To be or not to be? Why choose?

I have to admit, I am not always the most observant person, so it should come as no surprise that when asked to comment on Starbucks traditional media relations activities my reaction was, “what activities?” I simply cannot recall hearing about Starbucks on the radio, ever seeing a TV commercial or even passing by posters or signs on the street.

Thank God for Google.

A quick search of  “Starbucks and Traditional Media Relations” brought me into a whole new world.

I quickly learned (and was not all that surprised to discover), that in 2008, Starbucks was named one of the worst brands in social media. Now I know you’re thinking, social media is not traditional media relations. I’m getting there.

That was the light bulb for Starbucks. By 2009, the coffee company had more than 5 million fans on Facebook and nearly 500,000 followers on Twitter, making it the 3rd highest rated brand in social media. As of today, they have over 26 million Facebook fans and almost 2 million Twitter followers.

So what does this have to do with traditional media relations, you continue to ask? Well, for Starbucks the two are inseparable. Through one, the other becomes stronger.

In 2009, Starbucks launched a $28 million ad campaign to compete with McDonald’s who was promoting its new line of McCafé coffee drinks.

The Starbucks campaign consisted of advertising posters being placed in six major cities. Wow right. $28 million for some posters in a few cities across the US. I want that account. But in actuality, this was just the beginning; and where my above tangent comes into play.

Following the placement of these posters, Starbucks challenged people to track down the posters and be the first to post a photo of one using Twitter. The campaign eventually included newspapers and magazines, and YouTube videos, but the goal was to use (limited) traditional print media to create an unlimited viral campaign promoting Starbucks coffee across multiple mediums.

“The idea for the Starbucks photo contest came from watching what people already do on Facebook and Twitter”, said Chris Bruzzo, vice president for brand, content and online at Starbucks. “Each year, people race to post the first photos of Starbucks shops decorated in red for the holidays”, he said, “It shows a level of connection to our brand that we wouldn’t have concocted on our own,” Bruzzo said.

And it worked.

Generally speaking, Starbucks prefers new forms of media relations. “Starbucks’ social media presence gave it an advantage over competitors with gigantic ad budgets because its fans wanted to talk about it online…It’s the difference between launching with many millions of dollars versus millions of fans.” Said Bruzzo.

As another example of how the company is mixing traditional with new media relations, on the Saturday before the presidential election, Starbucks sponsored a 60-second television commercial on “Saturday Night Live” advertising free coffee on Election Day. The video was then posted online. By the following Tuesday, the video was the fourth-most-viewed video on YouTube, and people were mentioning Starbucks on Twitter every eight seconds.

The video was brilliant. Not only did it drive people into their stores, but it also matched their brand perfectly. Like the print ads mentioned above, the backdrop for the video was a paper/burlap-esque texture, similar to a traditional coffee sac. In addition the video was all about community, one of Starbucks most important principles. The video reminded its viewers that Starbucks cares about the communities in which they are located (both in this country, across the pond and in the fields where the beans are grown). The time slot chosen is even more brilliant. At the time, Tina Fey’s impersonation of Sarah Palin made the show one of the most watched and talked about. Starbucks connection to the show and the political content was seamless.

Recently, the company launched a new logo and with that came additional promotion. The company, which sponsors Morning Joe on MSNBC, is now promoting a new bag of coffee featuring the news show’s name, and in keeping with their philanthropic image, the bag includes a $5 donation card to DonorsChoose.org allowing customers to donate directly to a school classroom project of their choice. Another brilliant strategy. The money does not go to the company’s foundation where they get to choose – they’ve given the choice back to their customer to keep the money in their community.

 

In closing, I believe that Starbucks is doing a brilliant job of combining traditional and new forms of media relations to effectively promote their business (their online news center on their corporate website is one of the best and most intuitive sites I have ever seen). I think it’s effective because they have clearly thought about who their audience is and how they are interacting with the company, and presenting everything that comes out of their door with a consistent look and message. It makes me wish I lived closer and could be a part of this incredible movement.