What you didn't know about your favorite Starbucks drink!

Judging by the enormous line I waited in to get my Skinny Vanilla Latte this morning, it is safe to say that people LOVE their Starbucks drinks!  But when you take a moment to analyze just how genius Starbucks’ marketing is - you’ll start to appreciate the company too.  At Casey & Sayre, we specialize in generating buzz and publicity.  So, it is easy to spot others who excel in this!

Here are 3 social media tactics that Starbucks cleverly uses to get completely free publicity.

Create “Postable” Moments

Have you ever gone into Starbucks and had them spell your name in a completely crazy way on your cup?  What if I told you that’s on purpose!? Starbucks creates these postable moments by instructing its baristas to spell names like “Aaron” on cups like “Air Inn”.  The intention is to make the customer laugh and take a picture of the cup to post it.  Boom! Free advertising.

Build Context for Hashtags

Remember two weeks ago I talked about #RedCups?  Having a playful secret red cup emoji pop up when you tweet about your drink makes it fun and special to post about Starbucks. And who could forget using #PSL all fall while drinking their pumpkin spice lattes. Starbucks makes you WANT to post about them by creating additional context around your coffee experience!

Stir Up Your Own Buzz

Starbucks knows that people look forward to the reveal of its Holiday cups every year.  And this year, the decision to make the cups plain red has caused quite the stir.  But many blogs are now suggesting that Starbucks initiated and ignited the “story” that there were people UPSET about its plain cups.  And if so, it worked!  This simple move got the plain Starbucks cup talked about by just about everyone.  Big names like Ellen, Conan, Demi Lovato and even Donald Trump weighed in.  They say no press is bad press, so this is the type of free publicity that most brands dream of.   

So, is Starbucks genius or just popular?  Have you experienced one of these tactics?  Wonder how Starbucks would misspell Social Media Diva!? "So Shall Me Diadiva"?  "Soshil Mydya Dyveh"? Haha, no matter, it would surely make a #postable moment!

Your favorite holiday that you never knew existed! #NationalCookieDay

Friends, get excited.

Not only is it Friday (yay!) but it is a very special Friday, indeed.Today is #NationalCookieDay!

I swear, every year, Twitter brings to light more and more national "holidays" that I never knew existed, but that I now love!

National Cookie Day is one of those days!

You'll see lots of people tweeting about this and some cute pictures and recipe ideas, but let's get serious.  I want some actual cookies on National Cookie Day!  Assuming you do too, I found these three places you can get deals or FREE treats to celebrate!

WHOLE FOODSWhole Foods is offering all its delicious cookies for only 25 cents this week!  No joke, I'd get there fast if I was you!

INSOMNIA COOKIESIs offering a free chocolate chunk cookie with any purchase.  I've tried these in NYC and they are so good!  Sadly, we Angelenos don't have any Insomnia Cookie stores here, but the offer is also available for delivery online!

ROCKEFELLER CENTERGosh, what is up with NY being so much more cookie-friendly!?  Healthy LA strikes again.  But if you happen to be in downtown NY, stop by the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for some free cookies from DoubleTree by Hilton!  Smart branding.  You always get a couple warm cookies when you check in.  A nice touch every day — not just #nationalcookieday.

Now, go eat up!  And share a pic of you and your favorite cookie for #NationalCookieDay!

Give Back for #VeteransDay

A deep heartfelt "Thank You" to all of our service men and women out there. 

 

You'll see a lot of #HappyVeteransDay hashtags and meaningful messages on social media today.  But when words don't seem like enough, I have three great ways for you to give back this Veterans Day.  Each one just takes a few clicks of the mouse.

Wounded Warrior Project 

The Wounded Warrior Project provides rehabilitation, activities and career counseling for our nation's wounded warriors and their families.  There are several ways to support this organization.  Donations are accepted on their website.  You can also send letters to an injured service member, make a donation in honor of a loved one or host a Supporter Event.

Adopt A US Soldier

Active duty soldiers love notes and letters they receive from citizens, and many would love to write back home. Adopt a US Soldier is a nonprofit that connects supportive civilians with deployed troops.  The organization offers a channel to communicate encouragement and express gratitude to those serving our nation by sending weekly letters or postcards.

Homes for Our Troops

Homes for Our Troops uses volunteers to build homes or adapt existing homes to meet the needs of injured veterans.  Rebuilding these homes into specially adapted locations for severely injured veterans helps these heroes rebuild their lives.  

Do you have a favorite nonprofit or way to give back to Veterans for their service?  

#RedCups and Secret Emojis

Move over, Halloween.  If Starbucks has a say, we are officially in Holiday Season!

This weekend launched the Starbucks Holiday Cups, lovingly now called "Red Cups", and the internet's going crazy.

Starbucks'  #RedCups hashtag has been trending on Twitter since the cups launched on Sunday, and the company created a Twitter-specific emoji just for the launch! Here's how it works, because you can't just go searching for the secret emoji.  Twitter users simply type the hashtag #RedCups within their tweet, and the special emoji will pop up next to it!  I love this idea and think it is a fun and interesting way to promote a hashtaginto trending zone!

Even though we have at least another month before winter starts, I am always in favor of a little festivity, and some great marketing techniques!

What is your vote?  Too early for the #RedCups, or just in time?

Death By Twitter: Twitter Edition

Quick, what's the worst way you can think of to have someone break up with you?

If you are an ex-Sex-And-The-City fanatic, my guess is you immediately thought of the episode where Big broke up with Carrie on a post-it note. 

It'd be tough to get less personal or emotive than that. 

Yet, today, we have news about the professional equivalent of bring broken up with on a post-it note.  Being fired, over Twitter.

The downsizing company just happens to be Twitter itself, making this digital version of a pink slip a bit more understandable.

Twitter recently announced that its interim CEO, Jack Dorsey would be elevated to permanent CEO.  Now, one of Dorsey's first orders of business is laying off 336 employees, almost 10% of Twitter's workforce.  This morning, he confirmed the move with a tweet. 

I guess there is no GREAT way to find out you are being fired, but I certainly wouldn't want to find out when I log into my Twitter feed.  I imagine the office went crazy when everyone read that!  It couldn't have been good for morale.  Still, here at Casey & Sayre, we are huge proponents of promoting your company's core expertise.  And in that sense, at least the announcement stayed "on brand".  

What do you think of Dorsey's Twitter announcement? Was it branding brilliance or just incredibly insensitive?  

Finally a "DISLIKE" button!?

Thumbs up... or thumbs down?

After years of social media speculation, Facebook is finally working on a DISLIKE button! Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO announced the news at a town hall meeting yesterday, confirming the feature has been requested so much that the company is finally moving forward with the project.

But, the button might not be exactly what we're thinking. Facebook doesn't want the new "dislike" button to serve as a way to "downvote" posts.  So, moving away from that Reddit-style voting, the new button is meant to express other emotions besides the inferred positivity of the "Like" button.

Maybe you've had this happen to you before.  Your friend's pet just passed, or their grandma is sick.  You want to show you see the post and are thinking of them.  Do you "like" it?  Or, say, you are reading a news article about a devastating shooting and you want to show you care.  Do you "like" the article? These are the situations that call for a different type of button.  Zuckerberg said, "What (people) really want is the ability to express empathy.  Not every moment is a good moment."

So, the button might not be called "dislike".  What do you think the new Facebook button should be called?

VMA Craziness Heats Up Twitter

The VMAs have been a hotbed for controversy the past few years.  Typically, this controversy plays out louder and longer on social media.  Even today, a few days after the VMAs, Miley, Kanye and a host of other VMA topics are still trending worldwide.  And it is no wonder, the awards show has gotten crazier and crazier every year.  Plus, MTV has been focused heavily on increasing social media engagement.  For example, this year MTV created its own unique emoji for the show.  The neon-colored Moonman emoji is inspired by the Moonman-shaped award that is given to VMA winners.  All tweets that used the hashtags #VMA or #VMAs were tagged with this exclusive emoji. 

And, this tactic worked, blowing up engagement on social media.  In the US, 2.2 million people send 21.4 million tweets around the VMAs, up almost 70% from last year.  The hashtag prompted 4.19 million uses, almost threefold the 1.44 million hashtagged tweets from last year.  And, notably, the VMAs were the most-tweeted non-sports program since October 2011.  

What were the most tweeted about moments?  Get ready for a countdown!  And, you might want to hold on to your seats, these crazy moments make for one bumpy ride!

5. Taylor Swift and Kanye (27,162 tweets)

Taylor and Kanye have had an awkward relationship since he famously interrupted her acceptance speech in 2009.  This year, she introduced him at the VMAs!

4. Nicki vs. Miley (27,441 tweets)

Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj went head to head with snarky criticism that was sparked earlier this year when Cyrus bashed Minaj in the New York Times.  

3. Justin Bieber's breakdown (80,136 tweets)

Justin Bieber knows how to blow up social media.  His tearful breakdown after his performance of "What Do You Mean" prompted an outcry of its own.

2. Miley's malfunction (147,285 tweets)

Common, did you really think you'd make it through an awards show without a wardrobe malfunction?

1. Kanye's speech (551,466 tweets)

He can't really be running for president, can he?  I wouldn't put anything past Kanye West, and the rapper's 10 minute long acceptance speech ranked as the top-tweeted moment of the VMAs!

What was your favorite moment of the VMAs?