Brand Symbology: Naked Fat Mermaids, Starbucks, and not so stupid marketing.
Posted by KevinE at 5/15/2008 6:50 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
Howard Schultz is back, and proponents everywhere of business focus (like yours truly) are rejoicing.
Howard is the once and future king, ah, CEO of Starbucks. This is the man who, in an odd parallel to the McDonalds story, went from purveyer of coffee brewing equipment to builder of the enormous, inescapable chain that managed to market coffee as being worth $4 per cup (vs $0.40).
But Howard’s empire has languished since he left it.
So how do you communicate to your customer base that the king is back, and you’re going back to basics, focusing on them and the things that matter, such as great coffee?
(Tactically, the Starbucks chain is lowering the height of their machines so that baristas can see customers, they’re eliminating smelly bad sandwiches, they’re roasting coffee in stores again, they’re giving extra rewards to Starbucks card users, etc)
You change your flag – but not too much. Specifically, Starbucks changed its logo from its current genericized, cutsey, little-mermaid-esque icon back to the original, slightly funky, definitively topless and pudgy siren.
Still a green circle.
Still says “Starbucks Coffee” (which, with a little whiteout on the s’s, t, a, r, c, e’s, and edge of the B can be made to express morning pre-coffee sentiment).
Still some sort of female mythical sea creature in the middle (Starbucks started on the edge of Seattle’s Pike Place market, looking out at the Sound and the flying fish guys).
But with a small change – like changing the pattern of stars in the US Flag from a circle (original 13 colonies) to a square (modern form) – Howie has beautifully driven home what Starbucks is committed to doing. BACK TO BASICS!
Kudos, Mr Schultz. What a great, simple, powerful marketing tactic and rallying cry.
For the rest of us, there’s a lesson: respect for the brand means that when you do change it, it’s additive, not dilutitive. Quite a thought.
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blog.stupidmarketing.com is now also a podcast! Click on the "play" arrow...
Please buy my book. buynow.stupidmarketing.com -- and tell your friends
Howard is the once and future king, ah, CEO of Starbucks. This is the man who, in an odd parallel to the McDonalds story, went from purveyer of coffee brewing equipment to builder of the enormous, inescapable chain that managed to market coffee as being worth $4 per cup (vs $0.40).
But Howard’s empire has languished since he left it.
So how do you communicate to your customer base that the king is back, and you’re going back to basics, focusing on them and the things that matter, such as great coffee?
(Tactically, the Starbucks chain is lowering the height of their machines so that baristas can see customers, they’re eliminating smelly bad sandwiches, they’re roasting coffee in stores again, they’re giving extra rewards to Starbucks card users, etc)
You change your flag – but not too much. Specifically, Starbucks changed its logo from its current genericized, cutsey, little-mermaid-esque icon back to the original, slightly funky, definitively topless and pudgy siren.
Still a green circle.
Still says “Starbucks Coffee” (which, with a little whiteout on the s’s, t, a, r, c, e’s, and edge of the B can be made to express morning pre-coffee sentiment).
Still some sort of female mythical sea creature in the middle (Starbucks started on the edge of Seattle’s Pike Place market, looking out at the Sound and the flying fish guys).
But with a small change – like changing the pattern of stars in the US Flag from a circle (original 13 colonies) to a square (modern form) – Howie has beautifully driven home what Starbucks is committed to doing. BACK TO BASICS!
Kudos, Mr Schultz. What a great, simple, powerful marketing tactic and rallying cry.
For the rest of us, there’s a lesson: respect for the brand means that when you do change it, it’s additive, not dilutitive. Quite a thought.
----
blog.stupidmarketing.com is now also a podcast! Click on the "play" arrow...
Please buy my book. buynow.stupidmarketing.com -- and tell your friends
Download | Duration: 00:02:58
I don't understand the interest in Starbucks. So Howard is returning. Big deal. I still don't get paying $4 for coffee.
BB
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I must have missed out on this, but the podcast is cool. it just reminds of the cool entertaining and often very convincing voice we heard in the class
great work! Kevin
mayank
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