PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

Contents

PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track .................................................................................................. i

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Marketing and Communication Objectives .................................................................................................. 3

Key Stakeholders and Publics ....................................................................................................................... 5

Public Relations Strategies ............................................................................................................................ 6

Media Relations ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Know Your Market .................................................................................................................................... 6

Use Technology ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Monitor progress ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Social Awareness....................................................................................................................................... 7

Use Effective Mediums ............................................................................................................................. 7

Key Message ................................................................................................................................................. 7

Public Relations Tactics ............................................................................................................................. 8

Public Relations Plan Evaluation ............................................................................................................... 9

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 10

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

Introduction

The issue of Racial Inequality has been a silent yet very alive phenomenon in many

countries, most of them, developed. It has been kept quite far away from the glamor of the

corporate world and is hardly a contender for everyday table talk (J. E. Grunig, 2013; Jain, De

Moya, & Molleda, 2014). However, a major corporation has decided to tackle it heads-on and has

attracted the attention of people far and wide. USA TODAY and Starbucks have collaborated to

take initiative to dissuade the culture of racism and in order to that, they have decided to open it

on public forums; in Starbucks coffee shops that is. “Each story, each voice, offered insight into

the divisive role unconscious bias plays in our society and the role empathy can play to bridge

those divides,” said by the chairman of Starbucks chairman and CEO of the Howard Schultz in a

USA newspaper section.

Situation Analysis

This is not for the first time that Starbucks has decided to involve itself in a cause for

societal change. It has been putting in efforts for guns and gay rights and has been applauded by

masses of the liberal society. This time round, it has initiated the year-long campaign by the name

of ‘Race Together’ in order to arouse dialogue and exchange of conversation as well as

consideration and constructive action for the issue of “race” in the United States (Coombs &

Holladay, 2012; Papasolomou & Melanthiou, 2012). The campaign title i.e. ‘Race Together’ is

being written down by the Starbucks baristas on the coffee cups in order to promote the initiative

and bolster discussion in support of accepting diversity.

USA TODAY has also played its part by including question and comments in order to spark

interest as well as conversation among peers and family such as, “How have your racial views

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

evolved from those of your parents?” i On the one hand Starbucks is inviting people to join the

discussion and add their valuable insight as well as anecdotes to the campaign treasury whereas

many people belonging to different races have denounced the effort completely (Kao, 2014; Lee,

Southwell, & Suzuki, 2013).

The problem that has emerged from this scenario is a major Public Relations failure as the

campaign has definitely united people to talk about it and social media is full of talks regarding

the Starbucks campaign, none of which is, however, positive. The internet is set on despising the

Race Together campaign and many entrepreneurs have pointed out that it is putting undue load on

the baristas in an ADWEEK articleii. People consider the drive as patronizing and they have openly

directed some very unpleasant remarks towards the Starbucks executives coloring their twitter

pages with harsh comments. Corey DuBrowa, Starbucks SVP of Global Communications has

deleted his twitter account for a while until the fervor dies down a bit. According to tweets and

comments in general, Starbucks does not have a proper justification or answer to their criticisms

and questions (Hendrix, Hayes, & Kumar, 2012; Kleinnijenhuis, Schultz, Utz, & Oegema, 2013).

All these issues make it a critical situation where the public relations team will be required to put

things right.

Marketing and Communication Objectives

The basic target of the Public Relations in this scenario is to set right the tarnished image

of this multimillion dollar enterprise which has been the target of general disapproval regarding

its campaign Race Together. The promotion of racial issues by Starbucks which was undertaken

with a socially responsible and conscious intention has turned into a PR nightmare. Before the

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

situation further aggravates and public disdain augments, it is necessary to follow a comprehensive

and calculated strategy to reflect honest principles of the Starbucks Corporation.

This situation may also create opportunities for competitors such as McDonald’s and Dunkin’s to

cash on the public resentment. The issue needs to be tackled in all editorial mediums such as

newspapers, websites, magazines and TV programs. The objectives are clear. The campaign has

been put into motion but the response has not been as expected. Some could even say that it has

totally deviated from the original purpose. ‘Race Together’ is not a bad or derogatory forum but

due to the sensitivity of the issue, the campaign strategy has not succeeded.

In order to make the campaign successful and acceptable in the target market i.e. the

American population in general, the public relations management will have to improvise. We have

to convince the audience that the purpose of the campaign is what has been suggested time and

again by different people and organizations but never has this issue been prioritized at corporate

level (L'Etang, 2011; Luo & Jiang, 2014; Wakefield, Plowman, & Curry, 2014). The goal is not to

suggest a solution but to at least put it there; right on the coffee table. Starbucks enterprise does

not need to alter its own marketing objectives but it has to work on its PR to publicize its social

campaign. For the public relations, the main marketing objective is to justify the stance and

reconnect with the target audience.

Communication plays a vital role in making public relations effective (Greenberg, Knight,

& Westersund, 2011; Hendrix et al., 2012; L'Etang, 2011). The flow of information between the

organization and the general public should drift in the intended manner. The comprehension on

the part of the receiver is absolutely necessary so that it makes a clear impression on the minds of

the receivers. It also has a crucial influence on the loyalty of the target audience. In this case, the

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major breakdown occurred in the communication between Starbucks and the American people.

The audience was not able to correctly perceive the message that the campaign promotes. The

feedback also did not help in anyway as most of the online feedback is negative.

In our public relations strategy the effective communication needs to be reinstalled and the

audience needs to be re-informed about the true essence of the campaign. The second major

communication objective is to also keep in check the internal communications process. As all

concerned executives of the corporation are being targeted in the social media, such as the

communications SVP, they need to present a coordinated response and give a unified stand

regarding the issue of launching and continuing Race Together campaign (Greenberg et al., 2011;

Hendrix et al., 2012; L'Etang, 2011).

Key Stakeholders and Publics

The key stakeholders in this situation are the general public. The owners and managers of

Starbucks, the customers, those affected by racism in any form and also those who are striving to

bring out a solution for the problem of racism in America. Thus the avenue for our public relations

process is very large and all the stakeholders need to be kept in mind while devising and

implementing the new strategies (L. A. Grunig, 2013).

The response from the public in general over the social media sites against the Race Together

campaign shows that people, or the stakeholders, are being adversely affected by this campaign so

far. If the stakeholders are not happy, the campaign is useless. Thus public will have to be

motivated in favor of the agenda in order to run a successful campaign in the coming year.

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Public Relations Strategies

In order to achieve the target of improving the effectiveness of Race Together and to

involve the public in the discussion, we will have to design and follow a comprehensive public

relations strategy.

Media Relations

In any case of public relations, the importance of media relations cannot be undermined.

In this day of blogs and social media, this is of great importance and we need to utilize its power

(Kao, 2014; Kleinnijenhuis et al., 2013). First and foremost, the credibility of the task at hand

needs to be ascertained. In this case of Race Together campaign the intentions are purely for a

social change. Thus there is no issue of credibility. Neither is there a possibility of meeting all the

target audience face to face. Thus the PR needs to be very thorough in this attempt.

Know Your Market

Just like the situation depicts, the most aggressive feedback has come from the social

media. Thus PR needs to first make a detailed plan of the market that Starbucks is catering to.

Also, the target market comprises of social changers and activists who can enthusiastically

participate and come up with agendas and possible solutions to the problem.

Use Technology

Mega corporations such as Starbucks are already aptly making use of the new technologies.

They need to be incorporated in the public relations strategy so that masses can be reached out to.

It will help to appease the tension and uproar that has been aggravated since the launch of the

campaign.

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

Monitor progress

The reactions of the people are the key indicators of any and all strategies that are being

deployed by the campaigners. The effects of the public relations process need to be simultaneously

gauged so that in case of any required change, it can be duly implemented. If with time, the

strategies are properly implemented, and people start to really talk about the problem of racism in

America, it can turn into a proper movement but for that to occur, it needs to be vigilantly followed.

Social Awareness

Raising social awareness is the most important step in order to bring about social change.

Consumers are always attracted towards products and ideas that give back something to the society

or follow the concept of ‘pay it forward’. The idea behind Race Together is noble and important.

It is near the hearts of the people affected on a daily basis by this stigma and discrimination. The

medium and the way the message is put across needs attention so that this aspiration to make race

talk a talked about reality, can be converted into an active campaign.

Use Effective Mediums

We can create associations with big events, discussion forums, conferences, seminars and

NGOs working to tackle these issues. Starbucks can sponsor events as well as organize

competitions and contests that highlight the issue under consideration. It will help to start at the

level of students and young children in order to prevent them from inculcating any thoughts and

ideas that promote racism.

Key Message

The key message that needs to be sent via this public relations campaign is that Starbucks

in not seeking to hurt anyone’s feelings or emotions. It is rather highlighting an area which is deep
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rooted in America’s social structure but is not spoken about or discussed. The aim is to bring it out

in the open and to tell the general public that it can be solved. Until and unless a problem is simply

shunned and kept covered, no solution can be reached. The problem is that Americans are still

killing on the basis of race whereas a majority of the American nationals belong to different races

and should not be discriminated against at any cost.

Secondly the mission of the campaign Race Together is not to solve the problem right there

and then. Neither is it a plausible goal. It is simply a yearlong campaign to highlight the injustice

to the American people as well as the issue per se so that it becomes household talk and someone

at a recognizable and authoritative level can take notice. It will also remove the social stigma

attached to it.

Public Relations Tactics

Starbucks will not need to create a special microsite as such because the campaign has

been started through coffee cups and that is a compact and an aggressive medium. We can focus

on other tactics such as ‘A once in a Lifetime Opportunity’. Starbucks can invite celebrities and

national heroes to endorse the message and give people a chance to meet them at their nearby

coffee shops.

We can also start a petition that people can sign when they come to collect their daily

regulars from the baristas. Nothing attracts people’s attention than a crowd hunched over

something attractive and getting a high number of signatures will serve just the purpose.

We can also create a special day of the month where people can actually come to the

coffee shop for the sake of discussion regarding Race Together. They can be briefed about the

initiative, its progress and what more can be brought into it.

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 PR Plan: Showing Starbucks the Right Track

Another tactic is to start a ‘missed opportunity’ campaign. Customer can be attracted

towards the Race Together campaign if they see it as a chance to be a part of something special.

For instance, there can be a limited amount of Race Together cups available in each coffees shop

which may have a marginal discount over the other cups. Coffee can be sold in those cups at a

‘First come first served’ basis daily.

There can also be a record making tactic deployed for the purpose. For example, a person

who collects the most Race Together Starbucks coffee cups can be awarded a prize. We can also

organize coffee brewing contests and other such measures can be taken to publicize the campaign.

We also need to make the campaign more interesting and alluring. It can be done by linking

it to other historical campaigns that have been undertaken to address racism in America as well as

other parts of the world. The history of KKK as well as revival of racist ideology in France can all

be quoted.

Public Relations Plan Evaluation

The plan that has been proposed to assist the Race Together campaign is largely based on

public relations techniques. The agenda is to rephrase and redirect the Starbucks campaign in order

to appease the general public’s increasing resentment. The initial steps will be to give a

clarification statement and apologize to those who have been hurt by the Starbucks initiative while

justifying that the intention is different from what has been perceived. Then we need to empower

our team further so that the baristas continue with the work assigned to them. Slowly and gradually

the message will sink in and make place first in people’s minds and hearts and ultimately on the

coffee tables as the company intends. We need to make use of the right platforms and start from

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the audience that shows more reception to our call. This will help the campaign grow in different

sectors of the society.

Starbucks can formulate a proper team which can focus on this campaign only. In this way

they will be able to come up with management of the issue. Also, they need to specially focus on

tackling the internet responses so that it does not spread further in social media which is now a

very powerful medium. It can build and destroy images quickly.

Starbucks has been responding well so far. The CEO has immediately responded to the

criticisms. Now it is our i.e. the PR team’s job to tackle it henceforward. The issue that has been

taken up is serious and the effort by Starbucks is commendable. Now we just need to handle it

aptly so that it can be raised to higher levels; the Starbucks coffee tables that is!

Bibliography

Who should be your spokesman in a crisis? (Who should be your spokesman in a crisis?)

http://www.prdaily.com/crisiscommunications/Articles/16323.aspx

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Starbucks PR Chief Quits Twitter Over #RaceTogether Campaign (PRNewser)

http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/starbucks-pr-chief-quits-twitter-over-racematters-

campaign/110934

The Internet Is United in Despising Starbucks' 'Race Together' Cup Campaign (AdWeek)

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/internet-united-despising-starbucks-race-together-cup-

campaign-163540

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Hendrix, Jerry, Hayes, Darrell, & Kumar, Pallavi. (2012). Public relations cases: Cengage

Learning.

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Jain, Rajul, De Moya, Maria, & Molleda, Juan-Carlos. (2014). State of international public

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i
http://news.starbucks.com/news/race-together-conversation-has-the-power-to-change-hearts-and-minds
ii
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/internet-united-despising-starbucks-race-together-cup-campaign-163540

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