Starbucks Chilled Coffee has unveiled a new EMEA brand platform that is inspired by the pressure young people are under to “constantly edit” themselves and their desire to be themselves.

Titled ‘Whatever Your Thing’, the marketing drive positions itself as the “perfect sidekick to main character energy.

It was devised by AMV BBDO alongside Edelman, Carat and BD. It will roll out across social media, out-of-home, shopper and AV and is supported by paid, earned and creator amplification. 

Starbuck’s vice president, global coffee alliance and EMEA CPG and foodservice Nik Dhodi and marketing director EMEA Charlotta Oldman give us the inside scoop.

According to the brand, the category is filled with claims about functional energy and it wants to shift the narrative away from what “people lack” to the qualities they do possess.

Oldman says: “This is our opportunity. We are shifting away from that {positioning], and I think as being the category leader, we should be doing that, and that is our job.

So I’m really super excited to see how we sort of take the category and what a future hold as well. But its a big shift for us in the category.”

Dhodi explains that Starbuck’s has been very fortunate to “enjoy really strong growth” over the past few years and saw an opportunity to change the way it markets to consumers.

The coffee brand shifted its strategy from product focus and functional messaging to “something that pulls at consumers attention and will drive a really strong emotional connection”, which was how this campaign was born.

And, according to Dhodi, the new direction is a strategy that Starbuck’s will be using for years to come.

Oldman highlights that the strategy places the consumer as the hero.

She says: “We’re just there in the moment that matters to them. And I think that feels way more natural and authentic, rather than be telling and intrusive.

She highlights that the marketing drive was rooted in research which showed that 88% of young people hold part of themselves back to conform in today’s society.

The research was commissioned by Starbucks Chilled Coffee and conducted by Focaldata and also showed that 93% of respondents felt pressure to “tone themselves down” .

She says: “It celebrates that sort of self expression and positions Starbucks coffee as an everyday sidekick.”

The research showed that 52% of respondents felt a daily energy or mood dip, with 85% highlighting that they experienced physical fatigue. Some respondents reported they felt emotionally drained.

She highlights that Starbucks found the star of its campaign on YouTube. They came across a video of a longboard skater, Jikal Hassan, skating through the city.

Oldman says: “And we thought this is absolutely perfect. She captured the spirit of the campaign brilliantly, she’s championing a personal passion, and she’s also showing the importance of holding on to your unique energy. So she’s the hero of our film.”

Alongside its hero film, Oldman highlights that the brand is also launching a summer anthem, a remix of Basement Jaxx’s hit song ‘Do Your Thing’ by Jax Jones, to mark 25 years of the song. The anthem will encourage customers to take to TikTok and create content of them doing partaking in their “thing” online.

She says: “The aim is to spark a social first movement and to encourage young people to truly celebrate their individuality.”

She explains that the campaign fits in well with Starbucks values and what it stands for.

Dhodi says: “I think we as an organisation are focused more on social and on culture. And I think this campaign has a ton of legs to really play in those spaces and that’s part of the journey we have coming ahead in the coming months.

“I think there’s a lot more that we’re going to be doing from a social perspective, from a digital perspective, to really amplify in those channels.”

Oldman adds: “This platform has so much breadth and depth to drive it all social and be culturally relevant, and show up in all those spaces.

“But we will also obviously make sure we also consistently show up on the other platforms. So we still will be in store, out of home and digital but it is very much a social and cultural first approach, and we will build upon that.”

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