Branding In History:

More On The Starbucks Logo

Last Thursday I wrote about Starbucks “temporary” logo and the controversy it was stirring up (you can read it here).  But some of my readers suggested that the Marketing Doctor needed to weigh in on the actual Starbucks logo rather than just the concept of logo decision-making…

I agree!  So here’s my take on that particular logo.  The controversy is one thing and my position on that is why court controversy and risk alienating your customers.

But there’s a bigger mistake on the logo here and that has a lot more to do with going from green back to brown than it does with a suggestive siren.

Basically, the real origin of Starbucks —at the least the origin behind the global powerhouse it became— is Il Giornale (the logo’s pictured above).  This was the espresso-serving coffee bar that Howard Schultz started when he wasn’t able to convince the owners of Starbucks to branch out into espresso drinks.  Later, when Schultz merged his Il Giornale with Starbucks…green replaced brown in the logo.  Here’s the reason from his book “Pour Your Heart Into It” (courtesy www.brandautopsy.typepad.com): “We kept the Starbucks siren with her starred crown.  We dropped the tradition-bound brown, and changed the logo’s color to Il Giornale’s more affirming green.”  Why was green more affirming?  Because green was the color of efficient, speedy, and consistent delivery of high-quality coffee drinks (a business that the original Starbucks company was not involved in doing).

So the biggest part of the controversy from where I stand isn’t the suggestive siren or even the use of a “temporary” logo —it’s about getting the branding message wrong!  By going back to brown, the company is saying that it doesn’t have a clear sense of its own brand identity.    

The company that became global was the company with the green logo —it was Schultz’s company not the original Starbucks— and for Starbucks to continue to grow in this difficult period it must emphasize that origin and not the brown, non-coffee drink history.  There’s a difference between the history of a company and the history of a brand —and I would argue that the Starbucks brand that satisfied customers is the one with the green!  The sooner they get back to that color  and their roots the better.  Given that the competition for coffee drinks is likely to increase (and the price point come down) —can anyone say McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts?— Starbucks needs to keep reminding its target market of the quality and competitive cost of its products.

And, remember, it’s always easier when you keep branding in mind!