Why did Starbucks put a topless mermaid on their coffee cup and how did it help build a $100B brand?
The answer: They listened.
Not just through focus groups or surveys, but by observing culture, customer sentiment, and evolving preferences over decades. Today, we’d call that social listening.
In this post, you'll learn how one logo (and a lot of customer insight) transformed a local coffee shop into a global powerhouse and how your brand can do the same.
We are all familiar with Starbucks, from their customizable coffee and delicious baked goods, we would all recognize that deep green girl anywhere! Did you know that the now, globally known and beloved siren was actually once not so appealing?
Starbucks is a global success because of one simple reason. Branding. It's not just about the logo, it's about how they used storytelling to cultivate a new culture. They were constantly on the path to improvement and using insights from the public, they are now an international sensation.
Today we will be discussing the evolution of the billion dollar logo and how listening to your audience can be the difference and change needed to uplift your business into a new atmosphere.
This case study will ultimately help illustrate the bigger picture- How data and analysis of this Brand can help YOUR brand grow!
It all started in Seattle Washington in the Maritimes. Terry Heckler - the graphic designer, took inspiration from this time and as an ode to the sea roots, they created the original logo. This would be the first out of many Starbucks logo evolutions.
As depicted, the first logo featured a topless-yes-completly nude siren with twin tails coming from both sides. Inspired by 16th-century Norse mythology.
Back then, Starbucks wasn’t using public feedback to refine their logo, they were projecting an artsy identity. But as the brand expanded, it became clear: the siren, in her original form, wasn’t resonating. That realization sparked the first wave of adaptation.
Now, why a siren? And what about it is just so captivating to us now. Mythology paints sirens to be these irresistible creatures who are seductive and the ultimate temptress. This is the exact reason why Starbucks chose to have one.
For many, coffee is a daily ritual and Starbucks used the siren to create an irresistible emotional pull. This is the goal of the company.
The tagline was also Coffee Tea Spices during this period and it emphasized Starbucks' focus on high-quality ingredients rather than the experience it’s known for today.
During this time, they were still a small business so the numbers are unknown, however, Starbucks is recorded to have 1.3 million dollars in 1987! More information on Starbucks financial numbers
In the early 80’s, Howard Shultz entered into the logo process. After returning from a trip to Italy, he adapts the ideology that drinking coffee should be an experience.
Knowing this key information, Schultz leaves to start Il Giornale. In this venture he introduces a fresh brand identity with a green color scheme and an homage to the Roman god Mercury.
Then in 1987, he returned to acquire Starbucks. Schultz merged Il Giornale’s branding with the siren. The result was a refined siren logo with a green palette, symbolizing growth, freshness, and prosperity, a major shift from the original brown branding.
Schultz became the catalyst that turned Starbucks from a product into a lifestyle.
Starbucks was founded in 1971 by 3 guys, Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl. Prior to 1987, Siegl decided to leave the company. The other two founders sell the company to Howard Shultz who then springs into full action to rebrand.
With a clear image in mind, he keeps the original siren and merges his two ventures. The brown was replaced with green to mark Starbucks’ shift toward a broader audience.
This was no doubt a genius move by Shultz as the color green invokes freshness, wealth and symbolizes growth which is exactly what happened.
The brand took early feedback seriously. As Starbucks scaled, they noticed that customers responded more positively to a cleaner, more modest siren and to the fresh green color. These weren’t just design tweaks; they were early signs of social listening in action, long before it was a buzzword.
This iteration introduced more refined typography, a crisper siren, and subtle modesty. The siren now is seen to have her hair repositioned to cover her chest, making the logo more commercially friendly. He simplified the name to Starbucks Coffee, a small change that made a big impact.
In 1992, 5 years after the last recorded earnings, Starbucks went public. At its IPO (initial public offering), they operated 140 stores and reported revenues of $73.5 million dollars, a clear increase from the previously reported 1.3 million.
In 1992, the logo once again went to redesign but this slight tweak might have just been the one to finally help scale this business. They cropped the siren’s image, removing the navel and focusing on her face, making the logo more scalable, digital-friendly, and recognizable.
Customers still found aspects of the siren a bit too risqué. The brand heard those concerns and adjusted, not defensively, but thoughtfully. By tuning into subtle sentiment and shifting social norms, Starbucks refined their identity without losing their edge.
With this change, Starbucks embraced minimalism and digital adaptability. The focus was shifting to her face. This tweak made the logo more recognizable, scalable, and modern, perfect for coffee cups, store signs, and media applications.
By simplifying the details and emphasizing symmetry, the brand showed serious maturity and allowed Starbucks and its siren to remain iconic!
The Logo simplification put Starbucks into a whole new stratosphere numbers wise. In 1994, Starbucks saw a revenue of $284.9 Million. In 1995, only 3 years after the rebrand, Starbucks made $465.2 Million, almost doubling from the year before!
Revenue Growth Timeline
This is the modern day logo as we see it! For Starbucks 40th anniversary, they decided to make the bold move to drop the circular name of “Starbucks Coffee” from the logo entirely!
At this point, Starbucks wasn’t guessing. Decades of observation, media feedback, and cultural shifts told them the siren alone could carry the brand. This move wasn’t ego, it was data. Emotional resonance had been tested, proven, and embedded in the minds of millions.
Through their effective branding, the siren was already associated with Starbucks so their audience didn't have a hard time adapting to this change whatsoever.
The general public didn't need to see the words “Starbucks Coffee” to know that the siren was associated with that specific brand.
Now, why exactly did this work? Well Starbucks used their 40 years in business to pick one captivating color and one particular character and emphasized its relation to the business enough to the point where they created the simplest version of the logo and it still managed to draw in customers.
This decision also reflected Starbucks’ evolution beyond coffee branching into tea, food, and lifestyle products. Schultz himself commented: “We’re more than coffee now”, alluding to the new culture that this company was creating.
The logo also shows subtle tweaks humanizing the siren, introducing soft asymmetry to avoid an overly “perfect” look, making her more relatable while maintaining the brand’s strong identity.
The asymmetry also prevented the logo from appearing overly mechanical or impersonal, strengthening the emotional connection customers felt with the brand. This is the smartest change yet as it launched the brand into a solidified new era.
After its final rebranding, Starbucks made a record 11.9 BILLION dollars in its 2011 fiscal year, up around 9.3% from their previous Fiscal year prior to the rebranding. They achieved this feat, all due to their brand identity through customer feedback.
Each rebrand had its own reasons but was propelled by one reason and one reason only, Listening to its customers.
Every logo change Starbucks made wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was a response to insight. This table shows how listening drove each design decision:
Firstly let's discuss why this logo worked:
These 3 simple, yet effective things contributed to the expansive growth that this company had!
It may seem silly, I mean what does the color green have to do with coffee? Using this ideology, the previous earthy brown tone would make more sense.
To understand why they used green, we have to understand color theory. The color green provides a sense of serenity to the viewers. It's the color of the grass, trees, and also the earth.
It's also the color representing freshness and growth. Obviously it's also the color of wealth and money which worked in their favor.
Now, imagine the first feeling you feel when you see the color green to be calm. Next pair it with drinking a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee with the perfect warm temperature.
This will eventually classically condition your brain to associate the feeling of coffee with the color green. As you continue, keep in mind the serenity you are feeling from the coffee.
Many may find sirens to be scary, even nightmare fuel. Starbucks’ first genius move was making their siren more approachable. They did this in a few ways.
Obviously they started by making her a simple clipart. However the emotions that she emulates are anything but simple.
The slight asymmetry in her eyes makes her seem soft and approachable. The fierce eye contact combined with the soft smiling expression presents this invitation for you to seek her out.
The siren also presents important symbolism. In mythology, they are associated with being so striking that they lured sailors to their demise - While sirens are often associated with danger, Starbucks reimagined her as inviting and magnetic—more muse than menace
Sirens are the ultimate seductress. They represent temptation and are unforgettable, more so irresistible.
Starbucks wants their commodities to be irresistible to the average customer and using the siren subconsciously instils this within their customers.
Let's go back to that serene feeling. Mix in a subconscious desire to seek out a smiling siren; you might just find yourself driving to Starbucks soon!
Over the 54+ years that Starbucks has been in business, they have embraced change and adapted to it. Listening to customers and slowly changing branding is the only way that it has been able to achieve its impressive market cap of 100 BILLION!
Logos are like living organisms, and as anything living, they should evolve with your audience. What was once a maritime coffee shop in Seattle is now a lifestyle.
In media, Starbucks is known to offer the utmost customizable drinks, have their own accessories like sought after tumblers and is the ultimate stop for productivity to thrive.
Whether you have to meet someone new for the first time or grab a quick breakfast on the way to work, the versatility that Starbucks has adapted to and harnessed is incredible.
Starbucks themselves did not promote this, they simply achieved it by listening to their audience's needs and their incredible adaptability is what led to this new culture around coffee.
To conclude, the logo works because she is imperfect, and her imperfection = human connection. Visuals can do what words can’t, create emotional attachment.
This is exactly what Starbucks has done with their Siren. None of this could have been achieved if they hadn’t made the choice to listen to their customers and adapted.
Firstly, you have to understand that Branding is EVERYTHING when it comes to creating success. To create a brand, you have to LISTEN to your Audience.
There are many ways to read your audience. You have to be on top of what is being said in the media. Then, study the emotional and cultural signals your brand sends out and gauge how your audience is receiving it. Once you better understand what your audience wants, you can adapt your output accordingly.
This may seem like a tall ask but - you aren't alone! Real-time Feedback tools exist to help just do that. By using AI, they can take what is being said about your brand and provide insightful feedback :).
Use real-time feedback tools like OneCliq to stay aligned with your audience!
From Seattle to Sensational Siren; Starbucks was able to crack the code to successful branding.
They went from a complex, borderline inappropriate (by today's standards) complicated logo to a simplistic, yet intricate household logo!
Starbucks cracked the code and turned these simple images into cold hard cash, increasing revenues with each edit.
They understood that Simplicity scales and Mystery sells- and you can too! Your logo is the forefront of your branding and Starbucks shows us that your logo doesn’t have to stay the same, but it does need to tell the same story, better, every time.
Starbucks’ logo evolution proves that branding is more than design, it’s storytelling. The siren has transcended mere visuals, becoming an emblem of community, culture, and coffee.
With tools like OneCliq, you don’t need to wait years (or millions) to learn how your audience really feels. OneCliq turns real-time online sentiment into emotional insight—so you can adapt like Starbucks, but faster. Smarter. Sharper.
.png)
The first platform built to automate qualitative research and make it actually useful.
