Case Study: A quick look at branding Chipotle, Jimmy Johns, and Starbucks
Introduction
A lot of people thing graphic designers just do things like, make logos, or make posters. This is not entirely accurate, yes we make logos, and even posters, we make all kinds of things. Most of the time we aren’t just making a logo though, we are creating an identity, we are personifying a company through a logo mark. Its called BRANDING. And it has a few parts, one part is making the logo (the identity), but an equally important part of branding is the reception of the identity, if its not understood, and well received then it was a weak brand. When you have a strong enough brand/identity you are almost guaranteed success. Take google for example, this is a company based around a search engine, that has now become a verb, to google something, is to look it up via the internet. Nike as another example, is one of the most
recognizable brands in sports anywhere in the world, and its all thanks to the swoosh there logo mark. A logo mark that was made be a college student for nearly nothing. But it is a strong, easily identifiable mark and because of this it has helped Nike become the company they are today. So keeping this in mind I wanted to take a closer look at branding, gaining a better understanding on how it works and how its implemented. So I choice 3 companies, that are all fairly well known have a unique approach to spreading themselves. Chipotle, a now national chain but born here in Denver, Jimmy Johns another grass roots eatery starting on college campuses that has managed to span the country, and Starbucks, a company that up until recently managed to make their march across the country all by word of mouth.
Chipotle
Company Brief
Founder Steve Ells attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York; afterward, he became a line cook for Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco, California. There, Ells observed the popularity of the taquerías and San Francisco burritos in the Mission District. In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco and opened the first Chipotle in Denver, Colorado, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream Store near the University of Denver campus using an $85,000 loan from his father. Ells and his father calculated that the store would need to sell 107 burritos per day in order to be profitable; however, after one month, the original restaurant was selling over 1,000 burritos a day. Ells had originally planned to use funds from the first Chipotle in order to open a finedining restaurant, but instead focused on Chipotle Mexican Grill when the restaurants saw success.
Chipotle does not advertise on television; instead, the company relies mainly on billboards, radio ads, and word-of-mouth. The company even began an ad campaign that mocks advice given to Chipotle by advertising agencies. Chipotle has run many promotions giving out free food to potential customers, especially when opening a new store. Stores also give out free burritos on certain holidays; for instance, on Halloween, some locations have promotions in which free burritos are given to people who come dressed as a burrito. Chipotle gave away free burritos to reporters during the 1997 trial of Timothy McVeigh, which took place in Chipotle’s hometown of Denver. In addition, stores offered free burritos to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Chipotle also received attention when Ozzy Osbourne’s reality show The Osbournes featured the company’s burritos heavily. Chipotle was mentioned throughout the “Dead Celebrities” episode of the television series South Park. Information from: Chipotle
Logos
The original logo designed for Chipotle, this logo along with the others were all designed by San Francisco based firm Sequence. This original logo was all about simplicity, The business had just started and it had a simple goal, good food, cheap. As a designer I can respect the simplicity of the logo and even let slide the use of papyrus, mainly because the logo is well designed and was used successful in their positioning.
Chipotle eventually switched over to the medallion logo for there main branding but still maintained the original logo on some of there items. Along with the switch was a push in their marketing toward their “Food with integrity� slogan. It is a commitment of theirs to use natural food, natural ingredients, and make fresh, healthy food.
Logos
The newest iteration in there logos is the series of medallions. The series is made up of their main logo and four sub logos that contain the slogan “Food with Integrity” and stylized icons to show some of the main ingredients used by the restaurant. This new logo has cause some commotion however, many miss the old logo and consider this new version to be a cheap, clip art knock off, one that brings them down into a category with taco bell. And while that is very arguable the fact remains that this new version in the series of Chipotle’s
identity is to help push their “Food with Integrity” mission. What this mission is a push to help sustainable farming practices and supporting natural farming getting away from growth hormones and pesticides. Some thing the people at Chipotle truly agree with and something there consumers enjoy, even when they had to raise there prices to do it. Over all the new logo still holds try to the same values as there first logo. A healthier alternative to fast food while still being quick and cost effective.
Advertisement
The way Chipotle spread was by word of mouth and this is something they still use today. On average Chipotle spends less in advertising in a year then Mcdonalds does in 48 hours. They do this because there best source of advertising is us the consumer. One thing Chipotle is known for is giving away burritos, on Halloween anyone dressed up like a burrito eats for free, when they first opened a store in downtown manhattan they gave away 6000 free burritos, and during the trial of Timothy Mcvey they gave free burritos to all
the reporters. Doing things like this makes people talk about Chipotle and studys done by marketing research groups have shown that people listen better when a friend or even a stranger is talking about a product or service then when they hear or see and ad for it. The average person is confronted with anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 ads a day, something most people have learned to easily tune out. So what they do spend money on is mostly billboard ads. These ads are simple and straight to the point. They give you a fact and there logo,
Advertisement
thats all they need for you to remember it. Nothing fancy and colorful and shinny with lots of decoration, those are extremely common and there for easy to forget or even over look. Chipotle is also a young company and as such they are up on popular trends and use this to there benefit. Another place they like to advertise is in the realms of social networking. Both of the images on this page were posts from Chipotle on face book. These days facebook is a hugely popular site, to the point on of my teachers was fond of saying “If your not
on facebook you don’t exist.� Chipotle understands this and uses facebook as a strong marketing tool to help push there brand and sell their food by advertising new stores, new menu items, posting deals, and coupons. All in all Chipotle has become a very successful company and will continue to be successful. They have strong, clear goals, a well defined position, a simple and clean identity, and have an army of support that is also there marketing force.
Jimmy Johns
Company Brief
Ahh, A Taste of Gourmet History. 1983 was a big year for America. Change was in the air. Reagan and old Bush were leading the country through the Cold War, GI Joe was dating Barbie, teenagers “tight rolled” their pants and slow danced to Total Eclipse of the Heart. For many, 1983 was a confusing, hungry place. People cried out for more, and not just more fondue. It would be a 19-year-old with two first names that would answer America’s cry for lunch – Jimmy John Liautaud. Jimmy knew that if he kept it simple he could create the world’s greatest gourmet sandwich. With a handful of cookbooks checked out from his local library, Jimmy perfected his award-winning bread. After creating four sandwiches, Jimmy tested them on friends and family, receiving praise he needed to press on. With no hesitation he opened the very first Jimmy John’s. Paying a whopping $200 a month in
rent, he could afford only used equipment consisting of a refrigerator, a chest freezer, and oven, and a meat slicer. The first Jimmy John’s served soda with no ice (there was no room in the budget for an ice machine). As any good business story goes, things were not easy in the beginning. So Jimmy John Liautaud did what any young entrepreneur would do – he took to the streets with armfuls of free sandwiches. College kids loved his irreverent attitude and dirt-cheap prices. The fact that he delivered was icing on the cake. Jimmy John’s has grown up over the last few decades. The irreverent attitude, low price, great food and delivery with a smile remain the same, but what was once the bratty little brother of the sandwich industry is now the super cool older brother that everyone else wants to be. We are currently at 995 stores open.
Information from: Jimmy Johns
Logo
Simplicity goes a long way in branding, and Jimmy johns is no exception to this. Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, a simple black circle with white type and two large J’s in the center. Thats just about as simple as it gets. This was the first logo used by Jimmy Johns and is still used today. They have a few ways of using it but all the different ways have the same feel. Using the same type and same color set. Along with there circle logo they use just “Jimmy John’s” written out and both the circle and the written out sign together. Also they
have the super seal, this is something they use to say they approve of its tasty and value, you’ll also usually find it near the door on the outside of there locations. Jimmy Johns also has a slogan that they use, “Freaky Fast, Freaky Good.” They take this to heart most times when ordering at a Jimmy Johns your food is ready before you able to put your wallet back!
Advertisement
Jimmy Johns advertising system was set up by Planet Propaganda, a Wisconsin advertising agency. And as there name suggests they use Jimmy Johns marketing material similarly to any good propaganda. Above you’ll see some of the original ads produced by Planet Propaganda. They are very simple type based ads containing a bold statement to grab your attention. This was there approach with all the advertising they did for Jimmy John’s. When they were making advertising for JJ there were still only a few stores and they
were all still on college campuses the ads need to be something simple that communicated its message quickly. These were print ads handed out and hung up around college campuses and run in college newspapers, as college students were there main source of business at this time. This was part one of Planet Propaganda’s ad campaign for JJ. Part two was to help take Jimmy Johns national. This would consist of a slight repositioning of JJ also, the slogan “worlds greatest gourmet sandwiched” might not sit so well with a national
Advertisement
market. So they went back to the days of Jimmy handing out free sandwiched and took that to heart in the slogan “Tasting is Believing” and it was true. This new slogan along with the old one “Worlds Greatest Gourmet Sandwiches” are still both used today, along with their newest slogan “Freaky Fast! Freaky Good!” Even though they have changed there positioning through the years they have keep a similar feel in there marketing. Looking at the original ads done by Planet Propaganda and the more current ones you can see they are
connected the only major change is the switch the three colors. But they still communicate their message fast and simply. Which is what makes the brand successful. Its clear and easily understood message. Good food fast.
Starbucks
Company Brief
The Starbucks Story Our story began in 1971. Back then we were a roaster and retailer of whole bean and ground coffee, tea and spices with a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Today, we are privileged to welcome millions of customers through our doors every day, in more than 16,000 locations in over 50 countries. Folklore Starbucks is named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Our logo is also inspired by the sea – featuring a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. Starbucks Mission Our mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
Our Coffee We’ve always believed in serving the best coffee possible. It’s our goal for all of our coffee to be grown under the highest standards of quality, using ethical trading and responsible growing practices. Our coffee buyers personally travel to coffee farms in Latin America, Africa and Asia to select the highest quality arabica beans. Once these quality beans arrive at our roasting plants, Starbucks experts bring out the balance and rich flavor of the beans through the signature Starbucks Roast™. Our Stores Our stores are a welcoming third place for meeting friends and family, enjoying a quiet moment alone with a book or simply finding a familiar place in a new city. Total stores 16,706
Information from: Starbucks
Logo
The Original logo for Starbucks was made in 1971, fashioned after a Norse woodcut with the image of a Siren (a mythical half women half fish that had a song that was irresistible to men). The idea behind the use of the siren was to link it to the irresistibility of the companys coffee. Over the years there logo has changed many times for many reasons. The original logo was also coffee brown in color and the first major change for the logo came in 1987 when the company was bought out. The brown was changed to green similar to the companies current logo and the sirens breasts were covered by her hair to fit better into the corporate world it was moving towards.
It also changed the wording in the circle to simply Starbucks coffee. The current logo was put into place in 1992 and took the siren image and cropped it closer so its mainly her face with the tops of her two tails just peaking in. This current logo is the simplest and most recognizable of all their logos the company has and has become there brand image. Although along with the current logo they also have a version of the original logo, this version of the original is only used for there Pikes Peak Roast, and carries the slogan The best cup then, the best cup now.
Advertisement
For the longest time Starbucks was a word of mouth advertiser only. Currently they still don’t spend much on marketing how ever this current marketing program is the most expensive Starbucks has ever undertaken although they wont say what the total cost is. Along with these ads they also plan on having an in house contest for employees to up with slogan and ad ideas, along with youtube videos featuring coffee experts talking about Starbucks. With new technology comes new ways to exploit it. Starbucks does a good job of keeping up
with marketing trends and is using things like youtube, facebook, and twitter to keep the cost of there marketing way low. Recently twitter announced plans on how companies can get their twitter followers to be customers/better customers with something twitter is called promoted tweets that will work like advertisements, Starbucks has already gotten on board with this idea, even though this hasn’t launched yet. This is how companies keep up with marketing and even stay ahead and how they continue to grow there customer
Advertisement
base. By using current popular social networking sites they can grasp at audiences easily, quickly, and inexpensively. Even making applications for face book that will help you find what coffee best suits your personality. They say your personality because Starbucks considers itself a lifestyle choice not just a cup of coffee. Having steadfast belief in there product, its quality, and its worth Starbucks has positioned itself as a way of life not just another product to be consumed but something that is part of its followers lives. Its not coffee its Starbucks.
Final Thoughts
BRAND – Noun 1. Kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like –Verb (used with object) 2. To give a brand name to: branded merchandise. 3. To promote as a brand name. As the definition says the definition of brand is to identify something. The three companies discussed above are all strongly branded, they are easily identified and they are successful. Success is the best measure of the strength of a brand. If you have a successful business generally you have a strong brand and strong marketing. Branding is important to the world today because of the way people life today.
The modern age is about efficiency, being able to do a lot quickly and effectively. People are moving fast and getting their information even quicker. Having a brand that stands out is important but having one that is easy to recognize and remember is even better. When walking through a food store for example are you more likely to by a product with a brand you recognize or the same product thats sitting right next to it with a label you’ve never seen? It really shouldn’t matter they are the same thing but if you recognize the logo then you are connecting to it on some level and your going to by it because of that alone. That is the power of strong branding and if a company wants to be successful in this day and age they need to have strong branding that communicates well. - Nick Moore
somemooredesign.com