|
It’s time
to say goodbye to the value proposition. When this
columnist worked at an ad agency, we judged advertising
ideas by whether they were distinctive, provocative and
sustainable. We looked for a clear, if marginal,
difference from the competition: “Better than…because….”
Marketing
managers simply will have to let go of the question, “So
what is the differentiating positioning?” because brands
tick differently. They tap into basic ideas that are so
fundamental, they seem mundane.
Gloria
Jean’s Coffees lives up to its “Find Your Passion” mantra
by being known to be the only coffee brand that has
flavored beans. Unlike most brands, Gloria Jean’s doesn’t
have to deliver a single proposition to its consumers.
Instead, the company has been incredibly successful, both
over time and across geographies, in standing for
something broader and more flexible: energy and
stimulation. The result is that Gloria Jean’s Coffee can
mean different things to many people. Consumers can
interpret the brand in their own ways without affecting
its core function.
However,
the one aspect that remains constant is the brand persona:
the spirit, the look and feel of the brand. Gloria Jean’s
has gone to great lengths to develop a brand bible and to
provide a bible coach for each region to ensure that its
managers understand intuitively whether a specific
activity is true to Gloria Jean’s character.
One event
that captured the offbeat spirit of Gloria Jean’s was the
“Find Your Passion” promo. According to marketing manager
Len L. Santos in a recent interview, “[You just have to]
purchase 12 large drinks and you get a 2008 Gloria Jean’s
Planner and an ABBA Bossa CD, purchase four large drinks
and you get a coffee beanie. These are plush toys stuffed
with our flavored coffee beans, [that’s why they really
smell good]. They are even great as a car freshener.”
 Gloria
Jean’s Coffees Connoisseur Card was launched in October
last year, where cardholders will be given 10-percent
discount on cash and 5-percent discount on credit-card
purchases.
Coffee
culture created a new morning routine. Before all those
coffee shops sprouted in the metropolis, most consumers
were content to boil water, pour it into a cup of flavored
crystals, and call it coffee. Things weren’t much better
at the office, where you could get a cup of coffee for P10
to P12 from a vending machine. Gloria Jean’s and the other
leading coffee brands changed all this. Coffee became
civilized, imbued with the complexity and nuances of
ritual. Filipino consumers learned to buy beans, grind
them and brew real coffee at home. Or, just as likely,
they queued up before going to work, learning the
differences of coffee names.
In
addition to coffee rituals, Gloria Jean’s introduced a
different kind of quality and taste of its coffee. “Our
beans are 100-percent Arabica. We take 1 percent of the
best of the best coffee beans,” Santos enthuses. The
flavor is infused in the beans through a special process
in the head office’s own roasting plant in Sydney,
Australia. Flavors include crème brulée, French vanilla
supreme, hazelnut, chocolate raspberry truffle, Irish
crème, chocolate macadamia, etc.
“We come
out with new drinks at least three times a year. We
launched the Lava Latte and Espresso Toffee Chiller in
September last year. These drinks have gooey toffee as one
of their ingredients. We have likewise launched new food
products and our customers can expect an array of new food
items. We have hot and cold teas, as well as hot
chocolates for the non-coffee drinkers,” Santos adds.
The
company now has 40 branches nationwide and is present in
24 countries. Much of Gloria Jean’s growth can be
attributed to what’s called “social proof.” The smell of
the beans, the ubiquitous interior patterned after Vietnam
with the Gloria Jean’s Coffees logo—all these cues,
cocreated by Gloria Jean’s customers, have helped to
attract new customers. Social proof is a key factor in the
exponential growth of the stores.
“We have
been steadily increasing our market share,” says assistant
vice president and head of franchising and business
development Ramon P. Balingit Jr. The company was awarded
the Best Foreign Franchise Brand by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Gloria
Jean’s also showed impressive growth. “We’ve been
increasing 30 percent on a year-on-year profit. We’re the
fastest-growing master franchise in Asia. Next to
Australia, we lead in terms of number of stores. We will
expand the brand not only in Metro Manila but also in the
provinces. Our target is to increase the store franchise
to 100,” he says.
The Gloria
Jean’s Coffees brand and development rights for all
countries outside the US was purchased by Australians Nabi
Saleh and Peter Irvine in 2005, which now make Gloria
Jean’s Coffees an Australian brand and the largest coffee
chain in Australia. It was brought to the Philippines in
2003 by master franchisee Specialty Beans Philippines Inc.
Competing
for a share of an existing market may be harder than it
sounds, but Gloria Jean’s is still very consistent in
maintaining its dominant top-of-mind awareness. “It is
also when consumers are able to compare that they are able
to say something about specific quality elements. It is
the product’s quality characteristic that impresses the
consumer the most. The more unexpected that quality
characteristic is, the deeper the consumer’s favorable
impression and satisfaction,” Balingit explains.
What’s
more, brand fanaticism is not a fringe phenomenon.
Balingit points out the Gloria Jean’s Coffees quest as an
opportunity to do something no one has done before. Which
is why this trend should not be dismissed. It is a clear
indicator of the fundamental change in how consumers
relate to brands such as Gloria Jean’s. A change that goes
way beyond mere brand fanaticism. | 
