain consumers, as well as the favored online community that could displace Facebook in our affections…
I’m not sure it’s going to unfold exactly as they see it, but I suspect pieces of it will play out that way. That’s a future that leaves me with more than a little discomfort. It’s like a vertical and horizontal integration of the mind similar to, say, General Motors’ vertical and horizontal integration of the car market starting at least in the 1930s. I don’t like to see so much energy concentrated in one company, whether it’s GM, Google, or Starbucks.
Of course, competitors can arise. But it won’t be easy.
What do you think?
A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
I remember seeing a video clip of George HW Bush encountering his first supermarket scanner, maybe ten years after those of us who do our own shopping. You’d think he was a space alien dropped in from another planet.
I live my entire online life with the expectation that privacy is not something we can assume we have. Fortunately, I have nothing to hide 🙂
I remember seeing a video clip of George HW Bush encountering his first supermarket scanner, maybe ten years after those of us who do our own shopping. You’d think he was a space alien dropped in from another planet.
I live my entire online life with the expectation that privacy is not something we can assume we have. Fortunately, I have nothing to hide 🙂
I remember when AltaVista was popular!
Very interesting… I’ll be curious to see what does happen with it. Starbucks seems to stay ahead of the curve with a lot of their marketing and innovations. They’re smart.
It feels a little 1984-ish to me to think of a coupon arriving as I’m looking at an ad, but then the same basic thing happens when I checkout at the grocery store and I get coupons for the items they think I’m likely to purchased based on my rewards card – so it’s just moving more to the digital space and better using that technology.
We’ve got a couple of Starbucks in grocery stores here, but an extremely popular local company and lots of indys as well.
I remember when AltaVista was popular!
Very interesting… I’ll be curious to see what does happen with it. Starbucks seems to stay ahead of the curve with a lot of their marketing and innovations. They’re smart.
It feels a little 1984-ish to me to think of a coupon arriving as I’m looking at an ad, but then the same basic thing happens when I checkout at the grocery store and I get coupons for the items they think I’m likely to purchased based on my rewards card – so it’s just moving more to the digital space and better using that technology.
We’ve got a couple of Starbucks in grocery stores here, but an extremely popular local company and lots of indys as well.
I remember when AltaVista was popular!
Very interesting… I’ll be curious to see what does happen with it. Starbucks seems to stay ahead of the curve with a lot of their marketing and innovations. They’re smart.
It feels a little 1984-ish to me to think of a coupon arriving as I’m looking at an ad, but then the same basic thing happens when I checkout at the grocery store and I get coupons for the items they think I’m likely to purchased based on my rewards card – so it’s just moving more to the digital space and better using that technology.
We’ve got a couple of Starbucks in grocery stores here, but an extremely popular local company and lots of indys as well.
I remember when AltaVista was popular!
Very interesting… I’ll be curious to see what does happen with it. Starbucks seems to stay ahead of the curve with a lot of their marketing and innovations. They’re smart.
It feels a little 1984-ish to me to think of a coupon arriving as I’m looking at an ad, but then the same basic thing happens when I checkout at the grocery store and I get coupons for the items they think I’m likely to purchased based on my rewards card – so it’s just moving more to the digital space and better using that technology.
We’ve got a couple of Starbucks in grocery stores here, but an extremely popular local company and lots of indys as well.
We have one Starbucks each in Amherst and Northampton, total population around 50K. Not counting the kiosks inside a local supermarket. I’m amazed that Ashland has only one.Personally, I prefer small indy coffee houses, and around here, we’re blessed with quite a number. So like you, we won’t see too much impact. But even in NYC, Starbucks seems to outnumber the indys by a large margin except in certain neighborhoods.
We have one Starbucks each in Amherst and Northampton, total population around 50K. Not counting the kiosks inside a local supermarket. I’m amazed that Ashland has only one.
Personally, I prefer small indy coffee houses, and around here, we’re blessed with quite a number. So like you, we won’t see too much impact. But even in NYC, Starbucks seems to outnumber the indys by a large margin except in certain neighborhoods.
Here in Ashland, OR, there is such an anti-chain/big box mentality that I doubt it will make much impact, except on our many many tourists, who are the bulk of the business for our only Starbucks. And I suspect there are other communities/demographics with that attitude.
However, there are other places/demographics where Starbucks is a daily ritual, so you are probably right that this could have considerable impact.
Thanks for posting this!
Here in Ashland, OR, there is such an anti-chain/big box mentality that I doubt it will make much impact, except on our many many tourists, who are the bulk of the business for our only Starbucks. And I suspect there are other communities/demographics with that attitude.
However, there are other places/demographics where Starbucks is a daily ritual, so you are probably right that this could have considerable impact.
Thanks for posting this!
I’m guessing it will be a year or two before we know. Worth watching, for sure. And I think even Starbiucks may have trouble muscling in.
But the space is volatile. MySpace was a HOT property when Murdoch bought it. Alta Visrta was hot before Google.
I’m guessing it will be a year or two before we know. Worth watching, for sure. And I think even Starbiucks may have trouble muscling in.
But the space is volatile. MySpace was a HOT property when Murdoch bought it. Alta Visrta was hot before Google.
Thanks so much Shel. We’re delighted that you see it potentially unfolding that way. Not everyone does. All the credit for this goes to Clinton Bonner. He saw it and figured it out. I just polished and packaged.
Thanks so much Shel. We’re delighted that you see it potentially unfolding that way. Not everyone does. All the credit for this goes to Clinton Bonner. He saw it and figured it out. I just polished and packaged.