Brand a Coffee Shop; Brand an Experience

Part 1: Part 1 of this article describes the branding of a coffee shop experience for two local places in Boulder, Trident Booksellers & Café and The Laughing Goat. These are essentially singular establishments, a part of no other chain experience, existing on opposite ends of the Pearl Street business district, and we’ll take a look at how each makes their mark on the customer.

Trident Booksellers and Café, Sophisticated Charm on West Pearl
Trident is the place to be in Boulder, browsing their book selection and downing some great coffee, but mostly it’s a place to see and be seen. You’ll spot our established intellectuals, university professors, hip youngsters on first (or 50th) dates, and a handful of individuals who refuse to be caught in the mainstream — all the patrons hanging out and enjoying the scene. Their branding only really exists in their signage that in gold roman letters, all caps proclaim: TRIDENT. You’re either in the café with the cappuccino, or you’re in the bookseller section to “buy & sell.” Bags to take goods home, napkins to serve your needs, paper or porcelain cups, and the dress code of the employees are all unbranded. A friend says she prefers the simple white paper coffee cups, another notes that it is the perfect environment to hear Pablo Neruda read aloud.

There is no web site for Trident, and an employee informs me that the company was just purchased in December. It was for sale for a year, and because of its place on the market, they thought it would be better not to brand the company. The new owners don’t seem to have limitless capital to invest, so no new branding campaign has been undertaken yet. I thought that Trident was the only one of its kind, a singular, successful local business, but the staff told me the original owners were friends with the owners of strikingly similar businesses in Boston and Halifax. Sometimes Trident will get their shipments, but there is only one with the name of Poseidon’s spear.

Another part of Trident’s spartan branding that seems to reference water is their recognizable deep blue awning and main sign name background. The awning is graced with a few clouds that look like they came from a Ukiyo-e print, depicting the pleasures of the Floating World. Like many Japanese aesthetic standards, these uncomplicated graphical elements are successful in adding polish to the overall Trident brand.

The choices made — clean white cups, naming the business in only a few strategic places — are part of what makes Trident stand out as a savvy establishment. It proclaims, without words, that when you are here you will feel our beat.

The Laughing Goat, Penny Lane’s Heir
Penny Lane used to be a place where creative writing groups could come together, book clubs could convene, poetry would be read aloud some evenings or guitars strummed, and a fine cross-section of non-alcoholic beverages, primarily coffee, was served to all, even the most unconventional wanderer. That was until it closed, Boulder’s own little Haight-Ashbury lost along with other bohemian charms. It was the stuff of legend. Now, Johnny and Shaun, two former baristas of Penny Lane, opened The Laughing Goat about four months ago.

It is a super-fun, amazing coffee shop — in the sense that particular care has been made in selecting the décor, the logo, and the coffee (which the whole world revolves around). Because most things still look new, from the tables and chairs to the floors and counter tops, The Laughing Goat resembles a crisp new pair of shoes not yet made supple by the pounding of the street. Weekly performances by musicians and a regular open-mic poetry night will undoubtedly contribute to an increasing level of comfort and coziness for the customer. Soon the place will be better-known, and broken-in especially where the seating area surrounds the raised stage. Anyone who has moved into a new apartment or house knows that it takes time for the character of a dwelling to develop, much like that of a person, and it grows slowly.

In the meantime, goats act as the mascot of coffee, and, laughing or not, patrons can sit in peace, sip coffee, converse, surf the net, and enjoy the meticulously chosen environment. New additions to the space by the owners, such as the dropped ceilings and velvety rich copper panels that house changing artwork, accompany the many logo placements. You’ve got your official Laughing Goat apparel, and the customary white to-go cups stamped with the wildly dancing livestock. Dotting the interior landscape are a few sculptural and fluffy, stuffed goats. The elaborate logo also appears on the front of the establishment a few times. When asked if they had a web site they said, “Why? Would you like to make us one?” Currently, The Laughing Goat web site merely provides a calendar of events, with an occasional description.

An explanation of how the laughing goat figures in to the allegory of the coffee shop logo is presented through a story of welcome framed on the wall near the front. It is a legend of how coffee was discovered in the hills of Abyssinia (ancient Ethiopia), when a goatherd found his goats laughing raucously and seemingly without reason. Turns out they were getting jazzed up on the goo of coffee cherries, which a wise man later refined, roasted, and brewed into the beverage we all know. This tells the delightful background of the dancing goat, the one that invites passerby to come in and have a laugh.

The branding for The Laughing Goat is surprisingly omnipresent, making it seem more established than its young age would contest. Yet, looking old for its age gives an air of professionalism, and expresses the serious passion that the staff has for good coffee and good events. From the stylish interior design to the leaping silhouette of the goat icon, this coffee shop is poised to take on the future of serving, and will greet it with a wink.

Branding the Shop, Expressing What’s Important
The branding of Trident comes as much from its patrons and those who are in the know about it, as it does from placing its logo. You could say that its identity comes from word-of-mouth, but the truth of the matter is much more subtle. A significant lack of any sort of branding campaign for Trident forces the potential customer to discover for themselves what the place is all about. And the evidence that you’ll look for is close at hand — warm dark woods hold both literary treasures and well-worn places to sit, while shades of white and blue provide the only contrast. Consistent colors like these, on a limited palette, communicates just as much about Trident and its business-style as the intermittent placement of the words in gold.

The Laughing Goat, in comparison, has a very different branding strategy. Let ‘em know they’re here and it’ll be memorable — that seems to be the general look and feel of this competing local coffee shop and it works without being overwhelming. The story framed on the wall explains not only a love for coffee, but a reason for serving it in an inviting establishment. By allowing, promoting, and encouraging weekly events such as the poetry reading or the musical gigs, The Laughing Goat adds to the experience of the place — and this, too, is a part of the branding. It’s also one of the reasons that The Laughing Goat doesn’t seem as new as it actually is, since significant time and thought were put into the development of a coffee shop that is following in the footsteps of one of Boulder’s landmarks, Penny Lane.

In the end, branding a local coffee shop, or the experience of being there, is not much different from branding anything else — like a local design company or a band website. You want consistency. You want clarity. And you want to express what you think is important about what you do, what it’s all about and how it connects to other concepts, lifestyles, and values. So check back with Q Digital Studio’s News&Views next week when competing regional and national coffee shops are evaluated based on their branding. I wouldn’t want to give anything away, but the rumor is that a big, green, multi-national coffee vendor will be examined in Part 2.

Trident Booksellers and Café is located at 940 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado.
The Laughing Goat takes up residence at 1709 Pearl Street, also in Boulder.

Addendum as of August 2006: Trident Booksellers and Cafe now has a web site, check it out at tridentcafe.com