Dunkin’ Donuts had fired its salvo in the decaf wars, which began when Starbucks announced that as a cost savings measure, it would only brew decaffeinated coffee on demand in the afternoon.
In the print ad, Dunkin’ Donuts makes the point that now, in the afternoon, you’ll have to wait if you want a cup of Starbucks decaf…but then it plunges the marketing knife right into Starbucks;’ shoulder blades:
"We don't work around our schedule, we work around yours,” the ad says. “Get what you want, when you want it. Because at Dunkin' Donuts, you kin' do it.”
In the print ad, Dunkin’ Donuts makes the point that now, in the afternoon, you’ll have to wait if you want a cup of Starbucks decaf…but then it plunges the marketing knife right into Starbucks;’ shoulder blades:
"We don't work around our schedule, we work around yours,” the ad says. “Get what you want, when you want it. Because at Dunkin' Donuts, you kin' do it.”
- KC's View:
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I think most of us agree that, in the words of one MNB user who wrote me yesterday, Starbucks has “botched the marketing and set themselves up as easy targets for their competitors.”
I also believe that the “we put you first, not our organizational issues” message is a compelling one for any retail venue.
It is easy to tell when a food retailer is thinking about its own needs and not the customers. The first sign is when you walk into the store early in the morning and find the rotisserie chickens cooking…a process that may be efficient, but that will render the chickens tasteless and useless by suppertime.
