Caribou Coffee: Anti-Starbucks no longer
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | 1 Comment
Author:
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Key Points:
1. Caribou Coffee has had better luck riding out the Great Recession than its larger rival Starbucks, and seems antsy to get out from under Starbucks’ shadow.
2. With its recent rebrand, Caribou takes the risky step of defining itself on its own terms – with a seize the day attitude and explorer archetype.
3. It was likely the right time for the company; in order to grow beyond its Midwestern roots, Caribou needed to break free.
I am half Cuban.
As such, I take my coffee very seriously. Truth be told, I am more likely to be found working in a Caribou or Starbucks than in my Woodbury office. Perhaps sadly for my speeding heart rhythm, I know of what I speak.
And speaking of coffee houses, the latter has struggled mightily from its peak in the middle of the decade. The “Great Recession” was a painful kick in the pants to the Starbucks’ empire. The company wobbled as its share price fell, margins eroded, and McDonald’s thumped it in taste tests.
Caribou Coffee, on the other hand, seems to have bounced back from recent economic hardship (and its own set of uncertainties) with vigor. Its recent rebranding effort shows a newfound swagger at the Minneapolis-based chain. The fresh creative sports a sleeker – almost “New York” – sort of look that stands in stark contrast to its quite pedestrian – quite “Minnesota” – history.
But like it or not, the Caribou brand was tied to the success (or failure, but mostly success) of Starbucks brand since the beginning. Starbucks was the dominant player – Caribou the little known #2. And it defined itself that way; Caribou was everything Starbucks was not. It proved an effective technique to get the company off the ground, but it remains 5% Starbucks’ size. Clearly, it was time to move on.
To help illustrate, I assembled a quick reference chart.
The change in creative aside (enough’s been made of that – you either like it or you don’t), understand how big of deal it is for a coffee house Caribou’s size to go through any sort of rebranding effort. The logistics (even at a relatively small 500-plus stores) is daunting, not to mention expensive.
Since its beginnings, Caribou reached out to the everyday audience. Someone who wants to “escape from the daily grind”. Caribou was never a place to be seen, but rather a place to relax. It was the place everyday people could get the best in coffee. My non-Midwestern friends always described Caribou as a bit campy, but that was its charm. And during the worst recession in decades, customers largely stuck by the company – and it’s pricing.
However, Caribou’s Midwestern sensibility could only take it so far.
To move beyond its position in the marketplace, Caribou needed to stop defining itself for what it was not, and begin to strike out on its own.
Of all the different ways to look at the recent move, I think the most appropriate is using Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson’s cultural archetypes. Think of an archetype as powerful cultural shorthand. By associating your brand with an archetype, you can cut right to the chase with messaging, and people will fill in the details from their own cultural context. (The Harley Davidson “outlaw” and Nike “hero” are two of many great examples).
Whatever Caribou may have wanted to communicate before, it clearly personified the “average guy” or “average gal” archetype. Caribou was the upscale coffee shop for the rest of us. The company dipped into its “Alaska” origin story to poke fun at using beaver pelts for currency, outfitted its stores in warm wood, and never needed to “train” its staff to be Minnesota nice.
Starbucks, by contrast, was “the ruler” – in other words, going to Starbucks made you feel cool, elite, and special. (Some might disagree, but I think this nails it. Starbucks today is more about elitism than it is about “discovering new coffees and music”, although an argument could be made for that).
Caribou is finally moving – with this rebrand I think – to the “explorer” archetype (akin to The North Face or Jeep vehicles). It is focusing much more on its “Life is short. Stay awake for it.” carpe diem anthem.
And that makes sense for Caribou. I think of it as more of a solidification than an outright change – I get the sense Caribou always wanted to personify the “explorer”, but could never quite get out from under Starbucks shadow far enough to pull it off. Pretty natural move.
Natural, but risky.
Changing archetypes is not a “one day” sort of transition. It can take years. Caribou has built a base of customers who see it (perhaps) a different way. Is Caribou the “relax from the grind, Midwest sensibility” place or the “I’m going to get up in your face with how cool I am” place? Are they now “too hip” for the everyday customer type they’ve cultivated?
Perhaps.
But the risk seems appropriate.
As Caribou needs to expand into new markets – particularly fast-growth, dense, urban, and international markets – the ah-shucks Midwestern everyman image may not cut it.
All comes down to this: Caribou seemed anxious to leave the protection of the Starbucks nest. It has kicked itself out, and now must fly on its own.
Only time will tell if it’s ready.
Related Links:
Amazon.com: “The Hero and the Outlaw”
“Official” explanation of the Caribou creative work
Comments
One Response to “Caribou Coffee: Anti-Starbucks no longer”
Leave a Reply
About
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Phone: 651.209.2778
Principal and co-founder of Ecra Creative Group, a Minneapolis, MN based creative services firm specializing in brand development, reputation process management, naming/trademark, and product launches to drive measurable business results.
March 15th, 2010 @ 10:27 am
interesting post. i prefer the taste of starbucks to caribou. but i do very much appreciate caribou’s coziness, lack of pretentious and yep, it’s campy. i prefer hanging out in a caribou store but i won’t drink their coffees