I spent $244.58 in a Starbucks this morning, thanks to brand affinity and impeccable customer service, not AI and faceless paid ads.
THE RULE OF THE FIRST
There are hundreds of coffee shops in Seattle, but the first Starbucks ever opened on Pike Place in 1971.
Meanwhile, I saw a myriad of ads – both Google Search and My Business, and listings, but unless they are close to my meeting spots, there’s no way I’ll miss that historical landmark.
WORD OF MOUTH
(Only made it to one Storyville later, per a strong recommendation by a trusted person on their cinnamon roll – thanks to word of mouth and the food influencer clout).
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The baristas in the Starbucks spot were top notch, starting from the welcome intro OUTSIDE of the store to a walkthrough inside, to the history of the place. We know how busy and crowded Starbucks gets, but it was packed with tourists and the staff is paying the attention needed.
I was quickly introduced to the “exclusive” items (mugs, blends, keychains) only available in that particular location, with the specific original logo. Think of Coca Cola’s retro versions, or the DRIVE museum by Volkswagen for similar references.
APPLY ACCORDINGLY
Just like advertising professionals spend a ton of time watching banners ads and TV commercials, and spending hours of not DAYS on studying Super Bowl ads, picking up sheets out of the playbooks of successful businesses is quite integral to roadmap planning and 2026 strategy.
You can quote the closed locations or cuts in the coffee chain, or clothing brands like Nike. Businesses go through ups and downs, and some downs are more significant than other.
FAD OR FAILURE?
But one can name a small handful of failure stories in the history of billion+ dollar brands – the Kodaks, or Forever 21s, or MTV’s music channels, or Nokia. How many more can you count vs. the thousands of brands you use or wear or eat?
Just a few years ago, people were buying NFTs for 6 figures and Zuckerberg was featuring Meta classes as the future of civilization. Some hypes don’t materialize, others morph into Ray-Bans.
FOR 2026:
Normalizing ad performance as a supplementary channel, understanding the value of SEO for different segments and industries, and valuing the core pillars of brand and customer service are universal principles to incorporate in 2026 planning going forward.
