Retaining the “soul” of your brand

I’ve had a lot of fun reading the follow-up analysis and advice given to Starbucks after Howard Schultz’s recent email challenged his company to get back to what they do best – creating a unique experience around coffee.

John Moore from Brand Autopsy and Paul Williams from Idea Sandbox, both former Starbucks marketers, have done a fantastic job breaking down Schultz’s challenge and offering compelling solutions.

All of their ideas are smart and realistic, and most have implications for any business focused on creating unique value, differentiation and emotional appeal with customers.

Recently Paul covered the challenge of recapturing “store soul” at Starbucks in this post.

Some great advice for growing companies that, no matter what you do, might face the challenge of retaining a personal experience while replicating that experience in dozens, hundreds or even thousands of retail environments.