Where Starbucks went wrong

Posted Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 9:59 pm by Dave Moyer

Okay, the title may be a bit misleading. I’m not talking about the great history of the coffee giant and the flaws in their corporation. I’m talking about the miniscule things that matter to me, and very few other people I know. The logo. If you’re not a Starbucksian like me, I’ll clue you in: Starbucks recently released a new brew of coffee, called Pike Place Roast. Along with the release, they temporarily changed their logo on their cups and advertisements to a slightly modified version of their original brown logo.

Though I’m not a big fan of the new logo, that’s not really why I think it was a bad decision on their part. Think about it. The green and black logo is known worldwide as synonymous with “Starbucks”. If you notice a white and green cup across the street, even if you can’t identify the words or design, you assume it’s a Starbucks! Even from a distance, a green circle with some black squiggles in the middle is instantly recognized as the icon of Starbucks. They have an absolutely amazing brand identity, and self marketing that any other business owner in the world would die for! They lose all that every time they switch out the green with the brown.

What should they have done, if they really wanted to show their old identity was still there? Just put the new logo on the sample cups for Pike Place Roast. Put it on the bags of the new roast, or the advertisements touting the new variety. Don’t change everything and lose the incredible identity you have and the phenomenal advertising you get when people buy a cup of your coffee each and every day. Bad, decision, Starbucks. (But I love your green tea lemonade.)

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