What does "blended" actually mean?

The word "blended" seems to be the answer to the uncertainties that are spreading in view of the ever increasing number of communication channels and tools. Everything seems possible. It almost feels like when the word was first launched, when Starbucks liberated Americans from their Regular Coffees and us in Switzerland from Kafi-Crème and launched the first blended coffee varieties. Everything was possible when the coffee revolution began in the early nineties with one of the most sophisticated marketing and branding strategies in recent economic history. It was then that the word first appeared in German usage. Although initially frowned upon by Italophiles, Howard D. Schultz revolutionized coffee drinking worldwide.

It all came down to the right blend. The right blend. Not just for the coffee, but for the entire marketing strategy. No advertising, only internal communication. No compromises, but consistent implementation of the "Third place" strategy (Home. Work. Starbucks.) made the brand the darling of investors. The rapid global growth then also led to a Starbucks being opened on almost every corner of a major city, and wicked tongues even claimed that the Seattle company would also open a Starbucks in an existing Starbucks just to keep the number of stores rising.

But what this global campaign has taught us, along with hundreds of different coffee-related products, is that the word "blended" or "blend" exudes a certain magic. And this is precisely what our industry is looking for right now.

Marketing mix was yesterday - today everything is blended

The translation into German, "Mischung", then became "Mix" thanks to Tom Dickson. Because his "Will it Blend" videos were clicked on over and over again in the agencies in the mid-noughties. In short, they went viral before the word was really known.

But anyone who talks about marketing mix in marketing today is looked at askance, as if he or she had just ordered a Kafi-Crème or put their iPhone in the blender. "Blended" is what it's called now, please! Blended learning, blended marketing, blended communications, blended identities, blended styles - the list can be extended at will and feels like one of those endless orders at Starbucks.

There are no limits to the imagination. Everything can be blended today. Art with fashion, for example. Louis Vuitton is currently engaged in a creative exchange with the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and her Pumpkins. For fashion purists, this used to be as unimaginable as a Pumpkin Spice Latte is for coffee purists. Watch lovers probably thought the same thing before the launch of the Kermit Edition. Dazzle TV series with watch brands? No way? Who knows!

So if you don't want to appear like Waldorf and Statler from the Muppet Show at meetings or simply don't want to serve cold coffee, you can talk about blended. But customers should not be blinded by the zeitgeist (German), because in the end it's what brings success that counts, whatever the mix. Not only in our industry.

* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.