Starbucks Cup a Calculated PR Stunt?
If you have been anywhere near social media over the last week or watching any of the late night shows, then you know about the new infamous Starbucks cup. Even presidential hopefuls are commenting upon this apparent “war on Christmas.” Not only has it received an inordinate amount of media exposure for free, but it has even generated an uptick in revenue.
But what if this was all a planned move by the marketing team to utilize sensationalism media?
When the first images of their holiday cup came out, around the office we remarked about the clean design that was evocative of the Christmas season without overtly saying Merry Christmas. We all thought it was a very modern take and thought nothing of it again, until it blew up all over the media.
Now in the last year, we have seen a significant move towards equality and inclusion when it comes to brands. At the same time, we have seen a significant amount of ire aimed at brands that do so from generally conservative consumers. Instances of this are Target and Doritos that you might know because of the Target ForYou the Doritos Help Troll that responded back on social media to these angry voices. The trolling or comedic banter is what took the spotlight in these instances.
It would stand to reason that Starbucks knew that they would receive similar angry responses and pushback. However, they also knew that people need their lattes and are not going to stop going to Starbucks because of a rebranded cup.
Since this cup has launched, it has received an absurd amount of exposure. Furthermore, it has promoted “irate” customers to go into Starbucks and say their name is Merry Christmas so the barista will write that on the cup. This perhaps has to be the best way to protest a company, by giving them more money.
Not only has the company received a lot of free publicity, but they have also generated sales out of spite. Somewhere, there must be the marketing team at Starbucks sitting in a dim conference room, laughing and drinking lattes.
