CASE STUDY: Starbucks' White Cup Challenge

In April 2014, Starbucks launched its white cup challenge in the United States and Canada. The 'white cup' refers to the reusable cups that Starbucks began selling for one dollar in January 2013. They look like Starbucks' regular, disposable cups, but have a 30-use lifespan.26

Jim Hanna, Starbucks' director

of environmental impact, called the iconic white cup Starbucks' billboard.27 Challenge participants were asked to put their own original art on these 'billboards'. They could

then take pictures of their customized cups and post them on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. Starbucks received almost 4000 entries, many of which can still be viewed on the company's Pinterest page.28

"The winning entry won [Starbucks] over with its expressive, iconic

and handmade graphics . . . [The company] can't wait to launch future versions of the contest. The winning cup . . . will be printed on [Starbucks'] reusable cup and sold online in the fall."29 So why was this contest a good social media marketing move? Starbucks has millions of Instagram

followers, and the company knew it would reach a huge audience by asking participants to post their entries on this social media platform, along with Twitter. The contest itself was very visual, and that helped the campaign to translate well on the image-based Instagram. The challenge was also "a winning combination of crowd-sourced product design, increas[ed] reusable cup sales and reinforc[ed] Starbucks' environmental responsibility credentials".30

QUESTIONS 1. Think about other companies that advertise on Instagram. Could any of their products be considered 'billboards'?

2. How could one of those companies utilize its 'billboard' as part of an Instagram campaign?