How Starbucks Nailed Product Marketing with the “Reserve Roastery”

Make a “Starbucks Run” to see all-star product marketing in action

On a recent trip to Seattle, I had the chance to see a top-notch example of product marketing in action. It wasn’t at a trade show or conference, or anywhere that I went in search of great marketing. This example found me…at Starbucks.

And it wasn’t at the Starbucks location you might think, their famous Seattle Pike Place original store where they started out. Nope, this was on the other side of town at Starbucks Reserve.

“Reserves” are the speciality Starbucks stores where they’ve done something totally different. Think Willy Wonka factory for coffee. Alcohol-infused coffees. Ice cream creations. Coffees — and coffee experiences — you can’t get anywhere else. And here, they’ve delivered on some of the essentials we talk about most in product marketing: compelling product demos, customer experiences with impact, clear positioning and storytelling of their “why,” and being shareable and memorable after the fact.

A lot’s been written about these stores in the press, (Forbes, Business Insider, & others) so my take here is…