Starbucks Showed Us The Way
The Starbucks Corporation could not be a more perfect example of the proverb, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Rampant global expansion, along with diversification and risk taking in the areas of product testing, employee relations, technology, and sustainability, have all propelled the coffee mega-chain into lifestyle-brand status.
That is why, our team MyVision,chose this corporIation in order, to analyze the brand strength factors, a brand has to meet in order to acquire brand strength. This was one of our projects, during the spring semester, when we formed this team of five people, for the needs of “AD Discovery and Creativity Lab” in the Department of Communication, Media & Culture at Panteion University.Miss Betty Tsakarestou ,head of the lab, guided us in order for us, to understand better, the four brand strength factors:
1. Brand perception
2. Brand awareness
3. Brand loyalty
4. Brand association
As far as brand perception is concerned, we understood that what matters is the consumer’s perception towards the quality of a product. Starbucks has succeeded in persuading the average consumer, that the coffee they are making is not only of high quality, but it is also carefully selected, in order to match every person’s personal preferences(for example there is a quiz at their site that indicates for you, your favourite kind of coffee).
Furthermore, after research we concluded that, brand awareness has to do with the Mindshare that consumers have, towards the product. Starbucks has succeeded in growing to over 19,000 locations in 58 countries. The coffee they make and the brand name is famous worldwide, from the United States of America to Tokyo. It is very unlikely that a consumer is not aware of the brand.
Moreover, we came to the realization, that brand loyalty is crucial, in order to build brand strength. Consumers, who love the product or service and have an emotional attachment to it, would repeatedly buy the product and are termed as loyal brand ambassadors. This creates wallet share for the company and increases the brand equity too. There is no doubt, that the Starbucks Corporation has its fair share of loyal brand ambassadors, who cannot get up in the morning ,without their favourite Starbucks drink. Back in 2013, Starbucks stores had an an average of just over 500 customers per day, now in 2020 they have more than 750 customers!
As far as brand association is concerned, we came to the realization that what matters is positive brand association in the minds of consumers. How each and everyone of us associates with brands guides our actions and our mindset, towards this particular brand. Starbucks has undoubtedly created a positive brand association. When Starbucks began their run to success in the early 1990s, many noted it wasn’t simply about coffee, but that the company was focused on the following factors: Atmosphere, Quality Coffee, Customer Service, and Partner (employee) Satisfaction. Starbucks sought to be a place, where people could lounge with a good drink and friends or maybe just a book. This atmosphere was created to establish a friendly and welcoming environment. Through their success they changed the mindset of coffee customers worldwide: from a coffee shop being a place to buy a cup of coffee to a place to experience a good cup of coffee.
In conclusion, our team, MyVision, realized that, if we want to achieve success, all these factors need to be met, in order to create a perfect storm of customer experience. What Starbucks has achieved, showed us the right way, in order to advertise our brand (fictional) project, our self-care platform!
Our Professor: Betty Tsakarestou
Our Team Members: Antonis Kontozanis, Barbaraaligizaki, Eleni Modou, Πετρίνα Παυλοπούλου and me, Mary Chondrogianni
You can reach us at:
Instagram: myvision_team
Facebook: MyVision
Twitter: MyvisionTeam
