O'Rourke sees the trend for more 'silent' or 'quiet' branding as an antidote to the busy and frequently 'branded' world in which we live in. "The sheer amount of competing information out there means that it is no longer sufficient for brands to shout louder than others in the marketplace about their virtues. Consumers are growing weary of the noise," she says.
Starbucks has also tried to reduce some of this noise-weariness by removing its moniker and debranding some of its stores so that they seem more local, more approachable and less corporate. But what Coke and Starbucks have in common, of course, is that they are two of the most easily recognisable brands in the world.
Tony Cortizas, vice president of global brand strategy at Melia Hotels International, points out that Starbucks faces similar issues to Nike, which he believes was one of the first brands to use such a strategy. Nike has moved away from using its name, preferring just the swoosh logo. According to Cortizas, brand maturity or saturation comes into play: "Starbucks' problem, which is the same that Nike has faced, is that it is everywhere," he says. "You reach a point where your logo is no longer cool."
