Executive Memo
Dec 8, 2014
To: Howard D. Schultz, Starbucks Coffee Company, Chairman and CEO
CC: Matt Ryan, Global Chief Strategy Officer
From: Anne C. Gamab
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to present our Integrated Marketing
Communication plan to Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX). We have created a
proposal that focuses on the goal of assisting Starbucks’ new delivery system.
The strategies we wish to conduct were chosen with the goal of maintaining the
company’s identity to then move forward. We wanted to stay true to the company’s
mission: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one
neighborhood at a time.”
Starbucks Coffee Company is the largest coffee chain in the world. It changed the course
of the coffee industry. As of March 30, 2014, Starbucks has a total of 20,519 stores
spread across 65 countries. Starbucks Coffee Company’s current net income is $2.7
Billion.
Before creating our Integrated Marketing Plan, we conducted an extensive SWOT
Analysis to determine Starbucks Coffee Company’s current status.
Strengths
 #1 coffee roaster in the world
 Rewards for customers
 Employee benefits
 Strong customer service
Opportunities
 New products
 New distribution channels
 Cobranding/partnership
 http://mystarbucksidea.force.com
Weaknesses
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


“Machine Made” espresso shots
Large corporation
Stereotypes
High prices
Threats
 Competition on a LOCAL level
 Competition on a NATIONAL level
 Competition on an INTERNATIONAL level
 Consumer spending choices
 Rising COGS
Starbucks started the beta testing of their order-ahead feature at some of its Portland
locations. The new feature will be available across the United States by the end of 2015.
The core of our Integrated Marketing Campaign is to raise awareness about the delivery
system by increasing the number of gold cardholders. We have generated the following
strategies for each media platforms.
Owned Media
 Create a separate Twitter handle for the new delivery system. We want to stay
consistent with Starbucks Coffee Company’s social media tactics by having a
specific twitter account to answer related questions.
 Add a “Delivery” tab on the website to educate customers about the new
delivery system and its mechanics
 Send out emails to existing cardholders to tell them about the new delivery
system.
 Update the existing phone app to include the delivery option. The delivery is
only available to “Gold Card Holders.”
Earned Media
 Hire brand ambassadors to represent Starbucks Coffee Company at our live
promotions at different locations. Every brand ambassador must be able to
explain how the new delivery system works.
 Pitch stories to news aggregators such as BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, etc., to gain
media coverage regarding the Starbucks Delivery System. These news
aggregators have gained such a great following in the last 3 years and their
popularity will help us to reach wider audience.
Paid Media
 Traditional advertisements such as billboards, fleet wraps, print ads, etc., has
helped Starbucks gain amazing results when it comes to promoting its brand
and products.
 Begin using the updated sleeve that showcases the new slogan to go with the
new delivery system.
 Start using other forms of paid media such as postcard ads and commercials. We
want to educate the customers on a larger scale and we trust that these forms of
media will assist us in doing so.
We created a new slogan we believe encompasses both the mission of the company and
the new delivery system. “Your Fix. Your Way. At Your Door,” will be the face of the
campaign. This new slogan will be printed on the updated sleeves and be the main focus
of the advertisements that will introduce and promote the Starbucks Coffee Company
Delivery System.
We would like to thank you and The Starbucks Coffee Company for giving us the
opportunity to present our Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign and we
look forward to hearing from you.
References
About Us (2014). Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/companyinformation
Hodgkins, K. (2014, Dec. 4). Starbucks Beta trials New Order-ahead Feature in
Portland, Oregon. Retrieved from http://www.tuaw.com/2014/12/04/starbucks-betatrials-new-order-ahead-feature-in-portland-orego/