Anyone who knows me generally appreciates… ahem… tolerates my periodic rants. These aren’t exactly crazy-man things but are more controlled meltdowns over something that strikes me as delusional or out of touch. Am I about to talk politics? Hell, no! Although there is a lot to unpack there. I’m going to talk about instant coffee. That’s right, instant coffee. (I expect my friend Tom will be calling shortly after this is posted.)

We live in a world that isn’t appreciated. I made this argument to people who are viewing the world through their “everything sucks” glasses. No, everything far from sucks. We have better cars, nicer homes, more comfort, less boredom, less expensive clothing and we live longer than ever before. 

This brings us to standards and coffee. When you don’t appreciate things, you will waste things because they’re not hitting that magical high note. It may be a job, a relationship or a simple cup of coffee. 

Having grown up in a less abundant era led me to appreciate instant coffee. I actually cut my coffee-drinking teeth on Postum, a coffee-alternative. Did you know that an ad for Postum is the “earliest known use of the word instant to refer to a processed food?” That’s from Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postum)

This wasn’t all I was drinking on my coffee journey. There were lots of instant coffees in our house and grandma’s, from the decaf brand Sanka to Taster’s Choice, Nescafe, Maxwell House (red label, natch), Brim (“fill it to the rim with Brim”), Yuban, Sunrise, Hills Brothers, oh the list goes on. A teaspoon of instant coffee, a teaspoon of sugar (or, my dad’s preference, a ½ grain saccharine tablet), enough boiling water from the kettle, and a splash of milk gave you a decent hot drink. It wasn’t the percolator coffee from breakfast, but a midday or early evening cup of instant usually hit the spot.

I never thought about comparing instant coffee to brewed coffee, and when people do, I become frustrated by the lack of logic. To me, these are different things. But today, I started reading an article in the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-instant-coffee/], and felt the rant build. What the hell?! 

The review has the following lead: “There’s a reason instant coffee gets such a bad rap: It usually tastes terrible.” It goes on to recommend such things as Sightglass Instant La Magdalena Tolima ($4 per serving), Blue Bottle Craft Instant Espresso ($2 or $3, depending on how you buy it) and Swift Coffee Mainstay ($2 per serving; although I respect that the brand is drafting a bit off that popular singer’s name). I have decided to resist the urge to find out what “tolima” is because it sounds like medicine. 

A bad thesis – “instant should be just like brewed” — leads to a conclusion filled with rot and a bad review. The problem is that the young writers behind this piece obviously grew up with an ideal in their mind that the world would never live up to. Heck, in a Dick Van Dyke Show exchange, Rob and Laura Petrie had an exchange that went like this: “Instant coffee.” “Wonderful world we live in.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uMPVDJhFug ] Instant coffee isn’t brewed coffee or espresso. Yeah, duh, great analysis! Gimme a break. 

That’s quite a rant, but I’m coming to the point. And the point comes with building a narrative, something we at Power Pair Marketing specialize in. A lot of the perception problem with instant coffee historically begins with the point that it never differentiated itself from brewed coffee. Instead, its marketing and propaganda pitted it directly against fresh brewed coffee. “All over the world, the word for great coffee flavor is Nescafe,” claims a vintage ad. (I especially like the European guy in a beret taking a big sip of Nescafe because, well, Europeans in berets are known to choose American instant coffee over espresso. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5u2Hz-RUKA) Or Vivian Vance hawking Maxwell House by saying, “When you make it fresh, every cup tastes fresh like your first cup in the morning.” (I love Vivian Vance, but who could see Ethel Mertz sitting down to anything other than a cup poured from the omnipresent coffeepot on the stovetop in Lucy Ricardo’s kitchen? (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=422211495080730) 

The expectation created is that instant coffee is the same. It’s not. And this is the point and the thing that’s worth noting. Do not create expectations that you can’t meet and become a source of ridicule. “My firm of two partners, Power Pair Marketing, is the best because we are the same as the largest marketing companies in the world. Just add water.” No, that’s nonsense. I wouldn’t make this claim, and neither would Jeff. Sure, we’re clever and capable, but we aren’t a massive company with incredibly deep resources and a cast of thousands supporting us. We are honest, accurate and we right-size our expectations to our capabilities. 

When you’re considering your marketing plan, this is important. A bit of exaggeration is fine: “Our drinkers tell us that our instant coffee tastes better than competing brands.” That’s fair enough. Or “our coffee is wonderfully satisfying when you don’t have time to percolate a full pot.” Or “we save you money because you make only one cup at a time.” Or “The band REM recommends a glass of Nescafe and ice.” Each of those makes claims that are reasonable and would be difficult to disprove, especially the last one which is a song lyric. 

Power Pair Marketing works with clients to get the best message about that client out, building a brand that is durable and will stand up to challenge. Click the link below and contact us to learn how we can give your firm’s brand the distinction and differentiation that instant coffee never enjoyed.