Across seven years, Starbucks UK reallocated investment from traditional media into a social strategy which evolved as consumers’ social behaviour changed.
Early focus on using social to communicate events and seasonal offers gave way to encouraging coffee cup imagery to be used as a creative focal point. Later, the brand saw opportunities for further growth and engagement by supporting the then nascent culture of self-expression and involving influencers. This case demonstrates how Starbucks UK has used social to deliver sustainable business growth and compares the business impact of investment in social and traditional media. Since 2010, it estimates that social generated almost £18m more for the brand than investing in traditional channels. It calculates the strategy returned almost £4 in additional profit for every £1 invested.