Go Tully’s!
August 22nd, 2006 by Dominic Canterbury
Tully’s Coffee provides us with an excellent opportunity to compare two schools of marketing.
On one side we have the creativity-driven 3:21 Wake-Up Call campaign.
On the other side we have the concrete benefits-driven “Tully’s has Free Wi-Fi.”
The Wake-Up Call campaign was an attempt to position Tully’s as the solution to the slump people tend to feel shortly after 3:00. Very clever. Very creative. And, it was a great campaign and well-executed to boot. The press loved it, the people loved it. Love all around.But what I wonder is, how much did it actually do for Tully’s? Undoubtedly it did wonders to raise awareness of the the Slump. I would bet it even increased coffee consumption overall. However, the cognative link to Tully’s itself would seem to be pretty weak.
Now, compare this to “Tully’s has Free Wi-Fi.” No concept. No fancy graphics. No witty tagline. And, well, no creativity. But it’s DAMN POWERFUL! And DAMN EFFECTIVE! First of all, consider the cost. All they need is a $50 wi-fi router and a highspeed connection. To promote it, all they need to do is throw up a few billboards.
And the effect? Instant word of mouth. Suddenly Tully’s is the obvious choice for a huge segment of the white-colar world. And where’s the main competitor, Starbucks? Still annoying and bewildering their target market by charging for what almost everyone else gives away for free.
I ask you, gentle reader, which campaign would influence you more?
I don’t even drink coffee but I’m well aware of the giant billboard on their building in south Seattle and when I go looking for somewhere to meet, Starbucks isn’t even in the back of my mind anymore with their awful and expensive internet options. Tullys wins hands down.
Every time I sit down in Starbucks I just get pissed off at the little tMobile hotspot thing. Of course I don’t actually drink coffee. But still.
I’m always looking for coffee shops with free wi-fi. If there was a Tully’s close to me I would be sitting in it right now and yes, I do drink coffee. Go Tully’s!!!