Co-creating value through customers' experiences: the Nike case. The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life. Cool Runnings. My goal: a 10-min. mile (fear not, olympians).
Wearing a pair of Nike Plus running shoes, I wind along a tree-covered Oregon trail, glancing at my iPod nano every few strides. I wish that little chip in my Nikes would malfunction. It's telling the nano my pace, and the nano in turn is taunting me: a 10-min. 30-sec. clip, with about another half a mile to go. I sprint--and almost die--near the finish. One mile completed, the nano screen reads. With Nike Plus, a group of Nike executives has combined... Subscribe Now Get TIME the way you want it One Week Digital Pass — $4.99 Monthly Pay-As-You-Go DIGITAL ACCESS — $2.99 One Year ALL ACCESS — Just $30!
How Nike's Social Network Sells to Runners. The Nike+ site is drawing hordes of runners, and its success may hold lessons for brand building on the Web Nike (NKE) is winning a new game that other corporations, from Coca-Cola (KO) to Verizon (VZ) to General Motors (GM), have tried unsuccessfully to play: building brand loyalty via online social networking.
In the two years since it launched Nike+, a technology that tracks data of every run and connects runners around the world at a Web site, nikeplus.com, Nike has built a legion of fans. In August, for instance, 800,000 runners logged on and signed up to run a 10K race sponsored by Nike simultaneously in 25 cities, from Chicago to São Paulo. Now the company is testing a social network to promote its basketball shoes. How Nike+ benefits the company's bottom line is harder to gauge. But skeptics such as Sam Poser, a stock analyst at brokerage firm Sterne Agee & Leach in New York, say Nike+ attracts only serious runners, a drop in the bucket compared with its total customer base.
Starbucks' chairman wonders whether his company is losing its soul. (1) - By Bonnie Goldstein. 'Hey, Starbucks, How About Coffee Cubes?' The joe giant's CEO is using customers' advice and dedicated software to try out new ideas in a bid to reinvigorate the company One customer wants Starbucks (SBUX) to make ice cubes out of coffee so when they melt they won't dilute cold drinks; 7,660 fellow customers agree.
Another wants the chain to install shelves in restrooms—where else can you put your drink when you've drunk too much? Although some customers are repelled by that suggestion, Starbucks thinks it's a "sleeper idea" worth considering. More than 10,000 Starbucks fans wish for something to plug the hole in lids to prevent sloshing. Starbucks listened and just introduced reusable "splash sticks" to do that. This is corporate democracy in action: At the month-old MyStarbucksIdea.com, customers can make suggestions, other customers can vote on and discuss them, and Starbucks can see which ideas gain popular support.
Starbucks Revamps Menu with Healthier Fare. Starbucks today announced a major overhaul of its food menu.
In addition to adding a flurry of new products, the coffee giant is cutting all artificial flavors, dyes, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial preservatives wherever possible. The menu makeover comes as McDonald's moves ahead with the launch of its higher end McCafe product. The burger chain has vowed to support the new product, which is aimed squarely at Starbucks, with a reported $100 million marketing budget. Starbucks, which has seen its sales suffering, views the new menu as a way to send a more consistent message to its customers about its commitment to health and wellness.
In the past year, Starbucks' healthy food introductions have proved successful, with their Perfect Oatmeal rising to the chain's top-selling food item within a few weeks. Tailoring Its Approach, Starbucks Rebounds. SLOW Movement: WSJ: Latest Starbuck Buzzword: 'Lean' Japanese Techniques. By JULIE JARGON Starbucks Corp. built its business as the anti-fast-food joint.
Now, the recession and growing competition are forcing the coffeehouse giant to see the virtues of behaving more like its streamlined competitors. Under a new initiative being put into practice at its more than 11,000 U.S. stores, there will be no more bending over to scoop coffee from below the counter, no more idle moments waiting for expired coffee to drain and no more dillydallying at the pastry case.
Starbucks says the efforts are already helping its bottom line, as shown by quarterly results last month that beat analysts' expectations. Still, some baristas fear the drive will turn them into coffee-making automatons and take away some of the things that made the chain different. Starbucks Stores Speed Up See how a lean initiative has changed operations at one downtown Chicago shop. Mr. Some say lean techniques aren't a panacea. Innovation Discovery.