Mr. Coffee

Brand Audit

Bonnie Thomas May 2010

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Executive Summary

An audit analyzing the equity of the Mr. Coffee brand revealed a number of both positive and negative associations and perceptions. Mr. Coffee has a strong essence of brand awareness among consumers. Also the brand has a hearty grasp on the image of affordability and personality. Mr. Coffee has made efforts to update its image and position itself as a quality coffee and beverage machine maker in order to reach a younger audience. However against rivals, Mr. Coffee settles into the middle ground as not pronouncedly inferior or superior in a number of categories and characteristics. Mr. Coffee has begun to deliver innovative and customized products similar to its competitors. Due to slowness in innovation and the brand’s longevity, the Mr. Coffee brand carries a “dated” feeling. The brand has vast potential to leverage its Mr. Coffee persona into a positive, updated brand image. As consumers tend to personify the appliance brand, Mr. Coffee has the opportunity to shed its aged and classic perception and revitalize its appeal. Also by using this new image, Mr. Coffee can shed the company’s standard infomercial/spokesperson advertising campaigns that have failed to engage the desired, younger audience. In order to capitalize on a younger target audience, Mr. Coffee will need to develop an integrated marketing plan to promote its parent brand as a whole. Recommendations focus on engaging a younger demographic (ages 20-35) currently purchasing home appliances for themselves, friends, and family members. This target audience has great potential to be very brand loyal consumers to Mr. Coffee based on their previous experience with the brand through their parents and adult figures. Furthermore, Mr. Coffee’s individual branding of new products and lack of presence on online sites and networks has furthered the brand’s dated image and alienated some consumers. Opening the brand to new avenues through the Internet and through promotional activities could provide interaction and relationship building with this potentially profitable audience. In order to achieve maximum success when targeting this group, Mr. Coffee will have to use all aspects of an integrated marketing plan—public relations, advertising, online, and promotion. Do to the rise in technology, target audiences have become niche communities—able to be reached in a meaningful way through sincere, well-researched and cohesive efforts. Mr. Coffee can commit to reaching this audience by creating “a new face/or faces of Mr. Coffee” campaign into primetime advertising and by bringing this “new and younger face/faces” into all aspects of online interaction. Mr. Coffee brand has withstood the test of time, but as the company aged so did the brand’s image. Associations of affordability and ‘dated’ products place the brand behind many competitors in the minds’ of consumers. By aggressively approaching a younger target with a new, fresher image and online tactics could allow Mr. Coffee to regain an innovative and quality image that appeals to the masses.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………...2

Brand Inventory……………………………………………………………….....4

Perceptual Map Figure 1-1...………………………………………………….…5

Performance and Pricing Comparison Figure 1-2……………………………...7

Brand Exploratory…………………………………………………………….…9

Survey “Image” Results Figure 1-3………...…………………………………..10

Survey “Interest” Results Figure 1-4………...………………………………...11

Recommendations…………………………………………………………….…13

References………………………………………………………………….....…16

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Brand Inventory Products For nearly forty years, Mr. Coffee has been a provider of quality coffee, tea, and specialty beverage makers. In addition, Mr. Coffee supplies coffee drinkers with filters, coffee beans, and carafes. The company has been an innovator and leader in the domestic coffeemaker industry for much of its existence. In 1998, Sunbeam, now under the Jarden Corporation, acquired the makers of Mr. Coffee machines. Sunbeam is a maker of a variety of home appliances. Today, the Mr. Coffee brand name still represents quality coffee with in-home convenience at low prices (Cannedy, 1998). All levels of products center on the company’s original mission to provide the public with quality coffee at home. Over the years, changes have been made in the quality of the products to enhance the taste of the beverage. In addition, new lines of coffee makers have been developed to suit the tastes of more sophisticated coffee drinkers (O’Neil, 2003). The concept of affordability and quality are always at the center of the Mr. Coffee brand.

Brand Elements/Associations

Undoubtedly, Mr. Coffee is known for its long lasting presence and contribution to the coffee industry—whether it is through the invention of the automatic drip, water filters, coffee beans, stylish designs, or innovations. Beginning with its entrance into the market in 1971, Mr. Coffee has boasted a reputation for customer service and consumer awareness (Great Coffeemakers, 2008). Spokesperson and initial “brand cheerleader” Joe DiMaggio clearly spoke to the personality and meaning of Mr. Coffee when he dubbed the brand as “America’s favorite coffeemaker”. Mr. Coffee is a sentimental, longstanding construct within American culture. It’s an attainable item in price and placement, with a brand name that lends itself to “personality”.

From the beginning, Mr. Coffee offered a memorable, recognizable image. The products are more than obviously coffee-related; therefore consumer recall and recognition are very easily attained. In addition, the brand takes on a human image with the use of the personified title “Mr.”. The creation of the personality brings a sense of credibility and a deeper intrinsic value to the brand (Keller, 2007). This allows the company to shed a corporate image. “He’s” clear and straightforward. He’s a coffee maker—he’s Mr. Coffee. In addition, the personality of the name, the clever taglines, and spokespersons Joe DiMaggio and Toby Keith, give the brand associations of being “down-to-earth” and American. According to marketers and America alike, Mr. Coffee is a really likable guy. In the 1970s and 1980s he was “America’s favorite coffeemaker”. After much research, the company discovered that people personified the image of ‘Mr. Coffee’ (McMahon, 1991). Consequently, in the 1990s, Mr. Coffee introduced America to the whole “Coffee” clan, as advertising campaigns portrayed his parents, wife, and even art teacher. After the turn of the century, Mr. Coffee and country musician and spokesperson, Toby Keith, shared intimate “coffee moments” with customers. “Mr. Coffee’s” image was there for late night chats, early morning routines, and quiet, lazy afternoons. The personality and likeability elements allowed Mr. Coffee to become more than a faceless, nameless appliance company.

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With its origins as a coffee maker, the company concentrated on that single task for a number of years. However, in the 1990s, marketers asked, “What will he think of next?” With this campaign, Mr. Coffee introduced “his” new sidekick in the beverage line-up, Mrs. Tea. The company was able to take the personality it had created in so many households and apply that equity and image to a tea maker. Today, espresso and frappe machines also bear the “Coffee” name and image proudly.

In recent years, Mr. Coffee’s likeability has taken a back seat to innovative, luxury makers like Cuisinart, Keurig, and Tassimo. But the brand’s adaptability has remained flexible in that the simple logo and name have well-stood the test of time. However, for many audiences the history of Mr. Coffee seems to cause an “outdated” feel to the brand. Competitors’ machines now boast exotic, foreign names lending a false sense of credibility to brewing capabilities. The image of Mr. Coffee, like Beaver Cleaver, might seem outdated to some younger audiences. This outdated image impacts consumers’ trust in the products competitive attributes. Below is a perceptual map (Figure 1-1) demonstrating Mr. Coffee’s image in quality and affordability against its three closest rivals. While Mr. Coffee continues to offer an image of affordability, the company subsequently holds an image of inferior quality. The map demonstrates a direct correlation between the concepts of price and affordability. Ideally, Mr. Coffee brand should rest higher right with the public perception of high quality, affordable products. Figure 1-1 Perceptual Map Thomas, B. (2010, May). Coffee leader perceptions. Perceptual Map. Retrieved May 5, 2010 through primary research.

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Protectability of the Mr. Coffee name is strong. The company is well prepared in terms of trademark and legal affairs. Equally, the image and reputation of Mr. Coffee is rooted in the brand and vigorously watched for unauthorized usage. The personified image of Mr. Coffee is the competitive edge of the product. Consumers identify Mr. Coffee with certain American heroes, as well as with quality coffee machines. Mr. Coffee’s image has been seen in popular movies and television shows overtime, demonstrating its widespread brand awareness.

Foremost, Mr.Coffee strives to directly link its business with coffee, simply through name. Secondly, Mr. Coffee strives to associate the brand to human characteristics by the semantic device of personification. Mr. Coffee “humanizes” the nonhuman similar to household brands such as Betty Crocker, Jolly Green Giant, and Keebler elves (Keller, 2007). Furthermore, this personification brings consumer’s closer to Mr. Coffee products than other kitchen appliance brands like Mr. Coffee’s high-end rivals (Coffee-shop, 2009). This has allowed Mr. Coffee to find success through a deeper intrinsic image, even when the company’s image of quality and affordability fall short (Figure 1-1).

Support Programs

In 2000, Mr. Coffee went through a much needed facelift to reposition the brand and redesign the products. Many machines went from the white plastic designs to stainless steel, professional, stylish looking products (New King, 2008). With this, Mr. Coffee was able to proudly position its products alongside industry leaders such as Cuisinart. The Mr. Coffee brand wanted to bring attention to their quality products and stand out “in a good way” next to higher-end competitors in stores like JC Penney and Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Mr. Coffee has always highly supported new products, like Mrs. Tea, with millions of dollars invested in integrated campaigns. However, for over fifteen years the brand relied heavily on Joe DiMaggio and surrounding advertising campaigns to support the product. In recent years, Mr. Coffee has stepped to the social media arena. With Mr. Coffee Frappe, the company entered Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and Youtube in a big way. Until 2009, Mr. Coffee had not enlisted these devices to promote its products. In a branding decision, Mr. Coffee marketers chose to create an account for Mr. Coffee Frappe instead of the parent brand “Mr. Coffee”. The Mr. Coffee so many people know from the 1970s has not joined the bandwagon and continues to be absent in those arenas. Secondly, many Mr. Coffee competitors are able to be purchased on Amazon.com and through a multitude of retailers. Companies like Cuisinart and Bunn offer consumers the option to purchase from their web site (as does Mr. Coffee) or to find the nearest retailer. By giving consumers this option, Cuisinart allows itself to be more accessible to interested potential purchasers. In addition, retailers like JC Penney offer a third the number of Mr. Coffee products (from their web site) compared to what they offer of competitors’ brands JCPenney, 2010). Oppositely, Mr. Coffee’s owner, the Jarden Corporation, is one of the largest suppliers to stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Because of Mr. Coffee’s pervasive placement in these superstores, many more Americans have access to the brand in terms of awareness and purchasing. This is

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most likely one of the causes of Mr. Coffee’s placement as ‘more affordable’ on the above perceptual map. Mr. Coffee prices, in fact, are more affordable than nearly all competition, as Figure 1-2 below displays (Coffeemakers Chart, 2009). Even innovative Mr. Coffee products like what Good Housekeeping calls the “dream machine” of frappe makers is offered at a fraction of the price of competitors’ machines (Great, 2008). Figure 1-2 Performance and Price Comparison

(2009) Coffeemakers. Chart. Consumer Reports. 74(1), 44. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from Academic Search Premier database.

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Competitive Environment When viewing the competitive set, Mr. Coffee sees room for growth and development in the specialty drink niche. In the above chart (Figure1-2) Mr. Coffee is listed at number seven for best “8 to 12 Cup Carafe Models”. The study tested coffeemakers in areas of price, brew performance, convenience, carafe handling, programmability, brew strength control, and thermal capabilities. Though Mr. Coffee was listed as a “Consumer Report Best Buy” improvements can be made in both Mr. Coffee’s carafe handling capabilities and convenience features (Coffeemakers Chart, 2009). However, Mr. Coffee brand is performing well enough to currently reside in 37 million households (Mr. Coffee Coffee, 2010). Mr. Coffee continues to be the provider of affordable quality machines for the masses because of its placement and competitive price. Unlike Bunn and Cuisinart, Mr. Coffee is not known for its incredible brewing capabilities, even though it was scored the same in ‘brew performance’ as Cuisinart (Figure 1-2). The brand is also not known for speed or even design. The brand is known mostly by its longevity and affordability. In the competitive landscape, Mr. Coffee can reach out to the more sophisticated coffee drinker on claims of brewing ability as the company’s offering of espresso and single-serve machines hit the line-up. Mr. Coffee plans to continue its new look of the early 2000s. The age-old product of the baby boomers generation needs to appeal to the majority of consumers buying these products today, which is now a much younger audience—surprisingly young, as according to the nutrition report by the Food and Drug Administration one in every four teenagers claims to consume coffee on a daily basis (Mr. Coffee Coffee, 2010). While teenagers are not the prime target, Mr. Coffee desires to seem as young and vibrant as Tassimo and as full of options as Kuerig. The credibility of America’s old friend “Mr. Coffee” is still widely prevalent. However, now Mr. Coffee brand’s credibility needs to endeavor to meet the needs of an audience calling for more personalization and relevance—and finding it in Mr. Coffee’s rivals.

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Brand Exploratory Products

As an American brand for nearly forty years, Mr. Coffee brand is easily recognizable as a household name associated with coffee brewing. Brand awareness is not a battle the company is fighting—yet a brand image problem does exist. Consumers’ perceptions of Mr. Coffee’s product offerings are based on their accessibility, experience, and word-of-mouth associations with the product. Overall, Mr. Coffee is a strong brand in highly trafficked stores like Wal-Mart and Target. In addition, its placement at the top of the coffeemaker industry for many years speaks to the public’s overall awareness of the brand and its line of products.

The identifiable nature of Mr. Coffee is a strong component of the products’ successes. Consumers can easily put Mr. Coffee’s products together in a line-up do to the brand’s recognizable name, simple logo, and standard design. Consumers can also easily see how filters, coffee beans, coffeemakers, and tea makers combine to make a complete and professional line. Mr. Coffee’s commitment to relevant extensions has translated to consumer’s perceptions of the brand’s efficiency. This “complete” line, along with the company’s name, inspires a sense of professionalism and credibility in Mr. Coffee. It is the coffee equivalent of being “Dr. Product X”. The brand says to consumers, “I don’t just make coffee… it’s my last name”.

Finally, Mr. Coffee products are viewed as an affordable option to many coffee drinkers. Of the top ten coffeemakers listed in Figure 1-2, Mr. Coffee is one of the only two machine under fifty dollars (Coffeemakers Chart, 2009). Survey results in Figure 1-3 demonstrate that when asked about Mr. Coffee’s image 50% of respondents felt the brand was known for affordability (Perley Week 5 Table, 2010). The perceptual map and surveying in Figure 1-1 also displays Mr. Coffee’s connection to affordability.

In addition, consumers perceive this brand to be of “good value” and satisfactory quality. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents noted Mr. Coffee was known for ‘high quality’ products and 33% associated the brand with ‘good value’. The ‘affordability’ characteristic of the brand’s entire product line makes it available and relevant to average consumers, whereas other brands offer specialty brewers at higher-than-normally attainable prices. These average consumers feel a sense of ‘value’ for Mr. Coffee products because they perceive the products have ‘high quality’ and ‘affordability’ (Perley Week 5 Table, 2010). This is reflected in Mr. Coffee’s seventh place rating and low price in Figure 1-2 showcasing the best coffeemakers (Coffeemakers Chart, 2009).

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Figure 1-3 Survey Results

Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Table. Week 5 Discussion Board. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu.

Mr. Coffee Image Survey Results

Characteristic Response 1 Response 2 Response 3 Response 4 Response 5 Response 6 #age Positive Image X X 33 Negative Image

X X X 50

Mixed Image X 17 Low Quality X X 33 High Quality X X X X 67 Good Value X X 33 Affordable X X X 50 Dated X X X 50

Brand Elements/ Associations

As many articles and survey respondents have stated, Mr. Coffee is a classic, age-old brand. Aside from images like quality, affordability, and value, all stemming from product usage, Mr. Coffee’s long-standing Americana associations is at the forefront of the public’s brand perception. This ‘classic’ image provides both good and bad associations to the brand. Some survey respondents consider the brand to be “an age old product” that has “classic appeal, like it has withstood the test of time”. However, 50% of respondents consider the brand to seem ‘dated’ (Perley Week 5 Table, 2010). The brand has taken on a stagnant image in an industry full of innovative and interactive brands. Many companies have found themselves falling into this slump as the company’s brand ages. Companies like Old Spice and Campbell’s Soup have both found ways to revitalize their images and reach out to younger or niche audiences (Perley Week 7, 2010). Consumers associate foreign and emerging brands to be the most widely coveted. Trends happen across all industries and cause ‘classic’ and ‘dated’ brands like Mr. Coffee to seem less desirable. Due to this public perception, Mr. Coffee is seen as a brand in need of revitalization, even after their early 2000s facelift. The Toby Keith “coffee moments” campaign, in theory, should have created much resonance with consumers as 86% of survey respondents view coffee as an experience-oriented purchase. However, no responses pointed to memory or knowledge of this campaign (Perley Week 5, 2010).

Consumers often associate professional quality and “top-of-the-line” attributes to competitors, Bunn and Cuisinart. Unlike these competitors, Mr. Coffee appears as the “down-home” choice. Mr. Coffee is seen as affordable and for the masses. In addition, the personality of the name, the clever taglines, and spokespersons Joe DiMaggio and Toby Keith, give the brand associations of

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being “down-to-earth” and American, which is mostly positive in the current economic situation. However, 50% of survey respondents had a negative image of the brand and another 17% had mixed emotions (Perley Week 5 Table, 2010).

On a high note, Mr. Coffee products are seen as “easy to use and durable” (Perley Week 5, 2010). Mr. Coffee also offers a very personal feel for consumers, as many remember their parents brewing with Mr. Coffee machines. In addition, the name transforms the image of a regular coffee maker into a part of the family kitchen (McMahon, 1991).

Marketing Support Perceptions

With the campaign based around spokesperson Toby Keith, Mr. Coffee launched the concept of the “coffee moment”. The company attempted to create an emotional appeal to coffee, and then to itself. Eighty six percent of respondents do consider coffee-drinking to be an experience-oriented event in their lives—where quality is secondary to experience (Perley Week 5, 2010). There, consumers do feel like Mr. Coffee got it right. However, Mr. Coffee and Keith may not have reached the eyes and ears of a large or relevant enough audience.

Secondly, Mr. Coffee’s placement in stores has both good and bad qualities. The company’s prevalent location in more discount-oriented arenas provides for a “cheap” image, but the placement also continues to put Mr. Coffee’s name in front of millions of consumers. Figure 1-1 visually displays consumers’ perceptions that higher quality means higher prices. Subsequently, Mr. Coffee’s image as “more affordable” means lower quality.

Mr. Coffee’s support of their new Mr. Coffee Frappe maker through online social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and weblogs has been very positive for brand evangelists, allowing them to share good experiences and drink ideas. However, only 43% of respondents were interested in specialty coffeemakers and machines like the Frappe (Perley Week 5 Table 2, 2010). Mr. Coffee’s lack of presence for the parent brand in online networking alienates the remaining 57% of coffee drinkers. This lack of presence is oppositely affecting their image with this majority of consumers. Additionally, Mr. Coffee’s online absence furthers the outdated image as “the baby boomers’ coffee maker” (Perley Week 5, 2010).

Figure 1-4

Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Table 2. Week 5 Discussion Board. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu.

Specialty Coffee Machines and Single Serve Machines

Interested in specialty coffee and single serve makers

43%

No interested in specialty coffee and single serve makers

57%

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Competitive Environment

In the eyes of consumers, Mr. Coffee was late to the scene of personalization and customization in the coffee industry. The brand’s image of stagnancy is clearer when placed in the back drop of the competitive environment. While many Mr. Coffee coffee-drinkers choose to continue drinking out of their standard 12 cup coffee makers and bypassing the single serve and frappe machines, over 40% of consumers do look for brands that offer more options (Perley Week 5 Table 2, 2010). The company’s slowness to act on innovation has furthered its “dated” perception. In addition, Mr. Coffee’s late entrance into the online arena places it behind more interactive brands like Cuisinart and Keurig. Competitively, the company’s bottom-line pricing furthers the “cheap” image of the parent brand, as seen in the perceptual map. The combination of the ‘dated’ product designs until year 2000 and classic spokesperson advertising falls short at capturing the attention of a younger target audience. Mr. Coffee is now in a time period where many consumers who are purchasing these items and machines look for and desire luxury, high-end (looking and/or priced) items (Baby, 2009). Mr. Coffee needs to overcome the visual image many of these young consumers have of their parents’ white plastic, unattractive Mr. Coffee appliances. Positively, Mr. Coffee is approaching a time where consumers are demanding, not simply appreciating, credibility—a quality many consumers associate with the brand. Even fashion brands like Chic and Jordache from the 1970s and 1980s are harnessing previously gained credibility and finding ways resurface and revitalizing their image (Anderson, 2002).

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Recommendations Summary

When Mr. Coffee brand redesigned their product line in 2000 to better meet the aesthetic desires of consumers, the brand did not fully act on the opportunity to showcase this redesign to the world. Mr. Coffee brand’s image is one of “time-tested, classic” appeal, but it is also an image that carries a “dated” and parental feeling. Also, Mr. Coffee has created campaigns that have not resonated with a younger target audience. Generation X and Y audiences are furnishing apartments, homes, buying wedding presents, and entering the workforce. Mr. Coffee needs to explore and enter the arenas the target audience already and continually finds themselves, such as online sites and networks. By creating a younger image for Mr. Coffee to better represent his place in society today and reintroducing the redesigned line of products, the company can regain its image of quality over affordability. The strategies and tactics discussed would allow Mr. Coffee to regain the “facelift” opportunity through an integrated marketing campaign targeted to a younger audience. Through these efforts, Mr. Coffee will possess an image of modernized design and reassert its image of quality, value, and innovation. Strategies and Tactics A. Strategy 1: Recreate visual imagery associated with the brand to reposition as quality-

driven rather than affordability-driven.

Tactic 1- Mr. Coffee should create an updated logo, better combining 2000 facelift concept of modern design and quality products with memorable name, Mr. Coffee. In essence, the brand needs to work to make Mr. Coffee feel and look ‘young’ again. Due to the personified essence of the brand, Mr. Coffee should have developed “a new face” for brand not just the products. Tactic 2- The brand must redesign packaging to reflect new image and more modern designs. Tactic 3- Develop television and print advertising campaign showcasing “the new face of Mr. Coffee”. The ads should be created as part of an integrated campaign to reassert Mr. Coffee’s product’s quality and value. Tactic 4- Mr. Coffee should enhance in-store or sales presentation through signage reminding the public of “the new face of Mr. Coffee”.

B. Strategy 2: Introduce an image of “Mr. Coffee” to update brand.

Tactic 1: Develop image and personality for “Mr. Coffee, The Man”. Possibilities could also include using multiple people as “the many faces” of “Mr. Coffee”, such as the businessman, the stay-at-home father, the college student, the barista, the man always-on-the-go—all are “Mr. Coffees.”

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Tactic 2: Use an image/images to reflect the age of the new target audience (20-35 year-olds)

C. Strategy 3: Actively target younger audience of 20-35 year-olds with updated and quality

image.

Tactic 1-Place print advertisements in age-appropriate magazines, such as Real Simple, Allure, Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, GQ, Maxim, and Men’s Journal.

Tactic 2-Engage target audience through social media initiatives on Facebook and through Mr. Coffee web site. Activities should promote interaction and brand relationship building. Mr. Coffee could offer product giveaways on machines or even just filters.

Tactic 3-Sponsor appropriate events for age-group, such as a “Mr. Coffee Station” at major universities’ student unions or libraries during finals week. Another event could take the form of a “Mr. Coffee Comes to Your Office Tour” inviting consumers to enter their office as the winner of a “Mr. Coffee” visit and free machine. Tactic 4- Place television advertising on age-appropriate programming in prime-time hours in both the evening and morning slots. Introduce “Mr. Coffee” the “man” or “men”. Examples of targeted programming could be Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, House, and Glee.

D. Strategy 4: Develop and maintain active presence on specific online media. Tactic 1- Develop a “Mr. Coffee” page with new integrated “face” campaign imagery. This

should take the place of the Mr. Coffee Frappe Facebook page. Events, promotions, new products, and beverage recipes should be continually updated.

Tactic 2- Develop Twitter account mimicking the postings of the Facebook account.

Include daily drink recipes and information on coffee (health effects, coffee quotes, and interesting facts).

Tactic 3- Develop YouTube Channel with new advertising campaign and informational

videos about Mr. Coffee products. Examples could be “how-to” instructional videos and special frappe beverage videos.

E. Strategy 5: Integrate interactivity into web site and new image campaign

Tactic 1- Allow visitors to the site to “get to know” Mr. Coffee by creating a cozier environment in which to share “coffee moments” and suggestions. This environment should include a discussion board with full-time personnel to interact with the site-visitors.

Tactic 2- Create a weblog for “Mr. Coffee” written by a company executive, CEO, or

employee.

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F. Strategy 6: Transition individual branding into an integrated and cohesive campaign for Mr. Coffee products.

Tactic 1- Gradually phase out individually branded Mr. Coffee Frappe by replacing this

individual product social media campaign with a campaign for the larger Mr. Coffee brand. Tactic 2- The “coffee moments” campaign should phase into a “Mr. Coffee moments”

campaign to tie into the “new face/faces of Mr. Coffee” or the campaign should be completely discontinued.

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References

(2003, October 15). Country music superstar Toby Keith takes a coffee break with Mr. Coffee brand. Country Music. BusinessWire. Retrieved on April 18, 2010, from http://countrymusic.about.com/library/bltobykeithmrcoffee.htm.

(2008). Great coffeemakers. Good Housekeeping, 247(3), 115. Retrieved on April 17, 2010,

from Academic Search Complete database. (2009). Coffee-Shop espresso at home. Good Housekeeping, 249(3), 120. Retrieved on April 16,

2010, from Academic Search Complete database. (2009) Coffeemakers. Consumer Reports. 74(1), 43-45. Retrieved on April 16, 2010, from

Academic Search Complete database. (2009) Coffeemakers. Chart. Consumer Reports. 74(1), 44. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from

Academic Search Premier database. “About us”. Mr. Coffee (2010). Retrieved on April 14, 2010, from

http://www.mrcoffee.com/AboutUs.aspx. Anderson, K. (2002, May 10). Retro names are back in style. M and A. Daily Deal (New York).

Retrieved on May 2, 2010, from Lexis Nexis Academic Database. Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (consumer patterns, behaviors, lifestyles and demographics):

how generations are changing the face of consumer goods market. (2009, March 10). Business Wire. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from Lexis-Nexis Academic database.

Cannedy, D. (1998, March 3). Three acquisitions by Sunbeam in separate deals. The New York

Times. Retrieved on April 24, 2010 from Lexis Nexis Academic Database.

Keller, K.L. (2007) Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

McMahon, M. (1991, December 2). Mr. Coffee meets the 90s. ADWEEK. Retrieved on April 24, 2010, from Lexis Nexis Academic Database.

Mr. Coffee Coffee. (2010). Who we are. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from http://www.mrcoffeecoffee.com. O’Neil, S. (2003, July). The daily grind. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Retrieved on April 24,

2010, from Lexis Nexis Academic Database. Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Week 5 Discussion

Board. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu.

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Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Table. Week 5

Discussion Board. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu

Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Table 2. Week 5 Discussion Board. Retrieved April 16, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu.

Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University (2010). Week 7 Discussion

Board. Retrieved May 2, 2010, from the WVU eCampus Web site: https://ecampus.wvu.edu.

Thomas, B. (2010, May). Coffee leader perceptions. Perceptual Map. Retrieved May 5, 2010

through primary research. Cover Photo Pearberry. History of Coffee. Retrieved on May 16, 2010, from http://static.gocoffeego.com/images/history_of_coffee/1900-18.jpg