In 2008, Starbucks implemented a 'back to basics' strategy to revive its brand by retraining baristas, closing underperforming locations, and launching new products, including 'Pike Place Roast.' The company aimed to foster stronger customer connections and improve in-store experiences by enhancing coffee aromas and designing stores that reflect local identities. These efforts were part of a broader goal to inspire shareholders and establish Starbucks as a respected coffee authority amid increased competition.

1. Starbucks:
Back to Basics
A look at what they did to revive
their “neighborhood coffee
shop” appeal in the US
November 2011 1

2. Overview
How did they get back to basics?
 Barista Training
 New Products
 Inspire Shareholders
 Engage Management
 Close Locations
 New Advertising
 New Packaging
 In-Store Design
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3. Back to Basics: Baristas
• In February 2008, Starbucks closed
7,100 of its American stores at
precisely 5:30 pm for a 3-hour
retraining session for employees.
• Baristas practiced dispensing
espresso into shot
glasses, checking the color of each
shot, and paying attention to the
particularities of steaming milk.
• Each training session included a "This is not about training, this is
video message from CEO Howard about the love and compassion
Schultz about the various and commitment that we all
operational changes and need to have for the customer.”
improvements. – Howard Schultz, CEO
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4. Back to Basics: Baristas
Take the time to
Re-Train and Re-Focus
on what matters for
your brand
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5. Back to Basics: Inspire Shareholders
Our Aspiration:
To become an enduring, great company with one of the most
recognized and respected brands in the world, known for
inspiring and nurturing the human spirit.
SEVEN BIG MOVES
1. Be the undisputed coffee authority
2. Engage and inspire our partners
3. Ignite the emotional attachment with our customers
4. Expand our global presence – while making each store the
heart of the local neighborhood
5. Be a leader in ethical sourcing and environmental impact
6. Create innovative growth platforms worthy of our coffee The Seven Big Moves were
declared to share holders in
7. Deliver a sustainable economic model
March 2008
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6. Back to Basics: New Products
• In April 2008, Starbucks launched
a new coffee called “Pike Place
Roast” – a smoother roast made
mostly from Latin American
beans and based on one of the
chain’s earlier blends.
• The blend is named after the
iconic market in Seattle, where
the chain first started out, and
aimed to appeal to the broader
McD/Dunkin coffee drinker.
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7. Back to Basics: New Products
• In the 2008 Barista training,
employees were reminded that
the chain was getting rid of
“odoriferous breakfast
sandwiches” so customers can
smell the coffee again.
• The food team discovered that
improving the quality of the
ingredients – leaner bacon, better
ham and cheese – helped reduce
the aroma.
• Sandwiches were re-launched in
June 2008 with Ciabatta bread
and a lower baking temperature.
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8. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
• As the brand solved the issue
of the burnt cheese
smell, they worked to restore
the coffee shop aroma.
• The drink preparation is more
prominent. New, lower
machines allow guests to see
their drinks being prepared by
the baristas.
• Additional design elements of
burlap bags and coffee beans
in addition to freshly ground
coffee beans brought the
stores back to their true focus
– great coffee.
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9. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
• Although not yet in national
distribution, Starbucks is looking
into a new brewing system that
attempts to bring espresso-like
involvement to drip coffee.
• “The Clover® brewing system
uses innovative Vacuum-Press™
technology to create your cup
right in front of you. You watch as
a stainless steel filter lowers into
the brew chamber. Hot water is
added at a precise temperature
to brew your coffee for an ideal
length of time…”
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10. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
• Re-hired Arthur Rubinfeld to
redesign the stores, using
color, layout and design to
“recapture the coffeehouse feel”
• Replaced all outdated POS
computer systems, and scaled
back on books and music – focus
on coffee
• Created a customer rewards card
to encourage the core user
• Appointed Chris Bruzzo from
Amazon to kick online and social
efforts into high gear Costco's CEO once said:
“losing customers in a down economy is much
more expensive than investing in them.”
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11. Back to Basics: Close Locations
• In July 2008, Starbucks
announced that it would close
600 US stores that year.
• In the process of the store
closings, more than 12,000
employees were laid off, the
most in company history.
• The closings were part of the
brand’s effort to recapture
growth and counter general
economic troubles, and helped
cut $850million in costs
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12. Back to Basics: Engage Management
• In October 2008, Starbucks
held a leadership conference in
New Orleans for company
employees and managers.
• It served as a way for them to
become re-acquainted with the
basics of the brand – even
offering samples of the chain’s
espresso and specialty blends.
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13. Back to Basics: New Advertising
Starbucks selected BBDO as
their agency of record in
the Fall of 2008, and
released this ad sharing
their thoughts on the
importance of exercising
the right to vote.
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14. Back to Basics: New Advertising
• In May 2009 Starbucks launched a new
print campaign in response to the
coffee competition from McDonald’s
and the 8% decrease in same store sales
during the first 3 months of 2009.
• The aim was to tell its message to a new
generation of coffee drinkers and then
recruit them to retell the story online.
• The advertising effort which included
outdoor, newspaper, and magazine, was
the biggest marketing effort Starbucks
has undertaken.
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15. Back to Basics: New Advertising
The print campaign was seen in 6 major US cities
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16. Back to Basics: New Advertising
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17. Back to Basics: New Advertising
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18. Back to Basics: New Advertising
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19. Back to Basics: Baristas
• Additional barista changes in
October 2010 aimed to increase
the beverage quality, even at the
expense of speedy service.
• Baristas should focus on no more
than 2 drinks at a time and steam
milk for each drink rather than a
pitcher for several beverages.
• Other instruction include rinsing
pitchers after each use and using
only one espresso machine
instead of two .
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20. Back to Basics: New Packaging
• The packaging for the Pike Place
Roast uses the traditional brown
label with an old version of the
Siren logo.
• The new wordless logo revealed
Jan 2011 aimed to suit the
company’s expansion beyond
coffee into a wider array of
business lines and into Pike Place Roast Website
international markets.
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21. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
• July 2009 began the test launch of the
Starbucks’ 15th Ave E Coffee & Tea Store.
15th Ave E Coffee &
• The idea was to create a coffee shop that had Tea Store
the name of the neighborhood, rather than the
Location at Capitol
16,000 store chain which they belong to.
Hill in Seattle
• The overall project aimed to give the stores a
“community personality” and capture the spirit
of a traditional coffee house – serving wine &
beer, hosting live music an poetry readings.
• The test ended in January 2011 with a new sign
and the return of the Starbucks logo and
equipment to the 15th Ave east Location, but
the store got to keep its new décor.
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22. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
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23. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
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24. Back to Basics: In-Store Design
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25. Back to Basics
• In order to get back to basics, Starbucks
shifted their focus from selling CDs, mugs, and
speedy drinks to what really matters for their
brand – Best Tasting Coffee.
• If KFC wants to mirror their path, it’s time to
shift the focus from one off product tests back
to what makes them relevant – Fresh Chicken.
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27. Back to Basics: Timeline
2008 2009 2010 2011
• System Wide • New Print • Barista • New Logo
Barista Training Campaign operational Introduced
• Pike Place Roast Launched changes to • 15th Ave E
Introduced • 15th Ave E improve Coffee & Tea
• New Breakfast Coffee & Tea drink quality Store re-
Sandwiches Store branded as a
• Declare 7 big Opened Starbucks
moves to
shareholders
• 600 Stores
Closed
• Ad for
November
Election
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28. Articles
“Back to Basics for Starbucks Baristas” (2/27/2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/business/worldbusiness/27iht-27sbux.10458541.html
“Starbucks Announces It Will Close 600 Stores” (7/2/2008)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/business/02sbux.html
“New Starbucks Ads Seek to Recruit Online Fans” (5/18/2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/media/19starbux.html
“Starbucks tests New Names for Stores” (7/16/2009)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009479123_starbucks16.html
“15th Avenue E Coffee & Tea by Starbucks Coffee Co” (7/23/2010)
http://www.furnitureandfinishes.com/interior-design/2010/7/23/15th-avenue-e-coffee-tea-by-starbucks-coffee-co.html
“At Starbucks, Baristas Told No More Than Two drinks” (10/13/2010)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704164004575548403514060736.html
“New Starbucks Logo Unveiled” (1/5/2011)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/starbucks-new-logo_n_804809.html
“The Saga of the Stinky Cheese” (3/13/2011)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/03/13/the-saga-of-the-stinky-cheese.html
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