Starbucks vs Dunkin' Donuts

Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts each offer various products - one thing that they're both known for is their coffee. 

While Dunkin' primarily markets its wide array of doughnuts, bagels, and muffins, it is widely known around the world for its great coffee. 

Starbucks is widely known for its coffee, while it has been expanding its market towards sweets, snacks, and sandwiches.

Both companies are very successful in the U.S., however, how do they fair in the global market?

Dunkin' Donuts has 3,100 stores in 30 countries outside of the U.S.

Starbucks has 21,000 stores in over 65 countries outside of the U.S.

Both Starbucks and Dunkin' have realized that their marketing requires changes depending on the country and culture they are operating in.

For example, in China, Starbucks offers a Chinese website, which still follows the Starbucks brand, and the same specialty drinks, but adds a Chinese element. For example, the colorful creme-filled pastries that cannot be found in America. 

Meanwhile, Dunkin' Donuts follows a very similar path. They have a Chinese website, which offers the same coffee drinks with a highlighted emphasis on hot tea and interestingly flavored donuts. 

They do well on this aspect, knowing that their "dry pork and seaweed" donuts would never sell in the States, but obviously must appeal to their Chinese customers. 

Both Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts do a fairly good job at global marketing. Starbucks is more widely known brand and has put the emphasis in growing globally, and therefore has been much more successful and widely accepted in over 65 countries around the world. 

Starbucks has an allure of sophistication, heightened Americanism, and relaxation. It provides a haven for its customers, especially in a country like China. It give its international customers the feeling of entering another world, another culture, another experience. Starbucks conveys these feelings even through their online website and I would say this is one of its main factors for its continued and growing success internationally. 

SAU vs. SWAU

I've decided to hit close to home for this comparison. 

Southern Adventist University or Southwestern Adventist University?

They have similar names, share the same core beliefs, and offer similar degrees.

Both have an online presence, but which University does it best?

Since the explosion of the internet and smart phones, companies in all walks of business have had to readjust their marketing strategies to continue staying relevant in our ever-changing technological world. This includes Universities.

After visiting SWAU's website both on my computer and smart phone, this is what I noticed:

1. Their mobile website is not specifically geared for mobile phones, it's the same layout as a desktop version. They have not modified their content to work with smaller screens and therefore make it more difficult to navigate by forcing the user to zoom in to be able to see links and choose links. 

2. They're using an outdated website layout to target technologically-savvy college students.

3. Specific links and informations are easy to find, both on the desktop and mobile versions, because they are all shown on the main homepage. There are less steps to find a specific action. 

Now, looking at the SAU's website, here is what I noticed:

1. Their mobile website is specifically geared for smart phones. It follows the same theme as the desktop version, but the University took the time to make it mobile-friendly. They have modified their content for small screens and users can appreciate that.

2. The layout of the website, both desktop and mobile, is fresh and modern. Their mobile page even shows the current weather. It's clean, and up-to-date with current website layouts.

3. Because of their modern layout, finding specific information is more difficult, especially on the mobile site. You must click on the "main menu" tab, which will then bring up the five main navigation tabs, and when one is clicked, then it'll show the specific links for specific actions.


Both Universities understand the importance of social networking, especially to college students, and include links to their main social media outlets on their home pages.

By looking at the home pages of both websites via desktop and mobile phone, I can see room for improvement on both ends. It'll be interesting to see improvements throughout both websites in the years to come. Will Southwestern take the time and money to update and modernize their website? Will Southern make their website more accessible and easier to navigate? 

Rock/Creek vs. REI

Rock/Creek was founded in my little hometown of Chattanooga, TN. It possesses a small, homey feel, and for 'Nooga natives, it's a right of passage.

Rock/Creek owns 4 brick and mortar locations throughout the Chattanooga area in addition to an exceptional e-commerce website that was voted 2009 Retailer of the Year for Online Business by Backpacker Magazine.

Their tangible stores are clean, organized, and exude the "outdoorsy yet sophisticated" feel that Chattanooga emanates. The Rock/Creek e-commerce website successfully provides the same experience.

Because it only services the Chattanooga, TN area, it is not as widely known as other outdoor outfitter's like REI. However, due to its online presence, it is now able to target a market beyond SE Tennessee.

Rock/Creek is geographically segmented towards the inhabitants of Chattanooga and its surrounding area. It also has a psychographic segmentation for consumers who are adventurous, and who actively enjoy the outdoors through various avenues.

It holds the competitive advantage in Chattanooga because of its roots in the area. Chattanooga is a "buy local" kind of city, that supports its local businesses as much as possible. Therefore, Rock/Creek has done rather well for itself.

Priceline vs. Hotwire

We all love a good deal, and that is precisely what Priceline aimed to offer when it started its company in 1998. 

Now, the makers of Priceline were smart. They saw a market no one had tapped into: online travel booking. And they booked it to success. 

Priceline held the market for a number of years, even through the steep plummet from 2001-2009. Hotwire, a worthy competitor jumped in the running in 2000. 

Both companies offer relatively the same products--discount flights, hotels, and rental cars. 

However, each company has taken a unique approach at branding themselves, differentiating their products in, well, different ways. 

When you go to Priceline.com, you see William Shatner and Kaley Cuoco. Most customers are sure to recognize at least one of them--Shatner is well known for his role as Captain Kirk in StarTrek and has been the face of Priceline since its early beginnings. Cuoco is well known to Millennials from her role as Penny in the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory. 

Priceline has created a whole story-line using these two characters. They've taken their customers beyond a simple online shopping experience, to shopping with the "Negotiator" and his newly revealed "secret" daughter. Purchasing a flight to San Fransisco suddenly becomes a humorous family affair. 

The website is fun, bright, easy to navigate, and follows the Negotiator's story all the way through to checkout. As a hotel search loads, Shatner appears in a silly "Negotiating" pose, promising to find the greatest hotel deals--and he usually does!

There is continuity and purpose in Priceline's marketing. They've created a brand presence that leaves targeted audiences unable to separate Captain Kirk and Penny from great online travel deals. 

Hotwire alternatively chooses to go a more professional route, creating a clean, straightforward approach for its customers. It does not have a clear brand presence besides the bright red dot in the logo. Honestly, it's not exciting or eye-catching. In fact, it's rather bland.  

Not only does the Hotwire home webpage have three "get the app" advertisements...on the same screen...

...it also slightly resembles a busy magazine advertisement page with cheesy photos of tourist attractions in different cities advertising its hotel deals. Displaying all the information necessary except the name of the hotels. 

What? Where are the hotel names you ask? Yes, that's right. Not there. One major differentiating factor between Priceline and Hotwire, is that when you book hotels through Hotwire, you don't know exactly what hotel you're booking with. That doesn't sit well with every customer, who will simply turn to another travel site that gives them the information they need. 

Perhaps this limited information offering is a marketing tactic for their customers to follow their Twitter banner quote:

While we're on the subject of social media, after minutes of scouring the Hotwire website (which is already a bad sign), there is no mention of links to their social media websites. However, they obviously do exist--as shown above. 

Whereas, Priceline has clear availability to their wide social media presence at the bottom of their homepage. 

In addition, Priceline's Twitter webpage follows their brand theme of blue accent colors and a banner photo of the "Negotiator" and his daughter.

It is also worth mentioning that Priceline has 4x the amount of followers as Hotwire. Priceline also tweets relative and interactive links and photos. For example, they play a continuous game of "Can  you guess where he's staying?"

Meanwhile, Hotwire fails to provide new content on their feed, instead, simply retweeting "praise tweets" from followers/customers. Which is not bad. But also not good enough. 

To me, Priceline seems like the clear winner in accomplishing great e-marketing and brand presence. Both offer great deals in unique ways and Hotwire may very-well win in respect to value--but loses because of its poor marketing strategy. Understandably, Hotwire wants to differentiate itself from its competitors, however, there is a clear reason for why Priceline is the leader in online travel. Hotwire would do well to reflect on its brand and find a more definite direction, target audience, and purpose to attract customers to its products.