While many leaders search for the latest marketing strategy to grow their brands, Starbucks wins people over by adding a digital twist to old-fashioned storytelling. The Starbucks storytelling secret—don’t make the story about product; make the story about people.
Storytelling is core to Starbucks’ success, and it starts at the top with the company’s chief storyteller, executive chairman Howard Schultz. Schultz is one of the best brand storytellers I’ve ever met. For more than 30 years, Schultz has re-told the now famous origin story of the trip to Italy that inspired him to turn a coffee roasting company into a “third place” between work and home. Schultz often tells another origin story—the story about his father’s struggle to care for his family when he lost his job. The family lived in a Brooklyn housing project and had no health insurance, no worker’s comp, and no way to make ends meet. The experience inspired Schultz to be among the first major company leaders to provide full health benefits for part-time workers.
Schultz has teamed up with a career storyteller to take the brand into new and exciting content directions. Schultz’ storytelling partner is Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a former Washington Post editor and now vice president for public affairs and executive producer at Starbucks. I recently spoke to Chandrasekaran about the film series he co-created with Schultz called Upstanders. It’s a collection of short stories and videos featuring ordinary people doing extraordinary things to create positive change in their communities. Season 2 stories include: a chef who hires former juvenile offenders, a woman who forgives the man who shot her, and a mother who rallies neighbors to make her city a home for refugees, among many others.
What you will not find in the series is a story about a new Frappuccino. “The stories that we share through Upstandersare not intended to sell more product,” says Chandrasekaran. “They are intended to inspire and engage our fellow Americans to be better citizens and to be more engaged in our communities. They are intended to fire people up to be change-makers in their cities and towns.”
Starbucks is at the leading edge of a fresh approach to brand storytelling. While other brands are creating content about their products, Starbucks is building a stronger, emotional connection with its customers through stories that reaffirm people’s faith in humanity. The stories further cement the relationship between the brand and its loyal customers. At the same time, it attracts new customers who might see the brand in a different light. It’s a win-win-win: Good for the community, good for the country and good for the company. When profits are used to elevate the human spirit, we all benefit.
Starbucks’ Lessons for Marketers, Brands and Leaders
After two seasons of Upstanders—which have garnered 70 million views per season—Starbucks has learned a valuable lesson that all brand storytellers should heed: Create and distribute stories in different formats to make them convenient, appealing, and engaging. For example,
1. Each Upstanders is featured in a longer format film that runs up to 10 minutes in length. The videos are distributed on the Starbucks web channel, its mobile app, Amazon Prime and Facebook, among other platforms.
2. Every video is cut down to two-minute clips optimized for social media.
3. A text version accompanies each story along with photographs.
4. The stories have been compiled into an audiobook which debuted in the top 10 nonfiction audiobooks on Audible.
Above all, storytelling should complement the brand’s mission. Upstanders is an extension of the Starbucks brand promise which, from its early days, provided a place for people to meet, engage in conversation and share their stories. “Human connection is at the core of Starbucks’ mission and values,” says Chandrasekaran. “We are a natural venue to create, produce, and distribute thoughtful stories to the American people.”
Chandrasekaran told me that storytelling is central to the growth and development of brands. “Humans relate to story. If they can be moved by powerful stories, funny stories, inspiring stories, stories that bring joy into their hearts or get them to see things differently, they will develop a deeper affinity to a brand.”
Business leaders and entrepreneurs who want to improve customer service, employee engagement, and brand loyalty should take a page from the Starbucks playbook. Share the stories of real people, real customers, and real employees. It’s good for business and good for the heart.