Starbucks Strategic Plan Report

By: Allison Owen, Bryn Stevens, Chloe Lindbom and Celeste Festoso

1
 Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3
Background 4
Situation Analysis 5
Social Media Audit 5

Social Media Platform Use 6-9

Summary of Social Media Use 10

Comments 10

Likes 10

Competition 11

Competitive Analysis 12-16

SWOT 17-19

Key Insights 20
Goals 21
Target Audience: 22
Key Message Platforms 22
Objectives: 23

Strategies and Tactics: 24-28

Budget: 29-30

References: 31-32

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 Executive Summary

Starbucks is a coffeehouse that was started in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. Since the very
beginning, Starbucks has aimed to be a “different kind of company” that not only celebrates and
values coffee, but also the feeling of connection. Now with over 31,000 stores in 76 different
countries, Starbucks is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. The mission of Starbucks is to
inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
In order to better understand this company, we conducted a social media audit of all of
Starbucks’ and their competitors’ social media platforms.
While Starbucks is dominating the coffee market, they still fall behind competitors on the social
media platform TikTok.We recommend implementing a strategic “#MyOrder” social media
campaign where chosen influencers post about their “go-to” Starbucks order. This campaign will
be targeted towards TikTok and it’s audience to ensure that Starbucks remains number one in
terms of all social media platforms. This solution will increase engagement with customers and
potential customers on TikTok, as well as solidify Starbucks’ #1 spot in terms of social media
engagement.
After the holiday season is when Starbucks sees a plateau in their sales, as Christmas-time is
their busiest time of the year. To combat this problem, we recommend the implementation of
the #MyOrder campaign from January 1st to February 1st, and then transform the campaign to
include #OurOrder. The #OurOrder campaign is the similar to the #MyOrder campaign, but
incorporates influencer couples. This solution will keep the momentum going for Starbucks’
social media sites well after the holiday season and into February.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Starbucks has limited its indoor experience, limiting
customers from experiencing their full coffeehouse experience. We recommend the
implementation of the “#MyOrder” campaign to also bring the feeling of a neighborhood coffee-
shop, to social media. This solution will help redefine the coffee house experience by driving
conversation about Starbucks through communities and social media. Not only can customers
continue to engage with each other, but they can engage with social media influencers, all while
sharing their love for coffee.

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 Background

Starbucks started back in 1971 in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market. The company was founded
by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl, their goal was to bring people together over a
cup of fresh-roasted coffee. Their mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit — one
person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” Their values included creating a culture of
warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome, acting with courage, challenging the status
quo and finding new ways to grow our company, and connecting with transparency, dignity and
respect. In 1982 Howard Schultz was brought in as a marketing specialist and worked to bring
good customer service to the company. This helped ease the tension for any first time customers
who were nervous about finely brewed coffee. Eventually Shultz ended up buying Starbucks
from the original founders. Under his ownership, Shultz began the production of beans,
equipment and Stabucks merchandise inside the stores. He was replaced by the current CEO
Kevin Johnson and the company now has over 30 thousands stores in the U.S. alone.

In the past, Starbucks has had a bad reputation with racism. Starting back when they first opened,
they were known for displacing minorities from their residencies. More recently, Starbucks had
to undergo racial bias training due to an incident involving two men of color being escorted out
of a shop by police officers. Starbucks has worked to overcome this reputation by creating a
racial bias training. Since then they have worked hard to create a good environment people
would like and have been greatly successful. This success is due to the fact that Starbucks is
known for its campaigns. Not only do they constantly promote new products, but they also
advocate for several different movements. They have advocated for the LGBTQ+ community
and minorities, especially since the incident at one of their stores. This is in line with the voice of
the company. Starbucks values involve creating a welcoming environment to all, which means
creating a welcoming environment in their stores, products and social media. Though Starbucks
has had some trouble in the past, they have worked to overcome that and have been consistent
with their values and mission.

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 Situation Analysis

Economic problems have arisen this year for Starbucks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In
their latest press release they noted that they have recovered faster than expected, but as of
the last fiscal report, they weren’t so sure they were going to be able to do it. However this
doesn’t mean that they have fully recovered yet. When looking into their background,
Starbucks has always put their customers first. They created environments for customers to
feel comfortable to be in while enjoying their coffee. Due to COVID-19, customers can no
longer be inside the stores besides a few seating places or getting their orders to go. This has
caused the drive thru sales to increase once they reopened, but people are not getting their full
experience.

Another economic ongoing issue is Fight for 15, the fight against raising the minimum wage
to $15. The minimum wage right now is not enough for someone to survive off of. This issue
then comes into play with Starbucks. The minimum wage is different in different states,
which means they may have to raise it if the minimum is raised. This can then cause issues
within their budget for their employees.

Competitors on social media are also an issue. Recently during the pandemic, TikTok has
become very popular. One of Starbucks’ competitors, Dunkin’, has over 1.7 million
followers, while Starbucks only has 193.9k. Dunkin’ also has created a brand partnership
with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio which has caused the age group of 16-24 year olds to
connect with Dunkin’. The engagement on Starbucks’ other platforms such as Facebook and
Youtube are also lower than competitors.

Social Media Audit

Since the opening of Starbucks in 1972, the company has become one of the largest coffee
chains in the world. Starbucks’ has a large demographic typically targeting people ages 20-66,
but has a very steady teenage following due to the rise of social media. Social media has helped
promote starbucks through trends such as the secret menu, themed drinks (such as Butterbeer),
or Starbucks drinkers posting what they get at Starbucks. Starbucks targets high income/high
spending people. You can find at least one Starbucks in most suburban areas. They also target
progressive people by making their stores friendly to everyone. For example, they have
implemented a way for deaf customers to order at the drive through.

Our buyer personas:

● https://www.hubspot.com/make-my-persona?persona=-ML5M5pTTWo85G2bD5dJ
● https://www.hubspot.com/make-my-persona?persona=-ML5NJs7KiCDDcXjvEXc

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 Social Media Platform Use

Platform # of Profile name and # of posts Engagement with followers Primary purpose Content performance
followers description

Fa 3 “To inspire and On average, Engagement on Facebook is very The primary purpose for Comments on the Starbucks
ce 6, nurture the human Starbucks high for Starbucks. They are very the Starbucks facebook facebook page are majority
b 7 spirit — one tends to consistent in responding to page is to connect with positive comments. Any
1
o person, one cup make one comments on all of their posts. older generations. Since negative comments, like
1,
ok 4 and one post a day Competitors such as Dunkin’, studies have shown that complaints, Starbucks seems
2 neighborhood at a and 6-7 posts Gloria Jeans and Costa Coffee older adults’ use of to respond and gives the
1 time.” a week on have an extremely low Facebook is continuing poster a way to message
Facebook. engagement rate with their to grow, posting on this them privately to solve the
followers on Facebook in platform guarantees problem.
comparison to Starbucks. that it will reach more of
Competitors such as Carribou the older generations.
Coffee and McDonalds McCafé Average # of Average # of
have a similarly high likes comments
engagement rate on Facebook
as Starbucks does. 3k 360

(Info gathered from their last

10 posts: October 17th-
October 28th.)

Platform # of followers Profile name and # of posts Engagement with Primary purpose Content performance
description followers

T 10.9 “To inspire and Starbucks averages The primary purpose While the polls on the Starbucks
w milli nurture the about 155 tweets a Starbucks often of the Starbucks twitter page seem to get the least
on
i human spirit — day, with a majority replies to fans on Twitter account is to amount of likes and comments,
t one person, one of that being their Twitter posts. engage with they do get the highest amount of
t cup and one follower Occasionally they will followers. Starbucks follower votes. A poll posted in
e engagement. reply to complaints responds to positive September received 15,000 votes,
neighborhood at
r about their brand to comments very which is a very high response rate in
a time.”
offer help. frequently. contrast to their average of 1400
likes.

Average # of Average # of
likes comments

1403 155

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 (Info gathered from their last 10
posts: September 29th- October
28th)

Roastery in Chicago, also 28th.)

have accounts with a
smaller following. These
tend to not be verified
accounts.

Platform # of followers Profile name # of posts Engagement with Primary purpose Content performance
and description followers

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Tik 193.9k “Have PSL, will Starbucks TikTok Starbucks TikTok tends The primary
Tok (10/27/ cozy.” also posts very to get under 100,000 purpose of their
(@S 20) inconsistently. views, but above 60,000 TikTok is to While TikTok is only a few
tarb They typically views. However, their engage with fans months old for Starbucks, they
ucks post at least once first post was created in by posting videos have a high average of views.
)
every other day. September, so it is a made by their The TikTok for you page is an
Occasionally they fairly new account. Most TikTok algorithm that makes it easier
will post once a of their posts have ambassadors and for companies' videos to be
day for a period around 14k likes, and fans. Their seen.
of time, or not typically more than 500 account was made
post for a few comments on their in September, so
days. posts. They also reply the majority of
Average Average Average
and like a lot of the their videos are # of likes # of # of
comments on their related to the fall commen views
videos. menu and ts
pumpkin spice
Dunkin has a much larger lattes. They also Approx Approx Approx
TikTok following than post funny videos 17440 1087 96260
Starbucks. With 1.7M about their brand.
followers they receive They also engage
100k+ views on most of with fans through (Info gathered from
their posts. This may be comments on last 10 posts:
because of their their posts. September 30 -
collaboration with TikTok October 29)
star Charli D’Amelio.

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 Platform # of Profile name and # of posts Engagement Primary purpose Content performance
followers description with followers

Pi 42 “Inspiring and Pinterest does not Pinterest does Starbucks posts at home
nt 5, nurturing the show the time not show recipes, articles about their
00
er
0 human spirit -- one stamps of when engagement. drinks, and seasonal
es person, one cup, posts were promotions on their
t and one uploaded. They have pinterest. The at home
a total of 3,746 pins, recipes are made with their
neighborhood at a A A #
and 29 boards. merchandise they sell in
time.” ve ve of
stores such as their coffee ra ra m
and creamers. Posting at ge ge o
home recipes, as they do on # # nt
their pinterest shows the of of hl
educational brand voice that lik co y
Starbucks has, as they are es m vi
m e
teaching their customers
e w
how to use and make their nt er
products. s s

N N 1
/ / 0
A A m
+

Platform # of Profile name # of posts Engagement Primary purpose Content performance

followers and description with followers

Y 300k “Inspiring and Starbucks is very Starbucks does The primary purpose Their “Starbucks at Home” series is performing
o nurturing the inconsistent with not engage of the Starbucks very well in terms of views, with 33% of them
u human spirit -- posts on their with followers Youtube account is to being either at or close to 1 million views.
t one person, one Youtube channel. on Youtube as entertain as well as
u cup, and one For the month of all of the inform. Starbucks has In previous months, the best performing content
b neighborhood at September 2020, comment a series on Youtube for their Youtube account has been videos less
e a time.” they posted 8 sections are called “Starbucks at than 20 seconds long, which on average, are
youtube videos, disabled. Home” where they getting 5.25 million views.
while for the demonstrate ways to
month of August make their specialty
they posted 0 drinks at home (using
A A A # of
videos. starbucks products). v v v sub
Another purpose of e e e scri
the account is to r r r bers
inform the audience a a a
with a “How To” g g g
series that shows the e e e
audience how to use # #
o o
the app. These series #
f f
show Starbucks’ li v
educational brand k o i
voice that aims to e f e
teach their customers s c w
how to use and make o s
their products. m

9
 m
e
n
t
s

N 0 1 300
/ 0 K
A m
+

(Info gathered from last 10 posts:

September 2nd - October 8th)

Summary of Social Media Use

Overall, Starbucks has a very strong social media presence. Their main goal for social media
usage is follower engagement. On all of their social platforms, they engage with followers by
responding to comments and retweeting. For example, on Twitter 99%, of their daily content is
responding to customers' tweets. They try to create a friendly and visually pleasing environment
that their followers will enjoy.

Comments

While they thrive in most aspects of their social media, there still some room for improvement,
one of these areas is their comment sections on posts. As stated before, Starbucks does a good
job at replying to comments, but some platforms get very little comments to no comments at all.
FaceBook has the lowest amount of comments compared to their following with only .0009%
of their followers commenting. This is calculated by looking at the number of followers
compared to the number of comments they get on each post.

Facebook Followers: 36.7 mil Comments: 360 Ratio: .0009%

Though this ratio is typical for any given company on Facebook, Starbucks should strive to get
more comments on their Facebook account. More comments means more engagement with
customers, creating a more welcoming experience.

YouTube is another platform Starbucks needs to work on their comment section. They have
disabled the comment section on their YouTube channel, meaning no one can comment
anything on any of their videos. This barrs followers from engaging on the videos. This could
be why their YouTube channel has the lowest number of followers on all their social media.
Their YouTube could also grow in numbers if they posted more videos. Right now they post

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very inconsistently, anywhere from 10 to 0 posts a month. Posting more consistently would
gain them more followers, creating a larger community on the platform.

Likes

Starbucks like follower ratio is inconsistent throughout all their platforms. Like follower ratio is
the amount of likes you get on a post, compared to the amount of followers you have. TikTok
has the highest like follower ratio with 8% of their followers liking their content. This is
surprising due to the fact that their TikTok has one of the lowest amounts of followers on their
platforms.

TikTok Followers: 193.9k Likes: 17k Ratio: 8%

Facebook Followers: 39.7 mil Likes: 3k Ration: .008%

The high like follower ratio could be due to TikTok’s rising popularity. The app already has
more than 800 mil users world wide. TikTok is still one of Starbucks' smallest platforms, so
they should use this high number of likes to their advantage and continue growing their page.

In comparison to TikTok’s high like follower ratio, FaceBook has the lowest with only .008%,
as seen on the chart above. This is consistent with Facebook’s comment ratio and could be due
to the decline in the use of the platform. It is still relevant to Starbucks key demographics. The
largest demographic on Facebook are users between the ages of 25-34. This is the target age
group for Starbucks. It is important that Starbucks produces more engaging content that is
likeable and relatable to their target audience.

Competition

When compared to other competitors, like Dunkin or McCafé, they lead in overall followers
and likes across their social media. Dunkin has more followers and engagement on their Tik
Tok account with over 1.7 mil followers while Starbucks only has 193.9k followers. This is
largely due to the collaboration between Dunkin and the Tik Tok influencer Charli D'Amelio.
Since Tik Tok is growing and becoming more popular, Starbucks needs to produce more
content to stay relevant against other competitors.

Besides TikTok, Starbucks leads in Instagram, Twitter and Facebook against their largest
competitors. They have successfully created appealing and welcoming platforms that engage
with their customers. They have created a space where they can both promote new products and
where customers can talk openly with Starbucks and other customers. Overall they do a great
job managing their platforms and have room to make them even better.

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 Starbucks followers Instagram: 18.2 mil Twitter: 10.9 mil Facebook: 36.7 mil

Dunkin followers Instagram: 2.1 mil Twitter: 1.2 mil Facebook: 15 mil

McCafé followers Instagram: 24.1k Twitter: 24.8k Facebook: no page

Competitive Analysis

Starbucks values giving their customers a true “coffeehouse” experience which includes a
friendly and familiar ‘neighborhood’ experience mixed with appealing music. On social
media, Starbucks likes to keep that same vibe by maintaining high engagement with their
followers on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Starbucks also
utilizes platforms such as Pinterest and Youtube to showcase their educational brand voice,
where they aim to teach their audience how to make and utilize their products. Starbucks has
31,256 locations worldwide, officially making it the biggest coffee chain in the world.
Starbucks is currently the coffee market leader in the United States and controls 40% of the
U.S. coffee shop market.

Figure 1 : Starbucks Locations in the USA.

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Comp Part of the market they Brand voice How do they compete?
etitors represent

Dunki Dunkin’ is a coffee and snack Dunkin’ has a -11,300 locations worldwide
n’ shop that represents a market bright, familiar
of millennials and younger brand voice that In comparison to Starbucks,
coffee drinkers. Dunkin’ values being Dunkin’ has a very low
CMO Tony Weisman recognizable to engagement rate with their
released a statement in 2019 their customers. followers on Facebook and
saying that Dunkin’ was Dunkin’ has a Instagram.
aiming to stay relevant by brand voice that
connecting with a younger is both product Much like Starbucks,
audience. Early September focused as well as however, Dunkin’ utilizes
2020, Dunkin’ released a conversational, as twitter as a platform to engage
drink dedicated to TikTok they often interact with followers and offer
star Charli D’Amelio called with followers in replies to customer
“The Charli” who has which the comments of complaints.
helped their cold brew sales their posts.
surge 45% the day “The One platform that The current ghost pepper
Charli” launched. By Dunkin’ is donut is giving Dunkin’ a lot
collaborating with Charli performing on of social media attention and
D’Amelio, who has a mostly better than taking away attention from
young audience, Dunkin’ Starbucks is on Starbucks and their fall and
was able to attract and TikTok. holiday drinks.
connect with a younger
middle school - highschool
audience.

Comp Part of the Brand voice How do they compete?

etitors market they
represent

Caribo Caribou Caribou -603 locations worldwide

u Coffee Coffee has a

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Coffee represents a lighthearted Much like Starbucks, Caribou Coffee does have
market of and authentic a high engagement rate with followers on
coffee- brand voice Facebook as they do often respond to comments.
drinkers that is which can be However, while Starbucks averages around 3k
very dedicated seen through likes per facebook post, Caribou Coffee averages
to the brand. the frequent about 100-200 likes per post. While Caribou
Caribou use of fan- Coffee is another well-known coffee brand, they
Coffee only generated are not a leading competitor on social media
has 603 content. because their posts do not get a high level of
locations engagement.
worldwide, Caribou
making it not Coffee has a -Caribou Coffee also has a wide variety of food
as convenient very similar options including bagels, pastries, oatmeal and
as Starbucks. brand voice sandwiches, but does not have as many food
Therefore, to Starbucks options as provided on the Starbucks menu.
Caribou which
Coffee promotes the
drinkers tend feeling of a
to be loyal to “cozy
the brand. neighborhood
experience.”

Comp Part of the Brand voice How do they compete?

etitors market they
represent

Gloria Gloria Jeans Gloria Jeans has a very -1,000 locations worldwide
Jeans represents a product-focused brand
market of voice where almost all of In comparison to Starbucks,
primarily their content is talking Gloria Jeans has an extremely
American and about their products. low content performance rate,
Australian coffee with their facebook posts
drinkers, and they averaging around 20 likes per
plan to expand post. In regards to social media
their business into engagement, Gloria Jeans also
Africa. With has a very low engagement rate
having only and they do not often respond
around 1,000 to comments.
stores worldwide,
Gloria Jeans also
represents loyal

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 customers who
value the brand
over the
convenience of
other coffee
shops.

Competito Part of the Brand voice How do they compete?

rs market they
represent

McDonalds McDonalds The brand voice of -There are around 1,300 stand-
McCafé McCafé McDonald’s McCafé as alone McCafé’s located
represents a stand-alone brand on worldwide, however one can find
those who are social media is almost most McCafé products in a typical
aiming for non-existent. While McDonald’s restaurant.
convenience McCafé does have a
and reliability, separate Twitter account, Since one can find McCafé
as they provide the last time the account products in any McDonald’s
a vast number interacted with followers restaurant, McCafé is a very
of food was November 2019. convenient and cheap alternative
options, along The McDonald's brand to Starbucks. For comparison, the
with coffee for as a whole, however has average price for a small drink at
a low price. an engaging and McCafé ranges from $1-$3, while
conversational brand at Starbucks a small (grande) drink
voice with their is on average $4.95.
customers.

Compe Part of the market Brand voice How do they compete?

titors they represent

Costa Costa Coffee is a Costa Coffee is a 3,882 locations worldwide

Coffee British coffeehouse brand that aims
that represents a to be accessible Costa Coffee is primarily based in the
market of coffee- and convenient UK and is the UK’s leading coffee

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 drinkers that are to their clients. chain.
interested in a On social media,
coffeehouse Costa Coffee has Costa Coffee competes with
experience mixed with a product Starbucks in terms of accessibility
easy accessibility to focused brand with their ‘Costa Coffee Smart
coffee. voice that is Café’s’ which are self-serving coffee
utilized to bars that promise “Barista-Quality,
promote their Drive-thru Speed.” These self-serving
products. coffee-bars can be bought and
located almost anywhere, posing a
threat to Starbucks and their
convenience factor. October 2019
Costa Coffee utilized their self-
serving machines to give away 3
million drinks as a major marketing
initiative highlighting the
convenience of their product.

In 2018, Coca Cola bought Costa

Coffee for $5.1 billion which will
allow Costa Coffee to better compete
in international markets due to Coca
Cola’s recognizability.

While on a whole, Starbucks is leading against their closest competitors in terms of how much
of the coffee market they control, Starbucks is still not number 1 on all social media platforms.
On TikTok, Dunkin’ is leading against competitors with almost 100,000 more followers, as
well as averaging almost 37,000 more views than Starbucks.

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 SWOT

Aspects Implications Possible Actions

Strengths Most Starbucks stores Allows customers to still get coffee Make sure all stores are drive-
have drive-throughs or during COVID lockdown. It is also through/pick-up friendly.
online ordering. easily accessible for those in a hurry.

Starbucks is a well Customers are loyal to the brand and Increase social media
established brand with will continue to choose Starbucks over engagement. Make more
a strong following. other competitors. employee/customer
relationships.

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 Starbucks is known for
being an inclusive
brand that strives to Customers and employees with Continue to see what customers
make customers feel disabilities, such as deafness, will stay and employees need to make
welcome in their loyal to the brand knowing that Starbucks their experiences positive and
stores. is putting plans in place to make their different from competitors.
experience much easier.

Starbucks has an Create more reward days and

incentive program for make it easier to be involved in the
loyal customers. Customers will continue to order from rewards program. (ex. Punch
Starbucks knowing they will be cards)
rewarded for their business.

Starbucks has a lot of

employee benefits
such as the in store Employees will stay with the company Find ways to reward employees
discounts, Spotify much longer. working through the pandemic.
premium Allow more college students to
subscriptions, and qualify for the tuition waiver.
tuition coverage.

Starbucks is an eco- Customers are more likely to order from

friendly brand. the store knowing they are eco-friendly
and supporting a brand that is fighting
climate change.
Advertise the eco-friendly
practices used by Starbucks more.
Find ways to educate customers
and employees on how to become
eco-friendly.

Weaknesses Starbucks is more Starbucks has higher quality coffee, and Explain why the coffee prices
expensive than some targets high spending/high income are so high, or find a way to
competitors such as people. make items on the menu more
Dunkin. affordable.

Competitors have a Starbucks does not make targeting a Increase the use of social media
stronger social media younger demographic a priority. platforms such as TikTok to
presence on some social reach younger audiences.
media platforms.

Starbucks are hard to Starbucks demographic is high Open smaller Starbucks stores in
find in rural areas. income/high spending people, which are less populated areas when
Most Starbucks are in typically in more populated areas. appropriate.
heavily populated
areas.

Starbucks has a very Starbucks demographic is usually Expand the demographic by

specific demographic. people ages 20 and up. Competitors using social media platforms to

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 such as Dunkin target people younger target younger age groups.
than 20 as well which gets them more
business.

Not enough Starbucks A large number of Starbucks stores are
have drive-throughs. in buildings that do not have access to
drive-through. While they have online
ordering, during the pandemic
customers feel less comfortable going
in.
Find a way to open stores with
drive-throughs, or have a better
system for those who do not
want to go into the store.

Store sizes can be Like drive-throughs, some stores are Start opening stores in bigger
small which causes inconveniently placed and small inside. buildings, or reorganize stores to
customers to be upset During the pandemic there is not give customers more room.
and feel enough room for seating and customers
uncomfortable. inside.

Other than the rewards The rewards program is only through Find a way to make the rewards
program through their the mobile app, and to get rewards you program accessible to people
app, there are not must upload your card to the app to pay without the app.
many deals for people at stores.
who are not a part of
the rewards program.

Opportunities The rise of non-dairy Recently people have started becoming Continue to watch these trends
products. dairy free by drinking oat milk, almond and be first to bring them to
milk, and other dairy substitutes. stores.

Advancements in Competitors such as Costa Coffee and Keep up with new technology in
technology allow a Panera have self serving stations. Stores order to stand out from
better experience for are also starting to allow payment with competitors, and make the in
employees and Paypal and Apple Pay. store experience better.
customers.

Competitors are taking advantage of Find relevant influencers or

Growing power of brand partnerships with social media celebrities to start partnerships
social media influencers and celebrities. with.
influencers.

Restaurants are allowing delivery Begin using delivery apps to

Delivery services such through outside apps. During the allow for more sales.
as DoorDash, Uber pandemic this is a great way to stay
Eats, and Grub HUb. open.

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 Starbucks is known for their seasonal Add new seasonal drinks to the
Introduce new drinks such as the pumpkin spice latte menu, or keep seasonal drinks
seasonal products. and peppermint mocha. on the menu outside of the
season.

Threats COVID-19 shut downs Counties across the United States Find ways to make sure every
and restrictions. continue to shut down the in store store can stay open and still
experience. serve customers while following
the county and federal
guidelines.

The amount of chain coffee shops is Find a way to stand out from
increasing. People are beginning to buy competitors. Promote the
Increased competition. from local coffee shops over chains. coffeehouse experience.

Key Insights

Possibly the most important thing we’ve found in our research of Starbucks is how they
use their social media. They are incredibly successful on most of their platforms, being a
frontrunner against most of their competition. Their most successful platforms include
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Each of these platforms have a high like follower ratio.
They struggle with comments on most of their platforms, but still gain enough to be
successful. The platform in which they struggle the most overall is Tik Tok. Compared to
Dunkin, they are lacking in followers, likes and content. This is where they need to do the
most work to compete with other companies.

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 Another interesting thing we’ve found in our research is that competition is growing. More
people are starting to buy from local coffee shops over chains. This hasn’t posed much of a
threat yet due to Starbucks popularity across the country, but this is something that they need
to keep in mind. Another way they are losing customers is their key demographic. They
mainly target ages 20 and up, while competitors like Dunkin target younger generations as
well. This is why Dunkin gains more revenue than Starbucks, meaning Starbucks will need to
broaden it’s demographics to stay relevant.

Starbucks also does a really good job with their campaigns. They are constantly releasing
new drinks and products and promoting them across all their platforms. They also advocate
for social rights movements. This makes them appealing to several groups and also helped
them in their recent racial scandal. Though this scandal had given Starbucks a bad reputation,
they worked hard to clear their name. If they continue with their efforts to create a welcoming
environment to all, it is unlikely that they will have a similar scandal in the future.

Goals
Based on their mission and values, we have come up with two goals for Starbucks.

1. Recreating an in-store coffeehouse experience through social media.

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 2. Increase engagements with followers through TikTok.

Target Audience:

For the campaign, our target audience will range from 16-30 year olds. Starbucks reaches a
large demographic overall, but when it comes to their social media, most of their audience is
people within this age group. Of that age group we want to reach out to people across the

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 United States, however the campaign could go further than that due to social media. Through
the campaign, we hope to bring not only this audience closer to Starbucks, but closer to each
other. The audience will be motivated to form a community with each other by having the
connection of Starbucks. Since our campaign focuses on increasing engagement with followers
through TikTok, we want to reach an audience that is on TikTok or would join. TikTok has
over 800 mil users which gives them a wide range in their audience as well. Their biggest
following though is 16-24 year olds which is what the campaign is aiming for.

Key Message Platforms

Starbucks wants to appeal to a younger audience while still maintaining their friendly,
neighborhood coffee house feel.

Slogan: “Redefining the coffeehouse experience one post at a time.”

The story that we want to communicate and share with our audience through our My Order
social media campaign is the idea that even though the majority of Starbucks locations are closed
indoor, a sense of community can still be created. By sharing individual drink orders, returning
customers, as well as potential customers, can participate in the conversation, while trying some
of their favorite influencers’ drink orders. By asking micro-influencers with a high following
engagement to use the MyOrder hashtag, the hashtag can become a trend on Instagram and
TikTok. The idea behind the trend is that the more influencers share their drinks, the more people
will be more inclined to share their own drinks to their followers. This will increase sales during
the campaign period (January-August.) Through the month of February, influencer couples will
be encouraged to share their favorite drinks.

Objectives:
1. Connect with a younger audience by increasing interactions on TikTok.
a. Starbucks leads competitors in all social media, except TikTok. By being
more active on TikTok, Starbucks is able to expand their demographic to
reach a younger audience. As of October, 2020, 60% of US TikTok users
were between ages 16-24. Starbucks typical age demographic is 22-60
years old. The My Order campaign will largely take place on TikTok.

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 Starbucks will send PR boxes to 10-15 micro influencers from TikTok,
and pay 2-3 larger celebrities to participate in the campaign. By using the
song “Coffee,” and #MyOrder, TikTok users will be able to quickly find
posts related to the campaign.
2. Increase sales after the holiday season (starting January 1)
a. Starbucks does a lot of business during their holiday promotions. From
August to December, Starbucks has seasonal drinks such as the Pumpkin
Spice Latte and Peppermint Mocha. After the holiday season, Starbucks
does not have a recurring seasonal promotion until the Fall drinks come
back in August. With the My Order campaign, Starbucks will be
encouraging people to visit stores and try new drinks via TikTok and
Instagram. The goal is to have people visit the store to try their favorite
celebrity or influencers drinks, then turn around and post their order to
social media.
3. Bring back the coffeehouse experience.
a. The campaign will encourage people to visit Starbucks stores to
participate in the coffeehouse experience. Due to COVID, the coffeehouse
experience is being put on hold. This campaign allows the coffeehouse
experience to continue outside of the shop by creating a sense of
community on social media. By allowing people to bond over their love of
specialty drinks and coffee while taking advantage of technology,
Starbucks will be able to keep people interested in the store even when
they are not able to visit. Starbucks has always preached the importance of
community. Through COVID people have begun to appreciate and love
their communities even more. This is a great opportunity to promote the
Starbucks community.

Strategies and Tactics:

1. Use the hashtag, #MyOrder at the beginning of the new year as the hook to get the target
audience to come together as a community. Customers and influencers will be able to
post on social media about their orders. By using the hashtag MyOrder, this will allow
people to see each other’s orders and will create a community like they would find within
a Starbucks store.

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 a. Send PR boxes to 11 micro influencers from TikTok. These boxes will include a
red stainless steel cold cup, a navy poinsettia mug, a stripe straw pack, a bag of
Veranda blend, a bag of Caffe verona and a VIA sweetened iced coffee. By
sending this box to the influencers, we will also send a flyer (A) and personalized
note explaining the new #MyOrder.
i. The influencers include: Annaxsitar, erinthebarista, starbucksmorgs,
starbucksrecipeswithm, itss.dani.w, coffeebae97, starbies_minis,
brittanilancaster, syrahtravels, brittany_broski,nyledimarco.
b. They will be able to share the order they may get at Starbucks or the products they
buy from Starbucks that they use at home. All drinks must use Starbucks products
and preferably will have the travel cups or the usual cups from the stores.
c. Share their TikToks with Quinn XCII’s song Coffee. Encourage their followers in
the video caption and comments to try their drink or share their own favorite drink
using the hashtag.
d. For at home orders, they will be asked to make a video and show how they make
their drinks. This video can then be posted to social media platforms everywhere
whether it be a TikTok or an Instagram reel.
e. Barista influencers will take videos of them making the drinks in the store and
sharing their favorite orders to make and/or drink.
2. Implement a paid partnership with macro influencers for #MyOrder.
a. Pick out 3 macro influencers to reach out to and pay to partner with Starbucks for
#MyOrder. In this case we would use the artist Quinn XCII and Carly Incontro
and Erin Gilfoy, two vlogging YouTubers.
b. Have these three influencers post about #MyOrder on their social media,
specifically TikTok with using Quinn XCII’s song Coffee as the sound in the
background. They would share their order whether it be the drink they order at
Starbucks or the drinks they make at home with Starbucks products.
c. Each influencer will post to at least once on 3 platforms of theirs using the
#MyOrder. They will have an engaging video/post that interacts with the audience
and tags Starbucks.
3. Create content for Starbucks on social media platforms.
a. Make Instagram posts promoting the new #MyOrder hashtag. Ask the audience
what their order is on the post and have them engage with the post (B). Make a
second one as well promoting the at home part.
b. Tweet out Starbucks’ favorite order this January when the campaign begins (C ).
c. Starbucks will create a TikTok of the #MyOrder and go around either to a
coffeehouse or the corporation to show the employees favorite orders.
d. A TikTok of orders being made for customers will also be posted to promote
going into the store or ordering through the app to go pick up orders in store.
e. Every Wednesday, share people’s orders on the Instagram story from the past
week or that day.

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 A. The flyer in the PR box B. Content post for Starbucks

C. Tweet - Picture of someone’s Starbucks cup with the

order on it. The tweet will read “*insert drink* is our
favorite drink this January, what is yours? #MyOrder”

Content Calendar for January:

Yellow - Start Dates Blue - Twitter Pink - Instagram Purple - TikTok
Green - Facebook Red - Macro Influencer Post

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4. Implement a new hashtag during Valentines day to revamp production.
a. Send three #OurOrder PR boxes to three micro TikTok influencer couples. These
boxes will include two red stainless steel cold cups, two navy poinsettia mugs,
two stripe straw packs, a bag of Veranda blend, a bag of Caffe Verona and a VIA
sweetened iced coffee. Additionally the PR boxes will contain a #OurOrder flyer
and a note explaining the #OurOrder campaign.
i. The influencer couples include: Annaxsitar, olsenchris, and aliciamccarvel
b. Have each couple create a video on their own account on TikTok showing their
personal order that they get from Starbucks. Preferably they will use the
products that they received in the mail or other Starbucks drink wear.
c. The couples will use the #OurOrder to further expand the campaign and get
other couples to join the hashtag on TikTok and other social media platforms.
d. Encourage their followers in the video caption and comments to try their drink
or share their own favorite drink using the hashtag.
5. Revamp Starbucks social media by creating content for the new campaign
a. Create Instagram posts advertising the new #OurOrder campaign. Share the
different videos or orders on Instagrams stories.
b. Tweet about the campaign and keep consumers updated about what’s
happening in the campaign.
c. Advertise the different drinks on TikTok to gain more views and followers on the
platform.

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 d. Consistently post original content and content created by micro influencers until
Valentine's Day.

A. Flyer for PR box B. Content post for

starbucks

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Content calendar for February

Yellow - Start Dates Blue - Twitter Pink - Instagram Purple - TikTok

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 Budget:
#MyOrder PR $80 per PR 11 PR
package package: packages…...$880

Red stainless-steel
cold
cup 24 fl oz....
…….$24.95

Navy poinsettia
mug 12 fl oz…...
………………
$9.95

Stripe straw
pack….$7.95
in
Veranda
blend…....$12.95

Caffé verona….
…..$12.95

VIA sweetened ice

coffee…….
…………$5.95

#OurOrder $118 per PR 3 PR

package: packages….....
$354
2 Red stainless-
steel cold cup 24 fl
oz……….$49.90

2 Navy poinsettia
mug 12 fl
oz…………..……
$19.90

2 Stripe straw
pack……………
….$15.90

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 Veranda
blend…....$12.95

Caffé verona….
…..$12.95

VIA sweetened ice

coffee…….
…………$5.95

Shipping 10 lb box in 9 10 lb in country

country….$12 packages…………
....$108

10 lb box out of 1 10 lb out of

country…………. country
…….$15 package………….
.…..$15
20 lb box in
country…$15 3 20 lb in country
package………….
.…..$45

Influencer Macro-influencer 2 partnerships…....

partnership partnership per $2,500
post …………….
……....$1,250

Total $3,902

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