A brilliant cause-related promotion

I rank Starbucks exec Howard Schultz in a category with other great entrepreneurs/minds of the decade including Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and the folks at Google. Schultz was the first to identify and capitalize on the importance of community, selling the idea of a place to connect with friends and colleagues rather than just another coffee bar. He was also one of the first to champion free trade products.

Then, he lost his way a bit, perhaps underestimating the importance of low price. In stepped Dunkin Donuts with their message of value and low price (and good tasting coffee), which seriously infringed on Starbucks market share. But don’t discount him. In vintage Schultz fashion of brilliant marketing, he engineered a promotion with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” TV show earlier this year that’s one for the books. The tagline on the show reads “brewed by Starbucks”. On top of that, program guests wait for their turn on air in a mini Starbucks lounge on set, which gets shown on air.

More recently, he’s launched a cause-related promotion with the program. The anchors - Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski - are pictured on one of their bags of coffee. To promote the product, Starbucks and MSNBC have teamed up to launch “Brewing Together Day of Service,” a call-to-action campaign kicking off on Nov. 21, which encourages Starbucks and Morning Joe fans to volunteer in their communities. HandsOn Network, the nation’s largest volunteer organization, is assisting interested individuals in finding volunteer opportunities. (Starbucks last year pledged to donate one million community service hours by 2015; so far, it hit the 246,000 mark.) They’ll be going to New Orleans to spearhead a day of giving back to the community, inviting local citizens to join in, part of a series of like minded events.

Clever.

By: Karen Weiner Escalera