Starbucks, one of the most popular coffee houses in the world, has unveiled a new logo design on January 5, 2011 that positions the brand to evolve into new products and markets.
The announcement was met with mixed feelings from long-standing Starbucks customers who question the change in their beloved coffee brand’s logo design. The company maintains that this new brand strategy better positions them for growth in new markets worldwide and enables them to offer new products beyond coffee.
Starbucks Corporate Logo Design Changes
The new Starbucks corporate logo will undergo the following visual changes:
- Green circle or ring around mermaid image (known as their “siren”) will be removed
- Words “Starbucks” and “Coffee” will be removed
- Mermaid siren image will remain, but become green
The logo change is not the first experienced with the Starbucks brand. This will be the forth evolution of the logo brand since the company started nearly 40 years ago. The original company logo in 1971 was brown and included the words “Starbucks Coffee Tea Spices”. The second logo rendition in 1987 evolved to a double ring green circle with a slightly changed mermaid image and simply the words “Starbucks Coffee”. The last logo change in 1992 introduced a more modest version of the mermaid siren image with flowing hair.
The formal company announcement made on Starbucks.com was met with strong opinions from customers on the brand change. Many loyal customers posted their response to the news on the company blog noting their displeasure with the brand change.
Marketing Strategy behind Starbucks Brand Change
According to Starbucks.com, the logo change better positions their brand for future aspirations. The company blog notes that the Starbucks brand continues to embrace their heritage but will “also ensure we remain relevant and poised for future growth”.
More specifically, Starbucks clearly stated that their logo change will position their brand to offer and market non-coffee products. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz stated it signifies their intent to “think beyond coffee”. Eliminating the word “coffee” in the logo design is a first step in transitioning the brand to be known for more than just coffee products. Their worldwide presence in over 16,000 neighborhoods in over 50 different countries gives them an excellent launching pad for marketing new products to their vast customer base.
The marketing strategy of only using the well-known mermaid siren is relying on the idea that customers will recognize the brand without the Starbucks name and continue to feel the same emotional connection to the brand. Similar big brand logo changes in recent years, such as the Gap logo, resulted in a roll-back of the logo change due to consumer resistance. However, Starbucks executives insist the changes to their logo signify the brand image changes already underway with the company and their product line.
Starbuck’s customers can expect to see the logo change transition to start taking place by spring 2011, coinciding with the 40th anniversary celebration of the well-known brand.
Sources: Starbucks, AdAge.com
Diane Seltzer - Diane is a branding, pr and social media marketer with experience ranging from advertising to corporate marketing and consulting.
