Brand Identity Planning of Starbucks Coffee Chain

Brand Identity Planning of Starbucks Coffee Chain

The starbucks brand has been credited with changing the way Americans drink coffee, the way they perceive it & how much they are willing to pay for it. It has been a dream run for starbucks coffee once its brand identity became well known, understood & liked. But the process of building a successful brand is slow, tedious, resource consuming & risky. I have in the following report outlined the starbucks branding strategy on the basis of the brand identity model.

Phase I :

Phase one entails a complete brand analysis. Analyzing a brand means that it must be assessed in terms of its strengths, weakness the possible opportunities & associated risks. A Brand cannot form an identity without knowing if the resources will support it or if the competitor can easily replicate it or if the customer doesn't feel emotionally connected to it. Thus the three parts or perspectives within which brand must be analyzed are

a) The self-analysis -

This indicates understanding the internal strengths & weaknesses of the product, the company. Only after carefully assessing the resources available can the brand strategy be planned. Also the product features must justify the core identity that is being considered for the product. Nike could position itself as the worlds best shoe for athletes because its engineering & design boasted of that kind of excellence. Branding & advertising will work well only if the product itself support the image.

Starbucks Internal analysis -

The Starbucks coffee corporation is a Seattle, Washington based coffee company. It roasts & sells whole bean coffees & coffee drinks through an international chain of retail outlets/ restaurants. The concept...

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... revolutionize coffee drinking form a mundane experience to one that is similar to wine tasting and drinking. For this the position of coffee in the minds of the consumer had to be elevated to a higher level. This was sone through education of the consumers about various coffee blends & their properties and the art of roasting and even the art of drinking the coffee. The coffee stores became social destination where people could meet and relax, since they were sleek yet comfortable.

The brand was positioned as a premium brand meant for a rich consumer ready to pay upwards of $2 for a cup of coffee. Coffee bars also provided a "politically correct" alternative to traditional bars & baby boomers were joining the "black turtleneck" crowd in the numerous cafes sprouting up allover America.

Starbucks is now recognized as one of the best coffee houses in the world