Selective PR Messages Impact Brands: Starbucks

Starbucks has been making online waves with its recent "some blended drinks" price hike announcements.

Most articles tout rising supplier prices, focus on which higher-end drinks will be affected, and delve into competitor positioning.

As a Starbucks daily decaf mocha loyalist (so far), I recently asked my regular North County San Diego area Starbucks crew when the price hikes would hit their store (expecting it to be imminent).

To my surprise, they informed me that the price hikes wouldn't be applied everywhere, and that stores in their area will not be affected.  This was the kind of "don't worry folks" information I'd have thought they'd be touting right at checkout.

I searched "Starbucks price increase September 2010", and noticed that none of the first six articles appearing, including those from Fox Business, Boston.com et al., mentioned the fact that the price hikes, the second in a year, would only apply to certain markets.  (This is relevant since ad/article insertions seek to snag the top 1-3 or 1-5 search results positioning, and messaging in these leads may set market tone.)

This is a very important PR message to Starbucks daily customers, some of whom actually factor in, and make allowances for, their daily enjoyments in budgeting.  While press article headlines focus on "price increases", "price hikes" and "some drinks", non-emotional enough, none have seemed to allay customer fears that those increases won't necessarily apply to them.

Such careful wording up front might help Starbucks stem the tide of those jumping ship -- claiming that their favorite brand has finally gone beyond price elasticity -- and buy their brand some more time.

(c) 2010 Lisa C. Clark
All Rights Reserved.