Gets Me Every Time

I hate to go back to the topic of Starbucks... but that's a lie, I love this topic.

Tonight when deciding where to study, I weighed my options. Home, (which was a joke because I don't get anything accomplished there), Cafe Baul (which has wifi and coffee drinks, but sometimes sketchy music), or Starbucks (which has wifi and yummy coffee drinks, an ambience I enjoy, and a view of San Martin as well as the ocean). The choice was clear. Baul was closer and maybe a little cheaper, but Starbucks, although farther and a bit pricier, feels like home.

I think it's incredible what this company has done, which I have said before. But to have a brand that is so internationally known is amazing. One thing I really like about the Bux is that, besides for a few minor menu changes, nothing changes from country to country. Starbucks employs the tactic of global standardization flawlessly. They have a brand so powerful that it is really its own place. When you step inside the coffee shop, you're not in the U.S. or in Chile or in Bangladesh. You're now in Starbucks world. Which is so comforting to someone who is missing the comforts of home. It's a trip back to something familiar, if you can look past whatever foreign language the people at the counter are speaking.

My point is that because of what they have accomplished, somehow Starbucks dragged my lazy self 4 extra blocks and made me pay 1 extra mil, and I don't feel cheated one bit. Sometimes when I hear of the marketing tricks used to get people (including me) in the door, I feel suckered. But Starbucks just always feels like home.

Finger Lickin' Good

Last Friday I noticed a sign on San Martin for a coming soon "Popeye's" chicken restaurant chain. Cerca de the McDonalds that Chileans have come to know and love. South Americans, although they have a wide array of homegrown chains and restaurants, have a large thirst for U.S. originated restaurants. This is why I am not surprised that Popeye's, the "Louisiana kitchen" that we are very familiar with in the states, has made its way down to Viña del Mar.

What I was a little confused about, however, was the language the advertisement was in. It said something along the lines of "Coming Soon! Popeye's chicken, from Louisiana's kitchen, marinated and slow cooked...." And I'm not sure of the rest. But I know that we've learned over and over again how relevant language is in international marketing. It was surprising to me that they didn't even attempt to use Spanish in their sign. I can see that they are coming at it from the angle of "we're from the U.S. so love us," but I know that I don't know the word for 'marinate' in Spanish, so I doubt most Chileans know this English word.

It seems to me that they could have done a better job of mixing Spanish and English to get across their message. Yes, they're a U.S. company and believe that should have appeal in and of itself. However, they should have attempted a little further to integrate into the culture here in their advertisement. Which is my opinion from what I've learned in the class this semester.

World Cup Advertisements

With the World Cup coming up, companies are spending a lot of money on marketing techniques to incorporate futbol and futbolistos into their products. The World Cup is a huge deal in South America, but even more this year since Brazil is hosting. 

I'm wondering if the same thing is happening in the U.S. right now. In the U.S., sports drinks and snack foods use sports teams and stars to market all the time, but more so with basketball and baseball. It's harder to use soccer in marketing because, although the fan pool is growing, it is still not very popular in the U.S. compared to other sports. Even with the world cup coming up, I'm wondering if it would be worth it for U.S. brands to incorporate soccer into their advertisements. I'm not sure it would attract as many consumers as here in South America.

I think that's one important thing about global marketing- you have to know all about your target market. The World Cup may seem like a global event that would apply everywhere. But you have to take into account whether the sport is popular in that country, and whether their team even made it into the cup. You have to do your research when using sports to advertise. You wouldn't use baseball in South American advertisements because it is not that popular here. 

I'm excited to see how the advertisements increase as the cup approaches even closer.

Weekday Deals

We went in to a hole in the wall completo store last Monday night and noticed that there was a 3 for 2 special, Monday through Thursday. We had been to this completo place before, but only ever on the weekends, so we had never noticed the weekday deals. Since then I've noticed weekday deals in a few different spots. I think these are similar to happy hours in that they draw in people when there wouldn't usually be any. For example, completo places become more popular during the late nights of the weekends. And bars become more popular later on the evening.

In the states, we have deals as well. However I've found them to be a little different. For example, there might be a different special every day of the week, but a special that lasts all night. And happy hour, while it exists, is much earlier in the night and does not last as long.

It seems to me that these weekday deals are necessary here in Chile to obtain customers at all. In the U.S., most big restaurants or popular places will have business no matter what, but here, customers have to be drawn in by something in order to give their business to a restaurant.