Red Cup Controversy Case Study

The Starbucks 2015 “Red Cup Controversy”
In 1997, Starbucks debuted their first Holiday Cup featuring designs of holiday symbols such as ornaments and snowflakes. On November 1 2015, the company debuted a minimalistic ombré red cup without such motifs. According to the Starbucks Newsroom site, the 2015 design “is another way Starbucks is inviting customers to create their own stories with a red cup that mimics a blank canvas” (2015). However, on November 5, American evangelist, former pastor and social media personality, Joshua Feuerstein posted a video to his Facebook titled “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus” (Feuerstein, 2015). Following, others posted to social media that stripping the cup of its usual
A research approach that could have been used was surveying, taking a random sampling of people and asking them basic questions (D.L. Wilcox, 2012) such as “What designs would you like to see on the 2015 Holiday Cup?” or “Does a cup with a minimalistic design still embody the spirit of the season?” Through the results of the survey, Starbucks could have captured an idea of what its current consumers and potential consumers wanted or suggested. Starbucks then could have tailored its messaging and product to its target audience. Focus groups as a research method would have also proven to be helpful in this situation, as Starbucks could have found participants of various demographic groups and from several regions to examine three to five designs of their holiday coffee cup as a sample and share with the participants their objectives. Those in the group could then provide their opinion and insight, and they could express if they as a consumer felt any of those designs achieved the desired objectives. Although focus groups do not collect any hard data, the qualitative information would still prove helpful
The coffee company didn’t disregard the discourse, but the public relations team did not introduce a full crisis communications plan either. In conjunction, Starbucks released a video via their newsroom site announcing details of the 2015 Christmas Blend coffee. The caption states that they announce the exclusive, seasonal coffee on behalf of their 300,000 employees from diverse, ethnic backgrounds (Starbucks Newsroom, 2015). Furthermore, according to PR Daily, Starbucks also published a post of all of their Christmas offerings on its homepage. The company acknowledged the heated discussions in regards to denying Christmas, but showcased they offer many Christmas-specific items, such as ornaments and Christmas CD’s, in its stores while maintaining their regular communications (Steinberg, 2015). This approach was praised by public relations professionals such as Worldcom Public Relations Group. The group conducted a survey of its America’s Region partners; most the partners supported Starbucks’ actions. Johnathan Bloom, marketing chair at Worldcom said, “The majority of our partners believe Starbucks has handled the red cup controversy perfectly” (The Worldcom Public Relations Group, 2015). The brand stood firm with their beliefs but address the accusations of denying Christmas or a hatred for Jesus Christ or Christianity. Moreover,