Lady Gaga's Marketing Mania

Lady Gaga is all over the place - from her music to signing million dollar marketing campaigns. This month she signed deals with some very successful companies - both Google and Starbucks. That makes her a must see where she'll be next kind of gal.

Maybe it's just that Google and Gaga run of the tongue easily. She just signed a 10 million dollar partnership with Google Chrome to be the "face" of the new laptop line coming out this summer starting June 15. Gaga is already the star of the Google Chrome web browser commercial. Watch the video here.

Also, starting this month, the world's largest coffee shop chain will partner with the megastar for a large-scale online promotional campaign. The plan is to have Lady Gaga will engage with fans in a scavenger hunt across Starbucks' numerous digital proprieties, such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. The campaign will run through June 3, and coincides with the release of Gaga's new album, "Born This Way." Scavenger hunt participants can collect prizes, stream the new album, download new songs and watch exclusive videos from the in-store digital networks. Another brilliant PR campaign both both businesses.

So, what's with everyone wanting to be tied to her? The fact is Lady Gaga is possibly the most in-demand artist currently worldwide. This is for several reasons: She's got an army of fans, she knows how to attract attention, She's reportedly engaged in the deals that carry her name, and she's not shy about working with anyone. Another reason, her label-Interscope-shares in the revenue gained from such partnerships through a 360 deal with Lady Gaga. This makes perfect sense as to why everyone wants a piece of her. Don't be surprised to see her popping up a lot more throughout 2011.

With New Design, McDonald's Aims to Be the New Starbucks

The fast-food chain is undertaking gradual transformation to be less clownish, more coffee shop.

By 2015 McDonald's isn't going to look like the McDonald's you're use to. It'll look like Starbucks, or at least the $1 billion plan. In a front-page story on Monday's USA Today, the 56-year-old fast food chain's stores are undergoing the most massive renovations in their history.

The revamped McDonald's looks like something like this: wooden tables, faux leather chairs, muted colors, and nothing like the famously bright red-and-yellow arches, and the stores' durable but not very comfortable fiberglass tables and steel chairs. Even the restaurants' exteriors are getting earthier tones.

It seems that McDonald's is taking cues from its fast-rising competitor Starbucks, which now ranks No. 3 behind McDonald's and Subway in U.S. sales for chain restaurants.

Starbucks' popularity is partially due to the fact that customers feel comfortable there. They can bring their laptops, sign onto free Wi-Fi and spend an afternoon there, something that just seems weird at McDonald's. Most people go their to get their meal quickly, and without leaving their car.

But the new stores might change that. According to USA Today, the restaurant is redesigning some 800 locations this year and plans to redesign a majority of the franchise's 14,000 stores by 2015. In the process, they might just reinvent the idea of fast food.

New Idea Happening at Starbucks

To set itself apart in the coffee business, Starbucks is launching a new marketing tactic. The company is inviting customers to enjoy premium web content for free while dining in one of their coffeehouses. Starbucks just introduced it's new Digital Network in partnership with Yahoo!.

The idea is that Starbucks will pick up the tab for access to certain websites, so that customer's don't have to. By bringing your wireless computer in while you sip, you can have exclusive access to:

• Breaking news from subscription editions to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
• Listening to popular music, and downloading exclusive iTunes Tracks for free.
• To local Zagat reviews and ratings.

What do you think? I think it's a great idea and will give Starbucks an edge over other coffeehouses. To learn more about the company's idea check it out here: http://promo.yahoo.com/starbucks/

Starbucks Expands its Seattle's Best Brand to Compete

Starbucks is revamping its Seattle's Best brand by expanding its availability through franchises and a big expansion at other retailers.

The coffee giant is facing increased competition as lower-priced rivals such as: some gas stations like Holiday or Super America and restaurant McDonald's, have copied fancy coffee shop coffees Starbucks made popular, and have priced them significantly lower.

Starbucks just announced that it will increase its availability of Seattle's Best Coffee in 300 AMC Theaters nationwide beginning in July. Seattle's Best will also be offered in Burger Kings across the country by September.

You may have already seen other companies serving Seattle's Best, including Alaska Airlines, Borders bookstores and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

Starbucks and Seattle's Best have been a pair since in 2003.

I think this is a good idea for Starbucks. It would be hard for the Starbucks brand to compete against a company McDonald's, since it would require them to completely change their brand identity to meet those consumers who are buying coffee based on cheaper price. Actually, it would probably hurt Starbucks more if they did do this. However, I believe the Seattle's Best brand can be taken anywhere and can compete against the cheaper priced rivals in the coffee market.