Saturday, January 19, 2008

Starbucks vs. McDonalds

Many of you have heard by now about the 'brewing battle' between Starbucks and McDonald's for the gourmet coffee market. McDonald's will hire baristas and begin serving lattes, mochas, espressos and cappuccinos in some of its locations (how does a McMocha sound?). This Time.com article touches on the difference between the McDonald's and Starbucks customer base and whether McDonald's can attract some of Starbucks' customers to its restaurants. This reminds me of a statement our classmate shared, about the difficulty of a brand to change people's minds once it is deemed as inferior (i.e., Kia). Since this is a blog for a college class, most of the readers will fall closer to the Starbucks customer base than McDonald's. Will any of you now visit Mickey D's for a cup of coffee and a Big Mac (it was evident that 99% of you were not big fans of the place)? Or will you stick to Starbucks and pay for its 'gourmet' sandwiches?