Starbucks Brand’s Footprint

The brand that Starbucks has created through the years testifies the ability of a company to successfully create and monopolize a market.

To really see the impact of Starbucks on the coffee industry, let’s compare the foot traffic at the Dunkin’ and the Starbucks in my hometown. Dunkin’ has been in my town for as long as I can remember. But, in these last couple of years, more and more Starbucks have cropped up all within a ten-minute radius of my house. But, no matter which you go to, no matter the time of day, the day of the week, there is a long drive-thru line and a long line inside at every single Starbucks. On the other side, Dunkin’ experiences some heavy business in the morning time, but it generally tapers off by 9 am. This comparison becomes even harder to understand when I mention that there are five Starbucks locations and two Dunkin’ ones.

It’s been a question forever: Dunkin’ or Starbucks? As I dived into in my last post, there are a lot of qualities that make Starbucks a fan favorite. But more than anything, people love the Starbucks brand. Amit Ahuja, in his article for Fried Coffee, claims the major reason Starbucks is so popular is that it is branded as a luxury brand that everyone can afford. Similar to an expensive car, people want to feel like they are a part of something special, something elite, and they want everyone to know it. Starbucks, with higher prices, is more expensive than other coffee places, yet it is so much more popular.

Looking at the placement of Starbucks in my hometown, the stores are only opened in affluent or expensive areas to live. Dunkin’ has never had the same connotation. It isn’t known for its coffee, rather its donuts. It isn’t known for a luxury atmosphere, rather affordable coffee drinks. Dunkin’ was born into this brand and hasn’t been able to change it since. This differs from Starbucks because the coffee company has since expanded to much more than just coffee but still keeps the atmosphere of high-end drinks.

Starbucks has also eaten into smaller brands like Teavana. Teavana was a brand popular in shopping malls. At the end of 2012, Teavana was bought out by Starbucks. But, Teavana stores remained in shopping malls as independent franchises until recently. Business Insider’s Kate Taylor writes about the decision for Starbucks to close the last Teavana retail stores. Starbucks credits the lack of foot traffic in malls to the failure of Teavana.

Before its merge with Starbucks, Teavana offered a wide breadth of tea flavors. After the acquisition, the tea company’s menu of tea decreased to just four herbal teas (other “Teavana teas” are not original flavors). Now, Teavana drinks are extremely good sellers at Starbucks franchises. Why would a brand that was sold to Starbucks suddenly flourish in the new environment?

With the Starbucks brand on their side, Teavana drinks not only increased in price, but they also became associated with luxury and expense rather than failing shopping malls. As seen in the image to the left, Teavana became “tea reimagined” and was plastered on many Starbucks cups. The ability of Starbucks to completely “reimagine” or transform an unpopular brand shows the power of the Starbucks brand and its superiority to other coffee sellers. Further, the company changed the connotation of Teavana from declining sales to exotic tea flavors. Without the backing of Starbucks, it is hard to imagine Teavana ever reaching the status it has now.

Finally, to truly discuss the footprint of the Starbucks brand, I have to examine the pertinence of the Starbucks logo and the siren pictured.

The logo is standard, which seems to be the branding strategy of Starbucks, examined in Martin Roll’s article on the Starbucks brand. Every cup, reusable bottle, and other merchandise wear the Starbucks logo. The presence of the logo is not only free advertising for the coffee company, but it extends across platforms and opens up multiple markets for Starbucks. Also, the logo doesn’t require any words to be recognized, unlike Dunkin’ or Wawa. The universality of the Starbucks siren gives the company the potential to enter into international economies.

The story behind the logo shows that the branding of Starbucks was completely intentional. The Starbucks “mermaid” is actually a siren. In Greek mythology, sirens would lure sailors to them. Starbucks intended their logo to mean that the drinks would lure coffee lovers to their stores. Like sirens, the company insinuated that their coffee was so good that people could not help but stop for a cup.

It’s true. They do continue to draw people back despite the high prices and strong coffee taste. The brand has left its footprint on society by consistently encouraging consumers to choose their products over other companies. Starbucks more than just associates itself with money. It is wealth; it is luxury. It is because of the strong brand Starbucks built that the company will remain the coffee giant it is today.