When I walked into "my" starbucks on 16th and Wisconsin on Tuesday morning, received a friendly greeting from (fill in name) one of my favorite baristas, and walked away with my drink I did a double take. It was the same feeling I have when one of your friends, someone you see most days of the week, makes a minor change to their appearance (they got their hair trimmed-they are wearing heals instead of flats-a new pair of earrings) and you know that something has changed but it's hard to pinpoint just what.
It wasn't until I looked around and took in all of the other cups that I noticed the "new" starbucks label. Bigger-cleaner-bolder-and without any text. What do they think they're doing! I remember back to what I perceive as the starbucks bradning fiasco of 2007-2008 when in an attempt to go back to their seattle roots modified the mermaid figure on the cups and changed the color to brown. Now that didn't last long!
There is something different about this new logo that has staying power. Perhaps it is because the brand has such supreme recognition they don't need any text. Can it be that Starbucks brand has achieved the "golden arches" status- that kids who have yet learned to read, can recognize their happy meal from a half mile down a highway from the logo on a road sign. Starbucks may not be too far off, a friend told me yesterday that young children have learned to recognize a starbucks cup and what that means (perhaps a hot chocolate or sugary pastry) without understanding text.
Could starbucks's recent logo lift be a push to woo young consumers-not likely-more fitting is the suggestion that this will help leverage the brand in non english speaking countries. Whatever the reason, I like it!
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