I guess Starbucks corporation, having made its name synonymous with brand ubiquity, is going to be experimenting with running locations under alternate brands (see this article in the Seattle Times). Call them "stealthbucks." They're trying to have it both ways: mega brand identity for mass consumers seeking sameness and comfort, but also the rebellious consumers who want locality and uniqueness. Can it work? What other companies have successfully operated this way? Is this a genuinely new corporate branding strategy? There have been many cases of companies maintaining different brands for different demographics, but the idea of creating one-off brands for individual locations… that seems very subversive.