Six modern PR crises diagnosed through Grunig and Hunt's four models — Tylenol, Pepsi/Kendall, MSL/Netflix, Qwikster, Bud Light, and Starbucks under Brian Niccol. The diagnostic vocabulary every crisis operator needs.
Starbucks has a problem its operations team did not expect. Mobile ordering has been too successful — and the in-store handoff counter is now the bottleneck. Kevin Johnson is acknowledging it directly. What other brands deploying mobile ordering should learn from the situation.
Steve Ells tried to fix it with a campaign. Brian Niccol fixed it with the operating system. A decade later, Chipotle generates $11B+ and is expanding internationally.
Starbucks just spent three weeks managing the most awkward PR crisis a beverage brand can have — proving that its signature drink does not actually contain pumpkin. The Food Babe investigation, the rapid corporate response, and the reformulation that turned criticism into a relaunch narrative.
Starbucks just simplified its logo, removing the wordmark and centering the siren. The visual change is modest. The strategic statement is large. Why the redesign matters and what brand consultants are going to be referencing for years.