...
written by Bob Slogin on March 25, 2007

Rachel Ray is hot hot hot.... Perfect to serve up a hot cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee!

Brand Management....not coffee
written by Steve James on March 23, 2007

Starbucks is just an awsome brand, not an awsome cup of coffee. In December they sold bags of "Christmas Blend". What the heck is that? So the ride up has been spectacular...but now what? They sit on a pile of cash and cannot possibly dream up anything else to do with a burned bean while competition mounts. HHhmmm... Looks like it is time to diversify. Sir Paul McCartney and the new record label may be one once such way to leverge the brand.

Stranger things have happened. Kiss (the rock band) has opened the coffee house in Myrtle Beach, SC at Broadway at the Beach. (I kid you not - http://www.kisscoffeehouse.com/) Kiss now has their own brand of coffees.

If Kiss can make coffee, surely Starbucks can make music. Trends change.

This has nothing to do with coffee or music. It is pure brand marketing and brand leverage. Dunkin Donuts missed that boat a long time ago. Is it too late for them? Unless they have compeletly changed their thinking at the top, yes, it probably is. For a brand like Dunkin Donuts to say "Hey, let's compete with Starbucks!" means they are followers.

I am not sure if Kiss selling coffee shows brand leadership, but they are cetainly leveraging their name just like Harley Davidson does - by putting it on anything it will stick to.

Starbucks could take over the free world right now. It could run for President. Again, the entire conversation has nothing to do with coffee, donuts, music or motorcycles. It is about riding one large wave of brand popularity and extending your 15 minutes of fame to 30 minutes.

Shareholders love that.

Steve