Starbucks Across America

I'm a fan of mugs and all things Pittsburgh. So when I saw this at the Starbucks on campus last semester, I had to get it:

Yes, I know it says Pennsylvania instead of Pittsburgh. But when something's black and yellow and covered in bridges, it obviously represents us—not Philly.

The mug is part of the Starbucks Local Collection 2016. This collection proclaims that "every place has a story to tell," and on the website, it says each mug was designed by someone who felt a connection to the place depicted on that particular mug.

The Philly mug isn't memorable enough to include here, but below are some of my favorite mugs from the collection. Each picks out a unique quality about the location shown, and represents those places well.

The Chicago mug features a classic patriotic color scheme. The slanted script and rippled water seem as though they'll fly right off this rendition of the Windy City. A modernist interpretation of the Sears Tower keeps watch in the background.

The D.C. mug captures the District at its best: during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. I love this festival—hundreds pink flowers soften the edges of monuments and museums alike, giving the whole city a warm glow.

The Maryland mug depicts the Chesapeake Bay and the aquatic nature of the state in beautiful blue hues tinged with green. It reminds me of road trips to Baltimore and Ocean City.

Starbucks seems to have created The Local Collection as a way to freshen up their prior take on localized mugs (we've all seen those old cookie cutter city mugs). But why should a large corporate chain like Starbucks take a localized approach to anything at all? 

While Starbucks has a loyal consumer base, local coffee shops are a direct competitor to the chain—coffeeshops exist in a monopolistically competitive market. Unlike perfectly competitive markets, where goods are homogenous, monopolistically competitive markets are comprised of goods with slight differentiations. Brand loyalty is a huge factor in monopolistically competitive markets. In order to attract and retain brand loyal consumers, Starbucks needs to connect with local populations, like actual local coffeeshops do. What better way to connect than with customized mugs celebrating places across America?

The Local Collection 2016 is fresh, fun, and a great way to enhance the Starbucks brand. You can view the entire collection here. Which mug is your favorite?

Controversy or Free Advertising?

Since President Donald Trump's recent ban of refugees and citizens of certain, and mostly Muslim, countries, many people have been speaking up. Certain judicial staff in many states have been putting into order policies that go against Trump's plans in order to make the most for their Muslim communities. People have been raising hell outside of different Trump buildings in Washington D.C. and New York City, just to name a few places.

Companies have also been calling to take action against the recent ban on certain people entering the United States. Starbucks, the coffee powerhouse not known for staying out of controversy, released a statement on the morning of January 30 saying they were looking to hire 10,000 refugees to provide jobs and reasons for refugees to seek shelter in the United States.

Many Trump supporters have been using the hashtag "#BoycottStarbucks" because they feel this is going against the President's orders. The majority of Twitter and Facebook users that side with the boycotting of the coffee giant are putting the idea out there that Starbucks should instead hire 10,000 veterans of the United States military rather than focusing on hiring refugees. People that are saying this are missing one vital point however; Starbucks released a statement in 2013 that they're goal by the middle of 2014 was to hire 10,000 veterans and family members of veterans. The problem? Just under 8,000 veterans and their family members even applied for jobs, and the majority of them got it.

What point am I trying to make? The point that if you are a veteran or want to support veterans, seek a job out. Nobody is entitled to a company searching for them. These people need to search for jobs rather than sitting around waiting for opportunities to seek them out.

This also begs the question; is Starbucks in a deep pool of controversy for their statements or are they simply gaining free advertising? There is definitely something to be said about being in controversy. For example, they will probably lose a few customers here and there when those customers decide to side with Trump supporters and the #BoycottStarbucks movement. However, according to Starbucks reports from 2015, the company announced that it served on average 60 million customers every week. Every week. In a year, that's 3.12 billion customers. Of course, that is assuming that nobody ever returns and that every customer is entering a Starbucks establishment for the first time. This simply isn't the case, however in terms of money, 3.12 billion customers in a year with an average of five dollars being spent per customer is over 15 billion dollars of revenue for the company in a single year.

The last point I'm attempting to make here is that with a few Trump supporters that also support the boycotting of Starbucks, the company shouldn't be worrying whatsoever. They won't be losing much money, if any at all.

Keep on ordering your venti spiced lattes whenever you wish. If you like the taste, enjoy it while you can.

Starbucks in Europe

It comes to no surprise that the "Starbucks" brand is becoming a world wide phenomenon with over 4,000 coffee shops worldwide. This Seattle-based coffee empire can easily be called one of the most popular and well known coffee brands around the globe. But for some, this coffee chain has yet to grace the corners of their streets.

When thinking of coffee or il cafe, I think Italy. Italy is among one of the original countries to introduce coffee and coffee shops to the public. Starbucks is planning on expanding their market and will introduce 650 branches throughout Europe! ABC News says "Starbucks is currently opening new branches worldwide at a rate of three per day." This expansion is remarkable! To think that Europe, home of some of the worlds best coffee, is opening up their arms to this "chain". It is quite interesting. Starbucks has made a very powerful name for themselves and now, when we think of coffee, the first brand that everyone around the world will think of is "Starbucks".

"We're taking a softly, softly approach when it comes to Europe," said a spokeswoman from Starbucks Europe. "We expect to open shops in the big four countries — Italy, Germany, France and Spain — in the next 24 to 36 months."

What does this mean for advertising? Is the Starbucks logo going to be a symbol of what coffee should be in today's world? What is going to happen to all of the smaller coffee houses around Europe that have originated this business? Although Starbucks is tastefully addictive, I hope Europeans stay true to their hometown coffee houses and continue to give them their business as well as enjoying Starbucks at times. What we see when we look at Starbucks advertisements and marketing is the same thing that Europeans will be glancing at in their cities. The Starbucks green and logo will begin flooding their street corners, filling their garbage cans, empty venti cups will be seen left on tables and desks, and scoops of Starbucks coffee will be what Europeans will be placing inside of their coffee makers first thing in the morning. Lets hope who ever is in charge of Advertising and Marketing for the Europe area is very good at what they do because this might be a very difficult market to break into at first.