Starbucks Ditches Name, Changes Logo
Starbucks Coffee made strides Wednesday that could set the company up to move into other areas of the business sector. As you can see from the photo above, Starbucks has removed their name brand from their cups. The hope, according to CEO Howard Schultz, is to move beyond the coffee brand as he stated in a video blog posted on the company website.
Though the company is happy with the direction it is taking with this brand change, many fans are not so enthused. In a backlash comparable to the Gap logo fiasco, Starbucks received many negative responses from some of its 19 million plus fans on Facebook.
Writes one Facebook user:
“Hate the new logo. HATE. Not dislike, HATE. Bought my last starbucks “real” logo item today so I can star drinking my LOCALLY PURCHASED coffee out of it from now on because I HATE HATE HATE the new logo. It will be sad parting from my gold card, but I shall make the break with my beloved company and keep it local. Did …I mention that I HATE the new logo?”
Even some employees at local Starbucks decided to voice their opinion on the company’s page: “I work for Starbucks and I HATE the new logo! It is terrible! I have asked customers & coworkers and NO ONE has liked the new logo.”
Not all reactions were that negative, though. Some didn’t see a problem with the absence of wording on the cup: “Starbucks is an international brand and they are making a smart move. I’m certainly going to continue drinking it everyday. This is an ok thing and I think it’s a long time coming.”
Starbucks, according to Forbes is staying cool on the fan response. In a recent article, company spokeswoman Deb Trevino shared with the site that Starbucks is “excited that so many of our customers are so passionate about the brand that they want to comment on it and engage with us.”
Looking at this as someone who is very interested in the power of brand, I can see how this can be a big risk for the coffee company. Many people have come to love the mermaid accompanied with the text on their cups. It’s how they’ve associated the brand with coffee. On the other hand, I can understand why Starbucks is making this change to expand their empire into other areas. This change may give them a better chance to grow long term. In my opinion, people are very much resistant to change. Even if the company had just removed “coffee” from the text there still would have been plenty of naysayers.
The fact of the matter is, making changes for the future may not always be well received in the short term. If Starbucks succeeds in the long term to extend their brand, people will forget the fact that they are drinking out of wordless cups.
What do you guys think about the new Starbucks logo? Is this a good or bad move for the company?
