Consumer product marketing isn’t my thing, so don’t expect any great insights here, but I thought I’d post a quick note about a campaign I saw this morning on the streets of D.C.

Nescafe is firing back at Starbucks’ new instant coffee. Reps were handing out samples outside the metro this morning.

The package says “Nescafe, the smart choice” on one side. On the other are two opposing cups of coffee. One says “a lot of hype” on a mocked-up Starbucks cup; the other says “a lot of flavor” on a Nescafe cup. It looks somewhat like this web page.

The bottom of the package says “taste for yourself” and inside is a collection of various Nescafe versions of instant coffee.

I’ve tried them both (Starbucks and Nescafe), and I think they’re both good. The Starbucks version has that characteristic burnt, strong flavor, and the Nescafe version is milder.

All other things (like price) being equal, I’d pick one or the other based on what grabbed my fancy at the time. Sometimes I like that burnt, strong Starbucks flavor and sometimes I don’t.

Nescafe seems to be capitalizing on the down economy.

“Why pay extra for hype?”
“Get a lot of flavor for less.”
“It’s the smart choice.”

And that seems like smart marketing to me.