Starbucks is changing what we eat and drink. It’s altering where and when we work and play. It’s shaping how we spend time and money. That’s just for appetizers.
Starbucks has an even glitzier goal: to help rewrite society’s pop culture menu. The company that sells 4 million coffee drinks daily in the USA is hot to extend its brand beyond the espresso machine to influence the films we see, CDs we hear and books we read. In the process, it aims to grow into a global empire rivaling McDonald’s.
“It amazes all of us — how we’ve become part of popular culture,” says Chairman Howard Schultz, sitting casually in his office near a photo of him arm-in-arm with Mick Jagger. “Our customers have given us permission to extend the experience.” The kingpin of pricey coffee is intent on ranking among the top trendmeisters before the decade is out. Something like: If you love the taste of our coffee, you’ll love our taste in pop culture, too. “Call it the Starbuckization of society,” says George Ritzer, sociology professor at the University of Maryland. “Starbucks has created the image that they’re cutting edge.”
Schultz is dead serious about taking his company Hollywood — and beyond. Starbucks Entertainment, formed two years ago, has 100 employees and is relocating to Santa Monica, Calif. It retained the William Morris Agency to help link the brand, via marketing ventures, with films, music and books. In some cases, Starbucks will have a financial stake.
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