Your brand means nothing unless it comes alive through people who walk the talk every day.

For example, I was in New Jersey in March (I know that’s a good reason for you to feel sorry for me, but you shouldn’t—I was well taken care of at one particular Starbucks, unlike Ms. Swan, whose presence, admittedly, is enough to make even the most sensible Starbucks barista quit in exasperation), somewhere near the town of Wayne, and I came across a barista, an older fellow (yes, males are called “baristas” in Starbuckspeak) who took my order.

I made an offhand comment to him…very inconsequential, because I don’t even remember what it was specifically, except that it was some kind of sympathetic remark about his work. Perhaps he took it negatively, as if I had insinuated some snide remark about Starbucks, because there he was, explaining at length why Starbucks had a certain process and standard, and why it was done that way. He spoke with true sincerity. There was no manager around. In fact, no one heard this exchange but him and me.

And I thanked him for clarifying. I walked out with my Vanilla Latte and realized that this man was more than just an employee. He was a Brand Believer.

And then I realized exactly what a darn good job Starbucks has done with internal branding.

Article Tags: brand | Branding | Starbucks
Filed under: Branding, Visual Identity