1) Inconspicuous Consumption Consumers respond to the social moment by taking consumption into the closet. As when we talk about going to Fred’s (in-store restaurant), not Barney’s. Or, ask to have new purchases shipped, rather than be seen carrying a branded shopping bag. Or, decide to have shoes repaired and last year’s jacket altered. Spending as a covert activity. No bragging rights.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby that personality is forged by an “unbroken string of successful small gestures.” And, as with people, so with brands. Brand personality takes root in the soil of its own heritage and history.
I think Howard Schultz blinked. It’s understandable — when McDonald’s runs ads that say, “four dollars is dumb,” it’s bound to piss him off. I’ll be watching for the ads to see how he’s responding.
There’s a great deal of sturm und drang about the loss of fizz at Pepsi – and arguably at Coke, as well. Both companies face declining sales of their flagship brands and have used to greater or lesser success predictable ways to mask the fundamental issue: Fewer people are buying less and less of these iconic brands.
