Starbucks is a leader in the ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee category. Starbucks beverages deliver on great tasting coffee and convenience, but not enough consumers know their favorite Starbucks coffees are available Made Ready in a ready-to-drink format for all occasions. With a goal of driving awareness and purchase intent for the full lineup of RTD coffees, we were challenged by the North American Coffee Partnership – Starbucks and PepsiCo to launch Starbucks RTD first-ever multi-channel campaign featuring its RTD portfolio. But how do you tell a single story for seven hero products?
We tapped into power of connecting over coffee - something Starbucks is known for - by establishing the connection between the emotional and functional benefits of coffee and what it means to be Made Ready. With unpredictability at an all-time high during the pandemic, staying open and ready in the face of change is hard: but for coffee lovers, quality RTD coffee can help. Being “ready” looks different for everyone, but the feeling is universal.
When the world needed an uplifting reminder, Starbucks and Chance the Rapper teamed up to unbottle some inspiration and show that your favorite Starbucks RTD coffees are Made Ready – just like you – so you can be ready for what’s next.
We kicked off with a :30 video directed by JaQuel Knight, showcasing how Chance is Made Ready from backstage to everyday moments with Starbucks RTD coffees. The video was shared on Chance’s Instagram and promoted across earned, paid and owned channels alongside cutdowns and photography featuring the full product portfolio.
At launch, a robust earned media strategy included a feature article and video interview with Chance on Starbucks newsroom and targeted outreach to a diverse set of media across multiple verticals.
In addition to driving awareness and purchase intent for the suite of RTD products, a call-to-action from earned media and social content drove consumers to participate in the #MadeReadyDuet TikTok challenge where we engaged with fans by offering them an opportunity to duet Chance on TikTok and show how they’re Made Ready. Winners received a “bottomless” mini fridge with a year’s supply of Starbucks RTD coffee and an opportunity to meet Chance virtually.
Over the course of the campaign, we engaged seven influencer partners across TikTok and Instagram to amplify our TikTok challenge, extend our Made Ready narrative, and increase relevance among our target audience.
We teamed up with a brand ambassador and a diverse cast of social influencers who are known for being Made Ready to deliver a culturally relevant, multi-channel campaign, driving awareness and purchase intent with social-first storytelling that paired our full lineup of Starbucks RTD coffees with life’s moments, big and small.
In total, the campaign drove a 4.2% increase in RTD brand familiarity on TikTok (measured via paid), with 117.3M social impressions, 13.5M video views, 468.6K social engagements, 171.3M earned impressions, 4.8K Starbucks Stories pageviews and 15.1K clicks to the RTD product purchase page. Additionally, influencer posts drove 98% positive/neutral sentiment, with followers showing brand affinity and purchase intent.
