For instance, we reported last October that the East Olive Way Starbucks in Seattle started selling beer and wine, the first coffee shop in the Starbucks chain to offer alcohol. Difficult times call for desperate measures, and Starbucks is not immune to such challenges.
The original logo, heavy, crowded and brown, featuring a topless two-tailed siren, has evolved into what you see today: a green, stylized, family friendly rendition, that doesn't need to use explanatory words to convey the brand. But what happens when Starbucks loses its identity, what happens when you no longer associate the brand with good quality coffee-to-go?
The logo remains recognizable, with or without the words "Starbucks coffee." The menu, however, belongs to an obscure chain of restaurants, no one is familiar with. If Starbucks manage to come up with a credible, recognizable menu, like McDonalds for example, who brand with "Mac" and "Mc" almost every product they sell, then yes, perhaps changing the logo was not a bad idea.
Among other Public Relations companies, Starbucks has worked with Crenshaw Communications, Dentsu Public Relations & Edelman.
EPR's Full Starbucks Coverage
Modern anchor: Starbucks Marketing With Little Ads
Crisis case studies:
- Starbucks Surprised by Pumpkin Flavored PR Crisis (by Ronn Torossian)
- Race Together: Starbucks Racing Backwards?
Brand strategy:
- PR Strategies: Starbucks vs. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf vs. Caribou Coffee
- Starbucks Is Everywhere. Why Not on a Commuter Flight?
- Starbucks Customers Still Seething Over Long Lines
Other brand history:
