WEAK COFFEE

I follow Caribou on Twitter and was intrigued when I saw the promise of a brand relaunch coming soon. I’m not a frequent customer, but I do like them—their products, their stores and even how they communicate with their customers. In fact, one of my favorite collateral pieces is something they produced (it was a coffee tasting guide, done in the style of what you’d see for wine). And I have to say, their Life Is Short tagline has always done a pretty good job at capturing the whimsy of their brand. So why am I let down by a re-brand that’s built around it? I think because it’s too obvious.

Here’s what I would’ve done:

1) Dug deeper. While I’m glad the slogan was held over, paying it off with phrases like Thank A Teacher or Plant A Tree seems a little too pat, too easy. If the client really wanted to head in this direction, I would’ve aimed for something less shallow. To me, all the phrases sound like something you’d see on a magnet at a gift shop.

2) Be less like Starbucks. I recently read an article stating that if Caribou wants to be more than a regional player, they need to be more like Starbucks. But I’d argue just the opposite. Largely because I see that being a lose-lose situation. Starbucks has lost a lot of their soul by becoming the McDonald’s of coffee and I’d hate to see Caribou stuck as the Wendy’s of coffee, struggling for an identity in their quest to be #2. Love it or hate, their old rustic branding was something they could own. Take out the coffee beans and this new direction could be for almost any brand (I’m thinking athletic shoes).