Starbucks' most recent marketing campaign is simply brilliant.

In case you haven't seen it, it promotes their new VIA instant coffee by challenging viewers to taste the difference between VIA and a cup of brewed Starbucks.  If you went into any Starbucks store during the 4 day promotion period, you could take the taste test and get a free cup of Starbucks brewed coffee.

On its face, this would appear to undermine their store business.  After all, if you can get Starbucks taste with instant coffee at home, why buy the (more expensive, less convenient) brewed coffee at the store?  Many industry professionals scratched their heads at this campaign, thinking that it was brand and margin cannibalism at its best.

There is a trick, however.  You CAN tell the difference.  VIA is good, better than any other instant coffee, but not as good as Starbucks brewed.

The campaign achieved two actual objectives, NEITHER of which was to have you conclude that VIA was as good as Starbucks brewed coffee.

1. It got people back into their stores, reawakening old consumption behaviors that changed with the sudden economic downturn.  (High-priced coffee was a particular focus of newspaper articles on saving money.)
   
   
2. It replaced customers' current home-brewed coffee with VIA, a high-margin, coffee that is perceived as great tasting AND more convenient because it is instant.  This product-line extension will significantly expand their home market share.

The campaign was cleverly conceived as the taste test challenge.  Motivations to go to the store include:

• to test a value proposition in a down economy (I love Starbucks, but it is expensive.  Maybe VIA will give me the best of taste and price)
• to take a CHALLENGE!  (I bet I can taste the difference)
• to gain bragging rights (I DID taste the difference)
• curiosity (Did they really manage to do it?)
  

The campaign was only dangerous if VIA was as good as Starbucks brewed coffee, which they knew it wasn't.  

No matter what, it leaves the customer feeling like an elite coffee drinker because they COULD taste the difference; in essence, the customer WINS the challenge, which was Starbucks' objective all along.

This campaign may well cause people to return to stores (by reinforcing an old behavior) AND replace their home coffee with VIA.

A creative, brilliant, clever campaign.

Also good reminder that your apparent goal need not be your ultimate objective.