Marketing Analysis : Starbucks Corporation

Founded in 1985, Starbucks is one of the largest coffeehouse companies in the world, with over 16,000 stores in 50 countries (Starbucks Annual Report, 2009, p. 1). Starbucks sells high-quality

Starbucks Corporation, generally known, as Starbucks Coffee is the leading retailer and a brand of world’s forte coffee in the world, with more than 15,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, wherever in this world where premium quality coffee is in demand. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world ahead of UK rival Costa Coffee, with 20737 stores in 63 countries and territories, including 11910 in the United States, 1496 in China, 1442 in Canada, 1052 in Japan and 772 in the United Kingdom. The first Starbucks was open in 1970. The name was inspired from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a definitive American novel regarding the 19th century whaling industry. The nautical name matches seamlessly for a store that imports the world’s finest coffees to the cold thirsty people of Seattle. In May 1998, Starbucks have finally successfully entered the European market through its acquirement of 65 Coffee Company stores initially originated from Seattle in the UK. Both companies shared a common culture, focusing on a great commitment to customized coffee, similar company values and a mutual respect.

starbucks Corp., an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, has expanded rapidly since its opening in 1971. These outrageous success was due to its well-developed strategy vision which lay out the company's strategic course in developing and strengthening its business. Starbucks is a global corporation that sells authentic coffee in 30 countries, reporting revenues of nearly $5.1 billion in 2006. The main goal of Starbucks is to embrace diversity by applying the highest standards of excellence. Starbucks strives to perfect the relationship with the working class by making the service as fast as possible because they believe that every customer has their own personal rate. One

Former Starbucks Executive Scott Bedbury once said “Brands need to communicate that they are along for the ride. They are made of flesh and emotion. That they are made possible by people” (10 Quotes from Starbucks Executives, 2010, para. 6). Starbucks’ beliefs in customer service, community solitude, and a strong business core stretch far behind just a belief in a quality caffeinated product. “We make sure everything we do honors that connection – from our commitment to the highest quality coffee in the world, to the way we engage with our customers and communities to do business responsibly” (About Us, 2011, para. 4). Thus, this commitment is the motivation behind Marketing Team A’s proposed

Starbucks advertises two essential mission statements. First and foremost, it strives to “establish [ourselves] as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while [we] grow(s).” (Starbucks) Reflective of its mission, Starbucks bases its strategic campaign and communications on six indispensable philosophies; structuring a pleasant work environment in which employees are treated with “respect and dignity,” incorporating diversity in all business aspects, purchasing, roasting and delivering fresh coffee, retaining satisfied customers, giving back to the community and environment, and developing

According to Nadler & Tushman, there are six strategic imperatives for future organizations: the need to focus the company's business portfolio; "abbreviate strategic life cycles; create 'go-to-market' flexibility; enhance competitive innovation; and manage intra-enterprise cannibalism" (Nadler & Tushman 1999). One company that is must restructure itself is the Starbucks Corporation, which has begun to eliminate unprofitable aspects of its empire and is trying to refocus its portfolio to emphasize high-growth markets. Starbucks must take an international focus, and reorganize its core competencies to suit the tastes of consumers living in high-growth markets. While Starbucks has acknowledged this need, over the next several weeks I will suggest additional methods for Starbucks to improve its financial performance and to better reframe the company's image for the international market.

“Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” (Starbucks, 2013). That is the mission statement of Starbucks. Whenever you think about who has the most premier cup of coffee or the most mouthwatering Frappuccino, you can’t help but visualize the green twin-tailed mermaid coffee icon. With more than 21,000 locations in 66 countries and revenue upwards of US $16.44 billion (Fortune 500, 2015), something or more importantly someone is

coffee in the world. The goal of Starbucks is to establish the company as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining the organization’s uncompromising principles. In addition, Starbucks wants to develop its brand beyond being the preferred outlet from which to purchase coffee to becoming the preferred consumer brand.

Starbucks has a corporate identity that is based around how they sell more than just coffee. They sell a lifestyle. Starbucks uses text and images to convey their lifestyle to their target audiences. They don’t use big advertisements such as television or print which makes their brand seem more personal to each customer. In our society today we use brands such as this to form our own identity and to advertise ourselves in the world.

Starbucks is undoubtedly an international brand. The history of coffee traces back to Ethiopia, Africa, India, Arabia, and Europe, and has been traded abroad since the 11th century. Understanding the demand and widespread market for coffee, Starbucks has triumphantly capitalized both the domestic market, and the varied international markets as well. Possessing about 6,500 retail sites worldwide, Starbucks’ net is spread across thirty countries and has been found as one of the most recognized brands all over the globe in equality to McDonalds and Toyota. This organization’s ability to build an international brand has been unprecedented- particularly since it represents a specialty

In the restaurant industry, a restaurant prepares and serves food, drink and dessert to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of the main chef 's cuisines and service models. While inns and taverns were known from antiquity, these were establishments aimed at travellers, and in general locals would rarely eat there. Modern restaurants, as businesses dedicated to the serving of food, and where specific dishes are ordered by the guest and generally prepared according to this order. A restaurant owner is called a restaurateur; both words derive from the French verb restaurer, meaning "to restore". Professional artisans of cooking are called chefs, while preparation staff and line cooks prepare food items in a more systematic and less artistic fashion.

McDonald’s and Starbucks are two of the largest successful American companies operating in the global marketplace. Their popular iconic brands are recognized around the globe. Both Starbucks and McDonald’s face the challenging task of managing brand image in multiple locations. They must maintain the uniqueness that grew them to success, but also appeal to the desires of local populations. While there have been some ups and downs over the years, there are some similarities and differences in the ways these two megabrands have operated and found success.

They generated and crafted a new aspect of their brand image placing more emphasis on their responsible position as a leader in the coffee industry. New content and visual expression of that content was incorporated into all areas of their advertising and brand platforms from print, to digital, in store experience, product design and customer interaction. They were cultivating new images that would become associated to the brand, strengthening its integrity and position. The new content they incorporated focused on humanising the brand of Starbucks, as they tried to move away from its image as a large and impersonal corporation. They promoted the role Starbucks cafes played in the local community and by doing so began reattaching Starbucks to place, combating its previous image as a generic and superimposed structure that wasn’t relevant to its context. In order to address accusations about their exploitive relationship to farmers they began cultivating content targeting ethical sourcing practices and the role Starbucks was playing in improving and caring about the lives of their farmers. To address mounting concerns about their environmental impact and to reinforce their new brand value of being responsible and caring they created supportive environmental initiatives and

Starbucks was established in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The company’s culture is focused on the image that it builds for the customers, i.e. friendly, earthy and warm and a very welcoming place to be. Secondly the focus is on the customers and their needs. Starbuck’s mission statement and vision statement show the emphasis on being leader of the coffeehouse industry. The mission statement shows what the core business of the company is and the vision statement shows what the company wants to achieve in the future. The company’s mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks, 2016). This shows what needs to be done to keep the business running. The key part of this statement is to inspire and nurture the human spirit. They start this concept with the employees. The company culture is one of warmth that it extends to its employees and customers. The part of the mission statement that states one person, one cup and one neighbor shows that they have a meaningful impact on employees and customers. They plan to gradually grow the business, one neighborhood at a time. The company’s vision statement is “to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow” (Starbucks, 2016). This vision statement shows the

When a PR program is implemented in conjunction with marketing and advertising programs, a brand can be developed and strengthened over time. A brand is not tangible. A successful brand lives in the minds and hearts of your customers. It is all of the things they think of when they think of your company or your product. Starbucks Public Relations professionals recognized this when building the brand of their company, since the very first store opened in 1971, Starbucks as a brand has been evolving. The Siren has been a part of Starbucks from the beginning. “Her image, originally derived from a twin-tailed siren in an old sixteenth-century Norse woodcut, was at the center of Starbucks original logo. She embodies Starbucks and our coffee – evoking coffee’s allure and its seafaring tradition” (Brand Evolution FAQs, 2011). Senior Vice president of marketing at Starbucks, Anne Saunders, said “it really is about connecting with someone in a more intimate, experiential way that we think will have longer lasting ability to build affinity than a 30-second TV commercial or an ad” (Echols, 2011). Starbucks spends very little money on advertising, preferring instead to build the brand cup by cup with customers and depend on word-of-mouth and the appeal of its storefronts. They relied on consistent service and quality to get customers talking, and once they started talking, it seems they did not stop and the Starbucks brand was born. The public relations decision to