Starbuck's Introduces New Brand Logo

Howard Schultz may be on his way to doing a "Steve Jobs" on Starbucks.

Schultz has been coaxed out of retirement to come back and save Starbucks from become bland, ordinary and unprofitable. Just like Job's did at Apple after John Sculley and (especially) Gil Amelio did a number on the Apple brand.

Schultz is promising renewed attention to the customer, including on-site changes and a return to the all powerul barista. It's all an effort to a return to its roots and to reemphasize its brewed-coffee. And, what else? Introduction of a brand new logo of course. Reports say that the iconic green logo is being put aside in favor of an all-brown logo with a mermaid in the middle, with the intent being to harken back to the company's roots as a local coffee shop.

According to BusinessWeek, "Starbucks plans to use the logo on all its cups for about eight weeks. It will remain in ads and as the logo for Pike Place bags of coffee. The new blend, which will be available in every store, has been crafted for a smoother, cleaner finish than many of the rotating blends Starbucks has traditionally carried week to week."

Critics have not been so kind to the introduction:

From The Wall Street Journal:

They took a logo that was lively and made it dull,” says Alan Siegel, chairman and chief executive of Siegel+Gale, the big brand consultant that has done work for American Express, Dell and many others. “If they’re trying to communicate a message about going back to their roots, the cup doesn’t work.”

Brand consultant Al Ries of Ries & Ries puts it another way. “Brown is probably the worst possible color [for a logo],” he says. “The reason UPS has been successful with it is that no one else wants to touch the color.”

What Messrs. Siegel and Ries–along with nearly everyone else–agrees on is this. Seeing the retro Starbucks logo seems so jarring because the company’s familiar logo is so incredibly good. Distinctive and iconic, it is ultra-recognizable. See a flash of green on a white cup from down the street and you know it’s a Starbucks. Most companies can only dream about that kind of brand visibility.