STARBUCKS HOLIDAY CUPS

Every holiday season, Starbucks brings back their popular holiday menu with drinks like the Peppermint Mocha and the Ice Sugar Cookie Latte. Along with the new menu items comes the annual release of their holiday cup designs. This has been a tradition in the Starbucks corporation for 25 years. To celebrate this milestone, the 2022 designs pay homage to the wrapping paper design of the first holiday cups in 1997 (Peiper).

GIFT-WRAPPED MAGIC

Wavy ribbons and shimmering sparkles give this red and green cup a magical vibe, all wrapped up like the perfect gift. (“Starbucks holiday”)

Gary Jacobson, the creative director for the 2022 holiday campaign, encompasses it as “We have always talked about the cups as little gifts, and we hope they feel like a festive present to our customers and store partners,”

(“Starbucks holiday”)

(“Starbucks

Frosted Sparkle

Retro starbursts and diamond shapes adorn on this frosty mint green cup for a merry moment of holiday joy.

(“Starbucks holiday”)

(“Starbucks holiday”)

Ornament Wonder

Designers started with the iconic white Starbucks cup and wrapped it in a delicate micro-pattern of colorful holiday motifs like festive ornaments. (“Starbucks holiday”)

(“Starbucks holiday”)

Cozy Evergreen

This bold red cup features white evergreen trees in a graphic pattern, sure to warm the hands and the heart on a cold winter’s day. (“Starbucks holiday”)

This is an effective promotion campaign and visual from Starbucks. Its temporary and seasonal nature brings customers back every holiday to get special beverages and see the new cup designs. Starbucks has the advantage of time, as they have cornered the holiday coffee season and perfected their identity with the ability to continually add more. 2022 was also the 20th anniversary of the Peppermint Mocha, which undoubtedly influenced their use of mint green and Starbucks’ standard colors. (“Starbucks holiday”)

Posted on November 29, 2022, to Starbucks’ social media, this illustration promotes their sugar cookie flavor by sharing the three different drinks that use the flavor. The Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, The Iced Sugar Cookie Alomondmilk Latte, and The Iced Shaken Espresso with Almond milk and Sugar Cookie Syrup are illustrated on a striking blue background that is in contrast to their usual brand colors. (“Starbucks Coffee (@starbucks)”)

This promotional material is not for a particular drink or product but for who the brand is and their public perception. On their social media and the Starbucks Stories and News website, they share stories about little acts of kindness. These acts of kindness can include saying “Thank you” to the barista, helping someone cross the street, or simply giving someone words of encouragement. Starbucks is communicating that consumers can form a community and help those around them through their coffee. While this promotional material is not as profitable, it does reinforce the human lens that Starbucks values. It adds a personable aspect to a big, maybe unreachable company;

“Coffee brings us together, and kindness connects us all.”

(“A little kindness”)

“In celebration of our country’s birthday us and in the Spirit of ‘76, beginning July 5th, Sr. Adults (age 65+) can enjoy a cup of coffee for $.76 from 7:00 am to 9:00 am Monday through Friday. Come visit with your friends, and you may even discover your new favorite pastry to have with your coffee!”

The Fig Tree Cafe wanted to reach the older demographic of Jonesboro with a $.76 coffee special to celebrate independence day. While their caption is very informative, the graphic is busy and outdated regarding design. The purpose of this promotion and ad is to create community through their coffee shop and reach a specific group of people. Given that the audience is people 65 and older, a social media advertisement is less effective. While the caption provides much necessary information, it is quite wordy and excludes information about when this promotion ends. Viewers and customers will receive this advertisement’s goal, but there is room for improvement.