Brand Autopsy

Starbucks Slows U.S. Growth

WHAT
Net income for Q2 2008 at Starbucks fell by $42-million compared to the same quarter last year. (Ouch.) Additionally, Starbucks is drastically reducing the number of new store openings in the U.S. Starbucks opened nearly 1,800 locations in 2007. For 2008 the company will open only 1,175 new locations — that’s a 35% reduction in new store openings from the prior year. And, beginning in 2009 through 2011, Starbucks will limit new store openings to only 400 per year.

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SO WHAT
Clearly the company is experiencing growth troubles in the U.S. However, Starbucks is hoping to offset the slower domestic growth with greater international growth. Starbucks is set to open up anywhere from 1,050 to 1,300 new international locations each year through 2011.

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WHAT NOW
Have a listen to this interesting story on Starbucks from NPR’s Morning Edition. (Skip to the 3:10 mark in the story for a surprise.)

Would you miss UPS?

Continuing my “Would you Miss” series ...

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Does UPS (United Parcel Service) provide such a unique service and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? Does UPS treat its employees so astonishingly well that those workers would not be able to find another employer to treat them as well? Does UPS forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another shipping company that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

What say you?

Post inspiration | Mavericks at Work

Gravitate to the Physics of Marketing

David Bowman riffs smartly on how some brands have gravitational pull while others don't ... all reasoned in the context of Newton's Law of Gravity.

Good stuff ... READ MORE.

Digging Inside Steve’s Brain

If you’re following me on Twitter, then you know I’m reading Leander Kahney’s newest Apple-related book … INSIDE STEVE’S BRAIN. It’s a worthy read.

Lots have been written about Steve Jobs and Apple. Kahney’s book, though, runs the full gamut on sharing the business mindset that drives Jobs and drives Apple to succeed. You’ll learn insights into developing new products, designing the customer experience, fostering an innovation spirit, hiring top talent, and sharing passion to “… put a ding in the universe.”

I judge the worthiness (and worthlessness) of business book on three factors: IDEATION (helps me generate new ideas), INTELLECTION (gives me a new perspective on a business topic) and MAXIMIZATION (increases my current understanding of a business topic). INSIDE STEVE’S BRAIN ranked high for me on all three factors. That’s why it’s a worthy read.

Sample some of INSIDE STEVE'S BRAIN through these tasty Money Quotes…

| View | Upload your own

RSS Readers ... click here to read the Money Quotes

193 Creative Marketing Ideas

Looking for crafty marketing ideas? Consider riffling through Sam Decker's list of 193 Creative Marketing Ideas. You're sure to find some worthwhile guerrilla-ish ideas in Sam's lengthy list.

And, while you're in the guerrilla marketing mindset ... read Sam's snappy answers to nine marketing questions. Smart stuff.

Piano. Airport. Food Court.

We've come to expect live piano playing at Nordstrom ... but an airport? In the Food Court? That's exactly what I experienced in Terminal E of the Atlanta International Airport. Remarkable!

RSS Readers ... watch video here

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UPDATED: The pianist in the video, Michael B, received the Hartsfield-Jackson Customer Service Recognition Award last year for helping to soothe the travel weary with his food court piano playing. Learn more about Michael B on his website.

Recent Reads

ONE | Mommy Mixer
Picture a roomful of Moms with a flock of Nannies and there you have a Mommy Mixer. This is a remarkable business where Moms gather to meet, greet, and interview potential Nannies for their children. Learn about the Mommy Mixer story here and check out MommyMixer.com.

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TWO | Ping-Pong as Mind Game
Little known fact about me … in my teens I played lots of table tennis. LOTS. I was infatuated with the game. Practiced and played all the time until I became pretty good. Wicked serves, strong backhand defense, and one hella forehand slam. Given that … I thoroughly enjoyed this article about Ping-Pong as Mind-Game. I also enjoyed this article because I learned puzzle master Will Shortz is a competitive table tennis player. (My Mom was an avid crossword puzzler and a Will Shortz devotee. So nice to think of my Mom when I read that article.) >> READ MORE

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THREE | The Evil Genius of Apple
Leander Kahney has written a provocative article—How Apple Got Everything Right by Doing Everything Wrong. In today’s open source transparent co-creation business culture, Apple is the antithesis. Apple is opaque. Apple favors closed platforms. Apple doesn’t actively solicit feedback from its fans. Yet, the company succeeds. Interesting read. And, Scott Berkun’s rebuttal is also an interesting read.

The Internet is your Marketing Department

“Right now, your customers are writing about your products on blogs and recutting your commercials on YouTube. They’re defining you on Wikipedia and ganging up on you in social networking sites like Facebook. These are all elements of a social phenomenon — the groundswell — that has created a permanent, long-lasting shift in the way the world works.”

GROUNDSWELL (Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff)

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If you are reading this blog then you have a clue about the Groundswell that Charlene & Josh detail in GROUNDSWELL. Others you know in the office are probably clueless about this Groundswell. They have no clue about the power to be unleashed from embracing the Groundswell. They do not realize the Internet is your marketing department.

GROUNDSWELL is the definitive guide to what is happening now in the citizen marketer online world we live, work, and frolic in. You’ll learn about the online tools people use and the motivations for why people participate in the Groundswell. You’ll also gain access to previously super-spendy analysis reserved for Forrester clients … such as … ROI of an Executive Blog, ROI of Online Ratings/Reviews, and ROI of Online Community Forums.

Charlene & Josh refresh some of their smartest blog posts in GROUNDSWELL. They’ve written about the Social Technographics ladder before, but the updated analysis in the book will help you better understand the motivations and activities of consumers today. And, their easy-to-understand P.O.S.T strategy to participating in the Groundswell will help many in demystifying how to get started using online media to connect with customers.

GROUNDSWELL is must-read material for all Marketing Managers and Marketing Directors who want to use the power of the Internet as an extension of their marketing department.

[Prerequisite reading includes: THE CORPORATE BLOGGING BOOK (Debbie Weil) and CITIZEN MARKETERS (McConnell & Huba).]

Master Your Domain

It’s not about vanity when registering your personal name as an Internet domain. It’s simply a cheap way to protect personal real estate.

Let this wretched conversation saga be your CALL TO ACTION to register your name as a website address.

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(Note: I was way too late to register JohnMoore.com. Also too late to register JohnHMoore. I have registered JohnHardinMoore.com.)

Would you Miss Pizza Hut?

Continuing my “Would you Miss” series ...

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Does Pizza Hut provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? Does Pizza Hut treat its employees so astonishingly well that those workers would not be able to find another employer to treat them as well? Does Pizza Hut forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another pizza joint that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

What say you?

Post inspiration | Mavericks at Work

Pitching Whole Foods Market

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In a recent article, Brandweek’s Becky Ebenkamp demystifies the difficult process of gaining distribution into Whole Foods Market stores. It’s not easy. Yet, many upstart brands see distribution within Whole Foods as their company’s best hope for success.

These brands want to follow in the footsteps of once upstarts like Odwalla, Honest Tea, Nature’s Path, and Stonyfield Farm. These businesses all became well-known national brands thanks, in large part, to getting on the shelves at Whole Foods Market.

Becky shares smart insights on approaching Whole Foods to gain a distribution deal. Entrepreneurs read up. Highlights include…

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First and foremost, a product has to meet Whole Foods' definition of clean. Passing the sell test doesn't just mean having the right ingredients, it means being free of the wrong ones, ranging from aspartame to vanillin. (The full, unappetizing list of 80 verboten ingredients can be found at the company's Web site.)

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Generally speaking, Whole Foods' buyers aren't impressed by traditional sales tactics. "Don't go in there trying to be slick like some classic corporate packaged goods company would; that just turns them off," warned former Whole Foods director of national marketing John Moore, who later founded Brand Autopsy, an Austin-based marketing consultancy. "Don't try to wow them with a snazzy PowerPoint presentation. Wow them with a snazzy product."

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"Everybody wants to walk into Austin [headquarters], have a meeting with a buyer and get placement within every region," said former Whole Foods Northeastern area grocery director Tim Sperry, who's since gone on to found Wellesley, Mass.-based Sperry Group. "You need to have patience and a longer view. It might mean you start on a coast and work your way through. If you're a small company and you want to get your feet wet, going one store at a time is an option."

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Uniquely, the company empowers its stores and employees to make decisions for what products they carry, Moore said. "Many times folks will try to appeal to national [buyers], but in reality, this is a company that works better on best practices," he said. "If a region sees a product sells well somewhere else, they're going to want to get that product in their stores."

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While many national grocery chains will buy either nationally or regionally, Whole Foods does both—and combinations of both. A brand rep can start his pitching at the local store, but it's also possible to jump in on the regional level or (in rare cases, such as that of Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt) get a national contract right off the bat.

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Yet dealing with the regional buyers can induce plenty of headaches, too. Granted, the ability to start local lets smaller companies get in a door that more centralized, corporate chains might slam in their faces. However, the micromanagement of relationships with multiple managers is time-consuming and expensive.

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SOURCE | Brandweek article | March 24, 2008

a Tuesday Time Waster

As a kid I read lots of MAD magazines and the backpage fold-in was always something I looked forward to doing. Can't say I understood everything contained in the fold-in ... it was just fun for a curious kid to do.

The NY Times recently ran an interesting story on Al Jaffee, the mastermind behind the fold-in. Since its first appearance in the April 1964 issue of Mad magazine, the 87 year-old Al Jaffee has drawn every one of these backpage fold-ins. WOW!

Take a few minutes this Tuesday and rekindle your MAD magazine fold-in memories with this wicked cool digital gallery.

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