According to an article on AdAge.com, McDonald’s has launched its biggest marketing push in history for the new McCafe coffee products. I just received a direct mail piece on Wednesday for McCafe, but I swiftly threw it in the trash. Why? Because my local McDonald’s can’t even get their standard products and service correct, so McCafe has no hope in my mind. But I digress. Back to branding …
With the onslaught of McCafe marketing, I thought it would be interesting to see how McCafe is doing in Google Trends, which tracks the most searched for terms online, in comparison to its top competitors. I got the idea after reading a post on the Official Google Blog about the accuracy of Google Trends in determining past winners of American Idol in the United States (hint – if the Google Trends success continues, put your money on Adam Lambert).
Let’s take a look at the search trends of McCafe vs. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts over the past year.
Now, let’s take a look at the search trends of McCafe vs. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts over the past 30 days since the marketing push began.
If Google Trends is right again, I don’t think Starbucks has anything to be worried about from McCafe, but did anyone really think there was cause for concern in the Starbucks camp?
Honestly, I think McDonald’s biggest problem with McCafe is brand positioning. Your thoughts?
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
