nixon[now]

Starbucks: $3.83

The Company: Starbucks
The Product: Chocolate Malt Frappuccino
The Price: $3.83
The Need: Breakfast
The Desire: Something tasty
The Breakdown: Well, Starbucks took $3.83 from me today. The Chocolate Malt Frappuccino is a personal weak spot for me. Nothing tastes better for breakfast to me at the moment. That having been said, each time I visit Starbucks I am torn on many levels. I'll break it down a little further:
What I like:
· Chocolate Malt Frappuccinos
· General atmosphere (good for getting work done, having a conversation or business meeting)
· General artistic creativity in branding, packaging and presentation
What makes me consider alternatives:
· Starbucks tends to be (especially in richer parts of town), the trendy place to see and be seen during business hours. Lots of suits, brown nosing, general smoochzing and sales meetings that borders on making my skin crawl (though listening in on some conversations are beyond entertaining).
· Starbucks is labeled as a symbol of big corporations that take advantage of international production laborers, etc., etc., etc. Starbucks is rising to Nike and McDonald's status when it comes to protests at WTO summits (atleast in my mind they are). Whether they actually deserve or not, their rapid growth and uncanny ability to put stores across the street from each other, has made them a target of criticism.
· Starbucks has long since moved beyond being a hometown brand to becoming the be-all brand of the coffee generation. By it sheer growth, it benefits from the money of the masses, but looses integrity with the individual buyer.
· If I can find a hometown coffee shop with a Chocolate Malt Frappuccino as good as Starbucks, then they will see my next $3.83. I would prefer to support the little guy if the product is as good.
· Plus, they want $1.95 for a tiny tin of mints that probably cost less than a $0.25 to produce.

nixon[now] $$$

Starting a new focus for nixon$now. It hit me this morning after thinking about two things: 1. I was tired of doing the "typical" weblog that talked about a zillion different things. 2. I wanted to create a weblog that was unique to one area that I am passionate about, but haven't tackled before in a weblog format (e.g. I'm doing technology, design and infographics over at nixlog).

The description at the top of the page is what came to me. It was the answer I was looking for.

I have learned over the last 15+ years that I can be fiercely loyal to a brand for many reasons. And when I am, that brand generally get my $$$. However, I have found that I am also very critical of brands, companies, etc. that don't match up with the experience, service or product quality I was hoping for. This blog is my new venue to voice opinions, experiences and adventures in spending my hard earned $$$. It will be a mixed focus of marketing, branding, customer service, economics and user experience all rolled into a psychological package that a marketing director could only dream of. Let's see where it goes.