rebranding vs. advertising : the starbucks conundrum
Starbucks is slipping. Store visits are down, stocks are falling. Starbucks' solution? Advertising... sigh.
Starbucks once epitomized successful authentic branding. And as they've grown, they seem to have lost their way.
Here's the issue:
- Stabucks' brand message was all about warmth and authenticity
- This message does not play out well in a form-filled franchise model
- Starbucks has become an efficient corporation, adopting multiple cost saving steps.
- These measures begun to eat away at the Starbucks brand value offering.
As I see it, Starbucks has only two choices:
- Redefine the brand as corporation, continuing in their current direction, joining corporate America as a large and systematized operation (ala McDonalds). This works for many brands, but will not work for Starbucks.
- Inject a lot of money in redefining the corporation as everything they once were - personal, friendly, homey, inviting and above all else, warm. This will hurt the bottom line in the short term, will decrease profits in the short, but will increase revenue in the long run.
Starbucks seem to have chosen neither path.
Starbucks looks to be gunning for a middle ground - the personable, cheerful corporation.
This is a dangerous game.
Advertising can raise awareness, advertising can generate emotional connectivity, but it is the in-store brand experience that will generate lasting emotional ties. Coupled with real world change, these efforts may prove successful. If this runs as an ad campaign alone, Starbucks will only further prove their inauthenticity.
Then again, this may just represent a social trend. Could it be that the 1990s era of Friends chilling at Central Perk could be over?
