Starbucks Strategy: Industry Innovation and Experiential Marketing of the World's Leading Coffee Chain

Author: Chen Guang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The first is home, the second is the office, and Starbucks is somewhere in between. Starbucks, the third place between home and the office. Here, people feel comfortable, safe, and warm like the third place. – Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist of Starbucks.
Starbucks was founded in 1971, evolving from a single coffee shop in Seattle to today's largest global coffee chain brand, creating a miracle of corporate expansion. To date, Starbucks has 7,300 stores worldwide. Starbucks plans to open 15,000 stores in 50 countries by 2005; McDonald's currently has 30,000 stores.
Starbucks has brought a shock to traditional brand marketing concepts. Just as its rapid expansion is noteworthy, Starbucks has developed a unique, high-value brand from one of the world's oldest commodities in the era of booming products and services. However, Starbucks has not used traditional brand marketing strategies, such as overwhelming advertising campaigns and massive promotional budgets.