It All Starts With The Cup

Today is Sunday....

On Friday I was in a one-on-one session with a student and we discussed his start up idea and why it is so important in the beginning of the start-up phase to choose your style, image, values and mission.  All these concepts lead into what we call culture.                                 Since we were sitting in a campus Starbucks,  I wanted my student to understand better how important everything a company does is so important to building and maintaining a brand.  So many people take for granted brands of companies, like Pepsi, Delta, Proctor and Gamble, and Microsoft.   I used the concept as a way to explain how a company could be so successful with just a cup.

 If you look at the Starbucks cup alone, so much is unique, and special.  Like any great brand the cup has changed at times to reflect the history of the company.  The design that went into this cup is more than likely amazing.  I explained to my student that this brand is unique because attention to detail goes into everything about the cup, the design, the size, the colors, the placement of the logo.  Even the sleeve to keep your hands from burning has a very unique design and feel.  In addition, the barista will sometimes use the cup to in fact customize your drink or write your name.  Don't think that there wasn't thought to the fact that these cups can be written on with a sharpie.

As we continued to talk more about he cup, the brand, the product, the image and the layout of the store itself, I could tell that my student was starting to understand the deliberate nature of everything Starbucks does.  We then discussed other brands that are similar in their design approach to understand what makes great companies great.

As we talked more about design and he pondered the cup again, he stated that he thought millions of dollars in research probably went into the design of the cup.  I agreed with him, but explained that is what is amazing about design and innovation.  Large companies have large budgets to research and grow something from nothing.  Start-ups don't have that same luxury.  So we improvise.

Moving forward reflect on your brand.  It is the face of your company.  It is what people see and ultimately feel about your brand.  Are you happy with what you see?  If not, think about Starbucks and other great brands and do something about it.

Happy Easter!

-Jeffrey