Underleveraging...or, if you've got a USP, exploit it!

Yesterday I blogged about overleveraging; today, the opposite.

This one hurts.

I've been a devout Starbucks loyalist for years. I'll be first to admit there's huge inconsistency from one store to the next, but for a brand with that sort of bandwidth to change the dynamics of coffee shop culture on the scale it has, well...bravo.

For years Starbucks got by with no advertising. Just grassroots, word of mouth, 360 experiential branding, 'build it and they will come' mentality. Their relative success is an early testament to the power of a brand gone right and an indication of how this stuff we now call "social marketing" can be really powerful.

Like most in the category, Starbucks happened upon some dull luck last year. Sales took a dive. McD's entered the coffee wars. Dunkin' tried to convince common folk it was capable of making real lattes (zzz...), but Starbucks stuck tirelessly to its innovative guns, introducing healthy new food and rolling out Via instant coffee.

If my experience was any indication, they did a bang up job with sampling. Weeks passed in 2009 when I couldn't walk into a Starbucks WITHOUT being handed a free 3 pack of Via and invited to take the Via taste test challenge.

They posted fill-in-the-blank notes on the wall, noting where employees and staff found Via coming in handy (on a plane, in a long meeting, when I'm stuck in the office and can't get out, when I'm in Ft. Wayne Indiana without a Starbucks in sight..) Smart stuff, all of it.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the product, but it's certainly better than any other instant coffee I've ever had. And there is a good reason WHY. And that's what matters. And that's what their advertising should be telling me that it's not.

Because, IF I am stuck in Ft. Wayne or on a plane or in a really long meeting, then I want to know there's a close approximation of the real thing (Starbuck's brewed coffee, that is). Something I can buy in advance, keep tucked away and whip up when low caffination strikes.

This commercial tells me nothing, except that Starbucks has instant coffee, it's better than old office coffee and a bunch of people from all different walks of life are trying it and liking it. If a whole bunch of people jumped off a bridge, I'm not jumping. You?

I need to be told HOW this instant coffee is different and WHY it's BETTER than other instant coffee. Tell me or show me the fresh ground beans used to make Via vs. the chemical additives and low quality beans used to make other instant coffee.

While I think there's some good stuff going on with this spot (well-paced, cohesive storyline, for one), it's a classic example of selling the category, and I'm not sure it's doing a great job at that by establishing Via as a better alternative to one thing, "old office coffee."

What I'm saying is don't just engage me; take the USP and exploit the hell out of it in an engaging way.

So, I'm calling this one OFF STRATEGY, but I'm pulling for you anyhow Starbucks.