De-branding: A Thought Exercise, Part I

It was recently brought to my attention that Starbucks has launched a rather innovative branding scheme. Perhaps it is incorrect to call it a branding scheme in light of what actually happened. Starbucks has in fact opened a store in the Seattle area that is completely devoid of any corporate branding, and plans for more of these “pilot” stores are in the works.

These de-branded stores in reality are likely listening posts for the coffee giant, which has been hit hard by the recession and has suffered from market saturation in recent years.

Starbucks has been losing business to the same local coffee shops that it gobbled down on its way up, and this move is likely a way to study what may be done about that.

I see this as a wise move for Starbucks. Its decline may be part of a long term trend (albeit a slight one) away from massive, sprawling corporations in favor of more ecologically and socially responsible local businesses, but I see few other ways for it re-invent itself.

Aside from corporate strategy issues, I got to thinking of this as a branding issue. Where else might this idea of “de-branding” be implemented? Would it work for a standalone product or would need to be an extension of an established brand? Would the product even need to be physical?

As I talked to friends about it, I hit on products where it might be accomplished, one has already been tried (poorly), and the other has not.

Vodka. Among purists, less is more. Taste, that is. Unlike any other spirit, the perfect glass of vodka is something of an alcoholic nirvana, the blissful absence of almost any flavor.

This Platonic Form of vodka must literally be distilled and filtered down to its essence (usually again and again), and if one considers that from a branding perspective, the logical conclusion is the utter lack of any branding whatsoever.

Clearly though a plain unlabeled bottle is not going to do very well on a crowded bar shelf. The bottle itself must be the brand or logo. As I mentioned, this has been done before.

It is called Crystal Head Vodka and comes in a skull shaped bottle. Dan Akroyd is featured in a series of videos on their website hawking the beverage and there is a back-story worthy of an Indiana Jones film.

But I think Crystal Head missed the point. The elaborate back-story and celebrity ad campaign are the exact opposite of the pure essence that is the hallmark of a good vodka, especially in the premium market segment it is clearly focused on.

I would instead hire an elite design firm to design a simple but iconic bottle that would exemplify the spirit of the beverage inside. (Forgive my blatant pun, if you will.)

This bottle would serve as the packaging, logo, and the entire brand.

Would it work? I expect it would if were launched under the umbrella of a premium label it just might.

Next, a de-branded sportscar........