Starbucks has presented a new logo that doesn't include its name or the word "coffee", and customers are furious.
The new green logo is pretty much Starbucks' interpretation of a female siren -- a half-human mythical temptress who led sailors to their deaths.
"Even though we have been, and always will be, a coffee company and retailer, it's possible we'll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said.
The last time Starbucks changed its logo was in1992.
Starbucks fans are not happy, and they left hundreds of comments on the Starbucks' website, demanding the company's name to be put back into the logo.
"Who's the bonehead in your marketing department that removed the world-famous name of Starbucks Coffee from your new logo? This gold card user isn't impressed!" wrote one customer who identified herself as MimiKatz.
Another wrote: "I have been a big supporter of (Starbucks) since the early days, taken expensive rides in taxis to get my morning coffee, even waded through two feet of snow in my business suit ... but I do not see the logic of your Business Development folks for the removal of the Starbucks name."
"I think it's nuts," said James Gregory, chief executive of brand consulting firm CoreBrand. "What's it going to be -- the coffee formerly known as Starbucks?"
The new logo probably will not hurt cafe sales in the near term because most Starbucks customers are enthusiasts, Gregory said. But, he said, a nameless logo was a bad fit for Starbucks products sold by grocery stores and other retailers.
So, Starbucks has removed its name and the word "coffee" from the logo they print on their cups. and this infuriates customers.
Why are they so angry?
Okay, so Starbucks loses the name and the cup doesn't say coffee, big deal.
Yet, customers are really unhappy about this, why?
Could it be that these customers have always enjoyed flashing around the cup with the Starbucks name on it?
Could it be they want people to notice that they are drinking Starbucks, not because they believe it's the best coffee, but because they just want to be noticed?
The coffee will still be the same coffee, it's just that cup that's different.
What is it about that cup?
What does the cup with name and logo mean to these people?
Do they parade around with that Starbucks cup because they want people to think special things about them?
These customers want people to know they drink Starbucks, because somehow it makes them feel special.
Are they no longer going to feel special, drinking the same coffee in a different cup?
What are they going to do?
