The Starbucks Make-Over is Great for Publicity

Starbucks_Coffee_Logo.svgCompanies doing well tend not to change what is working. When logo changes are made, there is a lot of thought to it. The larger the company, the more money they are able to use in research and development of the new or changed logo. Smaller companies usually do not have enough capital to invest in much. The new trend with logo makeovers is to drop the letters or works. McDonald’s has many commercials and billboards where all they show is the arch. No hamburgers, no clowns, no mayors or thieves. Just the giant M. Starbucks has remade the logo without the words.

Starbucks coffee are the words that used to be inside the logo. Now, just the weird mermaid sits on your cup waiting for you to sip. The argument for them is that they are much more than coffee. You can eat breakfast there, listen to music, the Starbucks near me has a bookrack where you can take a book and leave a book on the honor system. The company wants to portrait that they are much more than coffee.  I have no idea what their real reason is for the change; perhaps it saves on printing costs. If you can find the fish, you can find their product. There is a large debate in the PR community about that. That debate has not hit mainstream yet.

When coke made a new formula (that sucked), it was news. When Sci-Fi channel changed to a strange name and new logo, the fans were enraged. They did not change it back like Coke did. It was great PR for a while. If you change your logo, get your back-story straight and tell it to the media. Why your logo has changed. What your new logo means, what your company is about. It’s better than a just-launched-my-business story because it gives the viewer a chance to see into the mind of the business owner. You will resonate with some and clash with others. It’s always ok to polarize people with your logo and message.  Your true customers will embrace it and others will walk away. This makes time for you to focus on real customers. As for Starbucks, I think they are betting on people being too sleepy before having coffee to notice the changes.