Virgin and Starbucks: The South of the South of the Brand World

Regardless of that aspect, Starbucks and Virgin both claim that the two world's best treasures in the brand world, even though they are ranked in the world's most influential 100 brands, have the same success, but also legendary, but the industry's Starbucks The applause for success is almost the same as the question of Virgin's success. In particular, the concept of their brand operations is so different. The former's obsession with more than 30 years has made an obscure first-in-command Starbucks a synonym for coffee, while the latter has spent more than 30 years. It provoked a sexy virgin Virgin to go crazy all over the world, from records to railways, from telecommunications to cosmetics, from theaters to stores, from finance to clothing, from cola to the Internet, etc. In short, she seemed to disregard all taboos. Wherever I can go, I want to go. This may be the crux of the problem. The chief mate of one duty and the virgin madness are always not so coordinated. In fact, thinking about it in turn, this is exactly where they succeed and survive. Like the Nanquan and the North Leg in traditional martial arts in our country, it is the result of adjusting to local conditions. Imagine that a tall and mighty chief would like to With many years of hard training, the legs are focused on the firepower to bring them to the enemy. The slim virgins only rely on the fact that they will not spend too much time on closing the moon and shouting in favor of frequent blows.

This pair of live treasures or loyalists were all started in the world in the 1970s and even started in 1971. They are quite active. They are only one in the United States, one in the UK, and one with a strong and deep The American tradition, sentiment, quality, patience, convenience, dreams, and value are her characteristics. Everywhere she displays a rebellion against the gentleman tradition. Rebellion, personality, independence, openness, and advocating freedom are her hallmarks. Although coffee godfather Howard Schulz and Virgin founder Richard Branson both belong to the postwar generation born in the 1950s, their personality and values ​​are completely different. The former has the astuteness, experience, and ideals of traditional Americans. While the latter focused on the rebellion, hippies, and pursuits of the postwar generation, this may be the root of their different paths.

After years of development, they have achieved extraordinary successes. Although they are mixed, we should stay on top of the surface for what is right and wrong. Through these fogs, we must explore the deeper reasons for their success. After all, there are On the rational side, I think that the comparative analysis of Starbucks and Virgin brands is very helpful for us to understand brands and corporate business strategies and their relationships more fully and correctly. In fact, they are like Nanquan and North Legs, not water and fire. Compatible, just complement each other should complement each other. Don't be fooled by superficial phenomena. You should look at the essence through phenomena.

Business strategy

Talk about brand issues can not be separated from the company's business strategy, business strategy is the company's overall planning and design of the future and competition, the brand is very important in this overall planning and design may be the most important factor, but it is not the business strategy itself. It is a common problem in the industry to talk about business issues in isolation from specific business strategies. It is easy to fall into the quagmire of “mountainism” and professional barriers. Brand experts believe that branding is everything. Advertising experts believe that advertising can rejuvenate, and sales experts believe that channel networks are vital to the success of products. Experts believe that product innovation is fundamental, even financial experts believe that financial security is the most important, the result is a lot of experts, but the problem is unconvincing. In fact, they are not wrong, but yes does not mean the correct. Only the correct method can really solve the problem. Therefore, only by discussing the brand under specific business strategy conditions can we reach truly meaningful conclusions before we can jump out. The embarrassment of "mountainism" is the so-called "outreach".

Similarly, the difference in the company's business strategy between Virgin and Starbucks is the fundamental reason for its divergent brand operation. Only by recognizing this, many puzzles can be solved.

Virgin’s business strategy is to serve the young, non-conforming, rebellious young people. It does not seek to become an industry leader in all fields, but rather wants to play the role of an industry destroyer and market filler. It pursues It is a brand leader and customer share, so it has entered into many seemingly incredible industries, recording, cosmetics, aviation, railways, telecommunications, hypermarkets, weddings, cinemas, financial services, cola drinks, involving more than 200 industries Its products and services cover all aspects of people's lives. Its brand promotion is often based on the alternative, exaggerated personal show of Branson, its founder, chairman, and corporate image spokesperson. He flies over the Atlantic in a hot air balloon. Navigating on the square with a tank, running naked on the beach, etc. This is not only effective in attracting the eyeballs, but also very consistent with the image of the company and its products and services. It is an effective and cost-effective promotion method.

Starbucks, on the other hand, differs in its corporate strategy to become the global leader in gourmet coffee. Like many traditional US companies, it pursues a global market position and market share. Although it is of the same nature, it is globally conscious. The difference between the business leaders of the UK and the United States is indeed great. This is also the environment for the development of Virgin and Starbucks. It was under the guidance of this business strategy that Starbucks, under the leadership of the soul Howard Schulz, like McDonald's and Coca-Cola, had a firm foothold in the domestic market and began to expand globally. Maybe, after a few years, it will look like Hollywood. Cola and McDonald's became representatives of the American consumer culture.

In short, the business strategy of Virgin and Starbucks is completely different, and even the opposite is true. An almost unlimited variety, entering different fields, and the other is focused on business, has become almost synonymous with coffee. This is just like the Nanquan North Leg of China's traditional martial arts. The northern leg emphasizes strength and strength, while the Nanquan emphasizes speed and flexibility. This is a choice based on the characteristics of the human body and the environment and local conditions. Similarly, the business strategy of Virgin and Starbucks The difference is based on their resources and their ability to adapt to local conditions. Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, likes to take risks, challenges and stimuli, but lacks enough patience to do things without planning. Even after the company's listing, there is no formal financial management system and meeting decision system. Everything is Very casually, anyone who needs to spend money to take it casually, and nobody supervises it, depends on the company members' own feelings and self-consciousness. Almost all decisions are made on informal occasions, although it is related to the nature of the business they are engaged in. It is related to the characteristics, but it is contrary to the company's normal operating logic. Therefore, he is definitely a dead end because he specializes in doing one thing. Through diversification into different industries, he can play like he is adventurous, challenging and stimulating, and flexible. In addition, there is a lack of conformity, and there are indeed opportunities in the market, especially in the post-war United Kingdom and other Western worlds. With the spread of anti-tradition, liberalism, sexual openness, and other ideas, alternative, abnormal, and unruly brands There is a market, especially in the fields of culture and services. This trend is more obvious. Therefore, Virgin has a large business. Focus on the culture and service industries and seldom involved in the traditional manufacturing industry. Although Coke drinks and so on belong to the category of manufacturing, people on earth know that they like it with the liquid in the bottle and do not want to know its manufacturing process. Whether the level is advanced and so on, and more because of its brand image, advertising, culture and other soft factors.

But Starbucks founder Howard Schultz was totally different. He was born into a poverty-stricken immigrant family. He is compassionate. Like many Americans, he has the ambitious goals and ideals of changing himself and the world. He is very patient and he does very well. Strategic and programmatic, he can see the qualities and experiences of traditional Americans such as McDonald's founder Ray Kroc and Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Therefore, he follows the footsteps of these people and develops his business. All the world is an inevitable choice. Although the development of a company cannot have a single person to decide, a company will certainly be deeply impressed by its founder's brand and will be greatly influenced and constrained by it. Of course, the development of Starbucks is also inseparable from the opportunity of the American coffee market at that time. According to Howard Schulz, the coffee Americans used to drink at the time was “horses urine” and “sewage”. The market needed high-quality coffee and to get rid of it. The third space for family and work is just as much as Americans needed high-quality fast food and cheap shopping venues. Starbucks, like its predecessors McDonald's and Wal-Mart, seized this opportunity.

Therefore, diversification and specialization are not incompatible with each other, but complement each other and complement each other. Just like Nanquan and the North Leg, the key is to adapt them to local conditions and integrate their own resources and market opportunities. Understanding the company's business strategy can truly understand its brand strategy and other business practices, which is undoubtedly a must for us.

Brand strategy

Brand strategy is the brand-based business strategy. The company's brand strategy is bound to play a role in the framework of the company's business strategy, and the brand is also at the core of the business strategy. Starbucks is pursuing the leading position of global gourmet coffee. Its brand strategy must also be the leading brand of the industry. It even becomes a synonym for the industry itself and builds a brand reputation globally. Therefore, it focuses on making coffee and writing articles around the world. Open shop, spread coffee culture, and guide coffee consumption, but Virgin's business strategy is to serve the alternative, non-conforming, rebellious young people. It does not seek to become an industry leader, but hopes to serve as an industry vandal and market supplement. The role of the person, therefore, its brand strategy is to become a brand leader who is very influential and appealing among the target customers. Therefore, it enters many fields and expands brand extension. The brand extension is represented by positioning theory. Strong opposition from brand experts, they advocate that the brand should be intensive in one area and become a synonym for the industry. However, this is just like the idea that practicing good leg work can make opponents nearly intimidating and opposed to practicing boxing. It is very one-sided and just a wishful thinking, just as the US military thinks that its powerful fire can ignore the tactical skills training of soldiers. Because I'm powerful, I can't be close to my opponent and I've been eliminated, so there's no possibility of short-range attacks and melee attacks. But history has proved that this is a very naive idea. In fact, the US military is The failure of the Korean battlefield and the Vietnam battlefield, or the setbacks in other battlefields, have a lot to do with his reliance on its powerful firepower. The positioning theory adheres to a specialized brand positioning strategy and it is exactly the same, a powerful firepower and becoming a certain pronoun. In the same way, the security it brings is often illusory, because any brand can find this positioning loophole under the guidance of Gaoming Advisor and then subvert it. Moreover, changes in consumption, such as the growth of consumers’ age and changes in social values, all amplify the loopholes and risks associated with professional brand positioning, because this often changes the foundation on which the original brand rests, making The brand's original positioning and value proposition were marginalized, which provided an opportunity for new brands to enter. The reason why many brands were abandoned by the younger generation of consumers and linked to their parents or grandmothers and even backwardness was because of this, of course. This may be a good thing for some brands, but it is almost a disaster for most brands, especially for expert-oriented brands. This is the only way that many brands can attack leading brands.

What is the correct approach? The combination of powerful firepower and soldiers’ tactical skills should be combined with the combination of the Nanquan and the North Legs, and the combination of brand specialization and diversification should be combined because they are not contradictory but complement each other. The key is You have to adapt to your own situation and market opportunities.

The brand's professional positioning and brand's diversified extension are not the opposite relationship. It's behind the market share and customer share. The brand's professional positioning becomes synonymous with certain industries and is in fact pursuing absolute. Market share, while brand extension is to achieve greater customer share. If you see this, the relationship between brand specialization and diversification is also very clear. They are not two points on one line or the other, and the relationship between boxing and legs is similar to the relationship between vertical and horizontal planes. If brand professional positioning is positive, then brand extension is the wing side, which is often a roundabout object. In fact, the attack on professional leading brands starts from customers and firstly achieves a breakthrough in a niche market. And then expand it. If you want to make your brand city impregnable, you must pay attention to those marginal customers, especially those who do not seem to be the future now, it is often a niche market for opponents to attack, such as the fortress is often broken from the inside, These customers are the so-called "shakers" or "spoofing."

Therefore, you must pay attention to market share and customer share at the same time. You must combine your fists and legs, and you must be prepared to “fight Shaolin and kick Wudang”. It must be remembered that the brand's professional orientation and diversification extension are not antagonistic, but complement each other, complement each other, do not get the market, forget the customer, or see the customer, you can not see the entire market.