Pret’s subscription and underdog mentalities: Your Marketing Week
At the end of every week, we look at the key stories, offering our view on what they mean for you and the industry. From Pret scrapping its “too good to be true” subscription offer to recruiters warning marketers not to be taken advantage of, it’s been a busy week. Here is my take.
It’s how you say it
Having been praised heavily for its communications around the price increase of its coffee subscription in 2022, it’s perhaps surprising that Pret has got it so spectacularly wrong this time around.
The coffee chain is changing its offer. Instead of getting up to five barista-made drinks and a 10% discount on everything else for £30 a month, Pret is now asking subscribers to pay £10 a month to access a 50% discount on drinks alone.
The communication around the change in offer is clear enough, but the justification for doing so is almost accusatory. An email informing subscribers of the change suggested the previous offer was almost “too good to be true”, but rather than feeling disappointed they should be thankful for the “significant savings” they have enjoyed.
