The iconic RED cups are here! Find out how these cups became something people look forward to every Christmas

12 Days of Christmas FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: We’re down to our fourth to the last guerrilla marketing campaign feature for the 12 Days of Christmas BBD Campaign. I hope you’re enjoying all our published Christmas-related content so far! For today’s newsletter, I’ll be sharing with you a campaign that is simple yet has been embedded in the hearts and minds of coffee lovers since 1997. Any ideas on what brand I’m referring to? To confirm whether or not your guess is correct, check out the article below and read about the iconic red cups that won a lot of consumers over the past years. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

The iconic RED cups are here! Find out how these cups became something people look forward to every Christmas What are the colors you associate with Christmas? Green? Orange? Gold? Red? I think that the most common answer to that question would be red. Personally, this color is also the first color that comes to my mind every time the topic is about colors of Christmas. … and I think a lot of people share the same thoughts with me―even businesses. In fact, one café brand we all probably know of has also associated this color with its cups during this time of the year. These are the iconic Red Cups, which are introduced by none other than… Starbucks! In 1997, the coffeehouse company was starting to expand outside the US and Canada and introduced the first of its holiday cups to generate interest. Starbucks swapped its standard coffee cup design for red cups with festive imagery on them. Each year since 1997, a different design was featured on the red cups, and the campaign became a big hit with the public. Talk about making a wave by simply launching festive red cups for public use! *Claps* The most controversial Starbucks holiday cup was in 2015, as a lot of people thought it wasn’t festive enough. This led Starbucks to be embroiled in a globally-discussed controversy and accused of removing Christian imagery in the holiday cups in pursuit of political correctness. Nevertheless, the brand’s red cups were talked about on social media and talk show hosts such as Ellen Degeneres, Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, and even former US President Donald Trump commented upon the matter. Despite the controversy, the red cups campaign gave Starbucks additional publicity beyond what other advertising campaigns could purchase. The brand even recorded a sales increase of 11.9% from the previous year! In the following years, the company seemed to learn its lesson and released very festive cups in time for the holiday season. In 2016, Starbucks held a contest to challenge artists from all over the world to create the next holiday cup that the brand would use. All design submissions were posted on social media for everyone to see. Overall, Starbucks received 1,200 entries and picked 13 designs from 6 different countries. This was a smart move on Starbucks’ part because it created hype on social media and enabled contestants’ followers to see and judge their works of art with the infamous Starbucks logo! That’s a lot of free artistic ideas, too! Starbucks customers look forward to the holiday cups every year and when they are released, there’s a slight frenzy over them. Fans post pictures of their cups on social media, displaying the holiday cup on various digital platforms. Even celebrities are joining in on the bandwagon without getting paid to do so! That’s another free marketing for the brand. Additionally, these festive cups became another excuse for people to post photos of their coffee on social media, influencing their followers to go out and get some Starbucks coffee, too! Below are other results of Starbucks’ Red Cups campaign: The company reached a global audience with over 232 pieces of content shared across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in 30+ countries. The Red Cup campaign’s total global engagement exceeded the 4-million mark. The campaign’s total social media engagements in the US are 2 million+ views, 1 million+ likes, 6,000+ comments, and 4,000+ retweets. Clearly, this shows that a stylish and cohesive brand identity is a powerful marketing tool. It’s possible to create unique traditions that are tied to your brand, then encourage your target market to look forward to these traditions each year. What other lessons can you learn from Starbucks’ Red Cups campaign? Show kindness to your community. The Red Cups featured illustrations of animated characters engaging in acts of kindness… and customers were encouraged to “pass on the cheer.” Commit to the betterment of society. Participating in fundraising events, implementing environment-friendly policies, and incorporating a “green” philosophy in your marketing strategy are all effective tactics. Embrace digital innovation. In 2011, Starbucks parceled its red Cups with iPhone and Android augmented reality apps called Starbucks Cup Magic. The apps enabled customers to animate their cups and bring their creative ideas to life. Make digital innovation part of your marketing strategy. Research new technologies and think of ways to drive more immersive and memorable customer experiences. Foster diversity in the workplace and beyond. In 2016, Starbucks released a green (not red) holiday cup. According to Shogo Ota, the cup designer from Japan, “I wanted to draw everyone in one line.” By using his design, Starbucks emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion. A diverse workforce will prime your brand for success. This will help you implement diversity-centric strategies and promote diversity and inclusion in your workplace. Engage in co-creation with customers. Starbucks has a longstanding history of engaging in co-creation with customers. Its free WiFi, cake pops, and the Mocha Coconut Frappuccino are all past submissions. No company is too small to realize the benefits of co-creation with consumers. Improve your brand’s identity by actively soliciting feedback and ideas from customers via contests, social media promotions, or other feedback channels. Personalize the customer experience. In 2017, Starbucks’ initial release of the holiday cups were white and customers were encouraged to color in the cups. Many store locations had colored pencils that customers could borrow to design their cups. Strive to create more personalized experiences with your brand’s customers. Around 59% of customers say personalization influences their purchasing decisions. So, leverage all data at your disposal and aim to personalize every customer touch point. Every annual Starbucks Red Cup is more than just a cup. Its designs are also powerful reminders of what will empower the brand to continue to brew for many more holidays to come. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn.     Stay tuned for tomorrow’s 12 Days of Christmas article! Do you want to learn about how this audio streaming platform turned the holiday season into a streaming season? See it in the next 12 Days of Christmas article!