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I’ve been noticing a trend lately in the comparison of iPhone apps, donations, and just about anything to lattes.
This bugs me a little (yes, I’m serious).
I’m not going on a rant but I thought I’d speak up for the other guys, in this case, baristas, latte drinkers, and huge corporations like Starbucks. Sometimes these comparisons are meant to belittle the fabulous specialty coffee drink and sometimes they’re not. This post from TechCrunch has a quote from Wolfram Alpha about their audaciously expensive iPhone app. They compare the price of their app to “12 lattes from Starbucks.”
I only use this example because it’s the most recent one I could find. They all pretty much have the same message: “Don’t buy a latte and you’ll have enough money for this product and you’ll stop complaining.” I get the part about saving money for something else, but sometimes they have this underlying idea that belittles the latte.
When I get a latte, I want to get caffeinated and/or be in a familiar atmosphere of a coffee shop. There’s something ritualistic and comforting about it. Does that make sense? Fine, I’ll pull out the buzzword — It has a specific “value” that cannot be substituted. For this reason, I don’t expect my latte to calculate the width and surface area of the moon. The Wolfram Alpha app would be much more efficient.
Before you ask me to give up my latte that I love so much, you should work at on telling a better story. Sharpie never told me to give up my latte in order to have enough money to buy their Sharpie pens. They just made a really great pen that has some brand power behind it. I can have both because I see value in both. I don’t want companies to act like financial advisors.
What if you were re-tiling your floor and I said, “If you give up lattes for a year, you’ll have enough money to pay me and I’ll re-tile the floor for you.” You might punch me.
Back up your product and show me why it has real value.
Make me feel like I need to have it instead of trying to trade me for something that has a different purpose.
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Comments
12.01.09
I got so excited when I saw someone sticking up for the latte! I know that there are some things I could afford if I didn't get fancy coffee. I have even gotten much better about maintaining the budget. But there's something about it that a normal cup of coffee just doesn't do.
12.01.09
Thanks for the post.
Isn't it interesting how "gourmet" coffee wasn't even on the radar a few years ago and is now perceived by many as a daily necessity. Sometimes I see price comparisons with lattes more as an attempt to trivialize $3-4 as one minor unit of spending. I agree with you, though, that this sort of marketing may often be presenting buyers instead with a trade-off.
A similar spending analogy that I believe is used successfully is when a shareware developer says something to the effect of "Thank me for my hard work, buy me a latte/beer." In that case, the intent is to increase the value of $4 by borrowing some of the physical and symbolic values of another product.
12.01.09
Emily, I was actually a little nervous writing the post because I envisioned a backlash. I just hear a lot of people complaining about latte prices and such. They kind of have a weird perception, especially in big cities. High prices of lattes aren't really anything that we can control, I think. I guess I wish I wasn't addicted to lattes or free wi-fi :)
Donovan, Thanks for the comment. I've seen the thing you're talking about with shareware developers a lot too and I can see how it makes sense!
12.02.09
I agree, you may make more impact if you throw in a latte instead of force someone to choose.
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