The Starbucks Experience – To Go?

I’ve been watching with interest recently as Starbucks has been rolling out their new drive thru concepts nationally. With each new drive thru they open, I can’t help to think that the company is inflicting tremendous damage to the long term viability of the Starbucks brand itself in the name for a short term boast in profits.

The core of the Starbucks brand is not coffee, but on the overall experience (including coffee) that a Starbucks coffee shop provides its customers. From the moment you walk into the shop you are immersed into and environment that is welcoming and provides an escape; an environment built to create loyalty and kept caffeine craving customers coming back again and again.

For many their local Starbucks become their third place – that is the place where people could grab a cup of coffee, read the paper, fire up their laptops and stay for a few minutes or a few hours without any pressure to clear the space for the next customer. For most it was more than just a great cup of coffee, it was an escape to from the chaos of home and work.

So when you build a brand who’s very essence, and therefore success, is based on providing an certain experience, how do you justify altering your format so now your customer’s don’t have to come into the shop anymore? For short term profits, I have no doubt it will be a success, but success that will come at the cost of diluting the brand and sacrificing its long term value.

A new one just opened less than a mile from my house, making it very easy for me to zip in every morning to grab my Iced Caramel Macchiato to go. But you know what, I never go; instead I hit the Starbucks near my office where I can grab a cup and read the newspaper, because after all that is what Starbucks is all about.

Jake Crocker is a Partner and Brand Marketing Director at Martin Branding Worldwide, Inc.