Starbucks – Anne Cheng's Blog

Picture from here.

I found this picture so funny. It is very interesting to see company logos evolving over time. I would have thought that logos should not change because it represents the company and so if they changed it an issue that may arise would be people not recognizing it anymore. But after thinking a bit deeper, it would be okay to alter it every 10 years, like Starbucks has done. Updating a logo to make it more appealing to the current generation is actually quite smart. They don’t have to worry about their existing customers not recognizing the logo (since they are already customers!). In fact, they can attract a new generation of customers! I also remember Tamar (my marketing teacher) saying that simplifying company names (General Motors –> GM) may take away from the company’s mission or the whole meaning behind the company. For starbucks, the iconic mermaid may mean something to what Starbucks is trying to represent. If that was reduced down to a big green dot, all meaning behind what Starbucks is trying to represent will be gone from the logo. Anyway, I’m prettyyy sure Starbuck’s logo will not end up as a green dot in 2041. But who am I to say, maybe the future generation will find that attractive. I guess we’ll just have to wait 30 more years to see!

Ah.. the things you do for marketing class

Last Friday when I was getting off the bus at Bridgeport Station, I was greeted by this Starbucks ad.

I quickly looked and read it as I hustled towards the escalator. Thoughts ran through my mind, “Hm, I didn’t know that Starbucks was that environmentally friendly.. Oo I can save 10 cents if I bring my mug in next time.” And then I thought, “Wow, this is exactly like what we learned in class about cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of attitude.”

So, I stopped walking, turned around, and whipped out my IPhone to take a picture of it. Mannnn, did I feel like a dork. Ah.. the things you do for marketing class.

Anyway, the Starbucks ad fulfills all 3 components of attitude:

Cognitive – It made me aware that Starbucks cares about the environment and encourages their customers to care too.
Affective – The statement “One person can save trees. Together we can save forests.” makes me feel that I can make a difference and with other people, can make an even bigger difference saving the environment.
*Note: Also very suitable to put this ad on a bicycle rack so that the eco-friendly people who ride their bikes will see it.
Behavioural – It told me to bring a reuseable mug to save 10 cents.

My attitude about Starbucks prior to seeing this ad was just neutral. I didn’t understand why some people are such loyal customers of Starbucks eventhough most coffees taste the same. But after seeing the ad, I realized that Starbucks is very successful at differentiating themselves from other coffee shops; they have VARIETY (holiday drinks, super yummy whipped cream, frappacinos) and now, they are attracting eco-friendly customers as well as customers who value variety and unique drinks.