One of the week’s hottest news was about Starbucks and their rebranding strategy. Everyone is buzzing about the fact that the company is dropping the name (and all other words) from its logo. But is it really that important?
Present in a fourth of the worlds countries, Starbucks is widely recognised for their unique features, such as the cup sizes : Venti, Grande and Tall (how many of us have asked for a ‘large latte’ only to get the tall version?). By now, most people can recognise the Starbucks Siren and cups without having the need for words.
Let me give you a example: when the first romanian Starbucks was opened as late as 2007, the public’s response was amazing. Because of the power of WOM (word of mouth) adevertising – mainly friends who traveled abroad, everyone already knew about the company, brand and quality of the coffee. After 3 years had passed Starbucks had opened 8 coffee shops in Romania and are now continuing to grow.
The main reason Starbucks has gone ahead with the rebranding is because they’re thinking about expanding their business. It’s the same thing they did in 1980′s when expresso coffee was introduced into the menu and they redid the logo depicting the Siren but removing the words ‘tea’ and ‘spices’ from the cup and changing its colour from brown to green. Starbucks, then, went to the ‘Coffee’ logo, only to change it again to ‘Fresh Roasted Coffee’. The new design features only the circle cropped image of the Siren, which allows Starbucks to move into uncharted teritories and explore other business ventures as this new image unlimits its movement on the marketplace.
What do you think about Starbucks’ rebranding?
danielaoana
