更新日期:
2011/01/13 00:07本報訊
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策劃、編譯■李威撰、謝雯伃
星巴克的新logo將於今年3月8日40週年慶當天正式啟用，
雖有不少民眾對此感到憤怒，但學者、品牌顧問及許多民眾則持樂觀態度，
認為透過更新logo的方式可以重新活化該品牌。
儘管星巴克的商品價位偏高，但透過品牌操作的行銷方式，
星巴克成功塑造自己的形象，並培植出許多忠實的顧客群。
但撇開商場策略的問題不論，當抽象的品牌轉換為實體價格時，
作為消費者的我們，或許值得追問自己為何情願埋單。
■星巴克logo的演變圖。（圖／路透）
全球最大的咖啡連鎖店星巴克公司5日公布新商標設計，這款新商標上拿掉了公司名稱和原有的咖啡字樣，一經公布，激怒死忠顧客。
Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O), the world's biggest coffee chain, unveiled a new logo on Wednesday that omits its name and the word "coffee", infuriating loyal customers.
新版綠色商標純粹只留下代表星巴克的女海妖；女海妖是希臘神話中以歌聲引誘水手走向死亡的半人妖女。星巴克透過一場公司會議的網路轉播，宣布這項商標改變，目的是要拓展版圖，建立涉足咖啡店以外事業的全新數十億美元品牌。
The new green logo is essentially Starbucks' representation of a female siren （1） -- a half-human mythical temptress who led sailors to their deaths. The change, announced during a Webcast of a company meeting, comes as Starbucks is building new billion-dollar brands sold outside its cafes.
「即使我們曾經是，也永遠會是一間咖啡公司和零售商，我們還是也可能生產其他打上星巴克品牌的產品，但卻不含咖啡。」星巴克執行長舒茲在網路廣播中表示。
"Even though we have been, and always will be, a coffee company and retailer, it's possible we'll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said on the Webcast.
從官網上數百則要求星巴克將公司名稱放回商標的留言看來，許多自許為星巴克忠實粉絲的網友對更改商標一事並不領情。
Self-described （2） Starbucks fanatics were not impressed and, among hundreds of comments on Starbucks' website, called for the company's name to be put back into the logo.
「你們行銷部門是哪個笨蛋把世界聞名的『星巴克咖啡』從新商標上移除的？我這個金卡使用者可不喜歡。」署名MimiKatz的一名顧客留言道。
"Who's the bonehead in your marketing department that removed the world-famous name of Starbucks Coffee from your new logo? This gold card user isn't impressed!" wrote one customer who identified herself as MimiKatz.
另一名網友寫道：「從很早期開始，我就是（星巴克的）死忠支持者，會付出昂貴的計程車錢，就為了早上那一杯咖啡，即使穿著西裝，跋涉2呎高的積雪也不在乎。……不過我真的看不出來，你們業務部門員工把商標上的星巴克名稱拿掉的邏輯何在。」
Another wrote: "I have been a big supporter of (Starbucks) since the early days, taken expensive rides in taxis to get my morning coffee, even waded through two feet of snow in my business suit ... but I do not see the logic of your Business Development folks for the removal of the Starbucks name."
星巴克執行委員表示，由公司內部所設計的新商標將會於3月先行出現在杯子和紙巾等紙類製品上，再循序漸進用到其他產品上。然而，星巴克拒絕透露，全面改用新商標將花費多少預算。
Executives said the logo, designed in-house （3）, would be phased in, appearing first on paper products like cups and napkins in March. Starbucks declined to say how much it would cost to switch to the new logo.
過去幾年來，星巴克經歷了事業版圖重建，關閉了全球將近1千多間店，將事業重心轉移到即溶咖啡品牌Via和咖啡連鎖副牌Seattle's Best Coffee。
Starbucks has come through a restructuring over the past few years, during which it closed almost 1,000 stores around the world and put more emphasis on brands like instant coffee Via and Seattle's Best Coffee.
目前，星巴克正在與卡夫食品爭奪物流產業的版圖。
It is now fighting Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) for control of its grocery distribution business.
部分品牌專家質疑星巴克這次商標改變是否為明智之舉，甚至把星巴克此舉與服飾連鎖商Gap Inc先前的失敗案例相比。Gap先前曾試圖改變其眾所周知的品牌形象。
Some brand experts questioned whether the logo change was a smart move, and even likened it to a recent ill-fated attempt by clothing chain Gap Inc (GPS.N) to change its well-known brand image.
「我覺得星巴克瘋了。」品牌顧問公司CoreBrand的執行長葛瑞格利表示。「等於咖啡代名詞的這家公司，到底要變成什麼？」
"I think it's nuts," said James Gregory, chief executive of brand consulting firm CoreBrand. "What's it going to be -- the coffee formerly known as Starbucks?"
短期之內，星巴克的新商標並不會影響旗下咖啡店的生意，因為大多星巴克的顧客都是死忠粉絲，葛瑞格利說。不過他表示，商標上面沒有品牌名稱，這對於星巴克其他在雜貨店或一般零售通路販售的商品來說，卻是一計重擊。
The new logo probably will not hurt cafe sales in the near term because most Starbucks customers are enthusiasts, Gregory said. But, he said, a nameless （4） logo was a bad fit for Starbucks products sold by grocery stores and other retailers.
「你在零售通路要吸引的對象並非死忠支持者。你現在看到的是幾乎沒有商標名的商品。這項商品不會比大聲張揚自己是來自星巴克的商品來得引人注目。」
"There you're dealing with people who aren't enthusiasts. You're looking at something that's almost generic, and it's not shouting out as something that is Starbucks."
「如果星巴克是想要擴展品牌，它們可以留下『星巴克』的字樣，僅去除掉『咖啡』兩字。」品牌策略顧問公司Siegel+Gale的創立者兼執行長席格爾表示。
"If they want to extend the brand, they can keep the 'Starbucks' and lose the 'Coffee'," said Alan Siegel, founder and CEO at Siegel+Gale, a strategic branding firm.
包括蘋果和耐吉在內的幾家知名公司，長久以來都只用標誌去代表他們的品牌。
Several well-known companies, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Nike Inc (NKE.N), have long used only symbols to represent their brands.
消費者品牌忠誠度顧問公司Brand Keys Inc的總裁暨創辦人帕希可夫表示，如果星巴克更具企圖心地要將企業版圖拓展到多種消費品市場上，這樣的改變行動不失明智。
Robert Passikoff, president and founder of Brand Keys Inc, a consumer and brand loyalty consulting firm, said the action could prove wise if Starbucks moved more aggressively into a wider portfolio of consumer goods.
「但如果（改變商標的理由）不是如此，他們只是要改變形象讓大眾有新鮮感的話，沒人在乎。」他說。
"If it isn't (the reason for the change) and they're just trying to freshen stuff up, no one cares," he said.
這次並不是星巴克第一次因為改變商標而被批評：去年星巴克總公司支持Seattle's Best Coffee的新商標，儘管受到顧客和外界的批評聲浪不斷。
This is not the first time Starbucks has been criticized for revamping a logo: last year it stood behind a new logo for Seattle's Best Coffee despite criticism from customers and others.
星巴克將這次星巴克新商標的公開亮相日期，訂在星巴克1971年於西雅圖創店的40週年慶當天。
The company timed the debut of the new Starbucks logo to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the first Starbucks store in Seattle in 1971.
星巴克這間咖啡專門店的創立者，希望找尋一個能夠捕捉住依靠航海而生的咖啡史，還有西雅圖鮮明的航海意象；於是他們發現了一個16世紀的挪威木雕，上頭的雙尾美人魚圖案正好符合這項需求。
The founders of that artisan coffee shop were looking for a way to capture the seafaring history of coffee, and Seattle's strong seaport roots when they found a 16th century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed mermaid （5） that fit the bill.
多年下來，當初創店時裸露胸部、雙手各抓著一條尾巴的美人魚圖像已經改變成現今這個更圖像化，闔家接受的女海妖圖案。
Over the years, their siren has been transformed from a bare-breasted mermaid grasping a tail in each hand to a more graphic, family-friendly image.
「我們的最新進化版本把女海妖由框住她的外環中解放出來，賦予她真誠歡迎他人的星巴克式面容。」該公司表示。
"Our new evolution liberates the siren from the outer ring, making her the true, welcoming face of Starbucks," the company said.
（路透Reuters）
關鍵字詞
Key Words
1. siren
(n.) 希臘神話裡以歌聲引誘行船人航向毀滅的女海妖
2. self-described
(a.) 自稱的、自命的、自我標榜的
3. in-house
(a.) （公司或機構）內部的
4. nameless
(a.) 無名的
5. mermaid
(n.) 美人魚
