With “the java wars intensifying” in the U.S., as The Boston Globe puts it, a Starbucks-McDonald’s rivalry is also heating up around the globe. In Thailand, Starbucks has run a limited-time promotion offering half-price coffee in the afternoon to customers who already bought one in the morning. Now McDonald’s McCafe is fighting back with a two-year-anniversary special: a free upsize of any cup of coffee. Customers can get extra caffeine without extra spending.
Even while running promotional offers, the McCafe brand still does well in maintaining its image as a premium coffee brand that’s available in a nice environment, complete with free Internet access and a variety of magazines. Price promotion doesn’t have to dilute brand image, as long as a brand can figure out how to talk with consumers so that the key message they take away is “It adds value to your life” rather than “You can now afford it.”
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