Starbucks Rings in the Holidays

… With Big Social-Media Push

Get ready for Starbucks Holiday 2.0. The brand is going big in social media this year, having learned that its consumers want to participate in a variety of ways. So Starbucks is pulling back from its Thanksgiving TV buys of the past two years to focus on where its customers already spend time online and drive them into stores.

Starbucks is spreading the love around, advertising on websites from NYTimes.com to Meebo; partnering with Pandora to offer branded holiday playlists; and encouraging participation in social and owned media to get consumers in the holiday spirit. The chain is continuing its partnership with Red, launched last Thanksgiving, by offering a free “All You Need Is Love” CD, with tracks from U2, John Legend and the Dave Matthews Band, when consumers spend $15. Additionally, Starbucks will give $1 to fight AIDS in Africa. There are also a variety of holiday-themed “Red” products for which Starbucks will also make the $1 donation with a customer purchase. This represents a stepped-up version of last year’s offer, which was a five-cent donation made when consumers bought a holiday beverage such as a peppermint mocha.

Starbucks to Give Free Coffee to Voters

Broke First TV Work From New Agency BBDO on ‘SNL’

By Emily Bryson York

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks is giving away free coffee on Election Day to anyone who says they voted — and the chain that famously eschews TV advertising announced the promotion with a quickly assembled 60-second spot that aired during this past weekend’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” featuring GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Starbucks: Care

The spot comes from Omnicom Group’s BBDO, New York, the marketer’s new agency, and was the brainchild of Chief Creative Officer David Lubars, who presented the idea at the Starbucks leadership conference in New Orleans last week. Agency and marketer worked fast to get the spot on air. The result is sparse: green lettering over a backdrop that appears to be burlap and a piano music soundtrack.

Starbucks spokeswoman Lisa Passe declined to provide an estimate for turnout, adding that consumers shouldn’t expect a hassle for their free java fix. “Voters simply need to cast their votes, and then tell the barista at their local Starbucks,” she said.

The 2004 election brought out an estimated 122 million voters, a number widely expected to be surpassed this year. Darren Tristano, exec VP atTechnomic, estimated that if 150 million people vote, a good turnout for Starbucks would be 1%, or about 1.5 million people. That breaks down to about 136 people per 11,000 Starbucks location in the U.S. Assuming a 30-cent cost on a tall cup of coffee, that’s about $60 per location.

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BBDO Closes In on Starbucks Business

Agency to Pick Up Parts of Account That Were With Wieden

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Starbucks is prepping to shift ad duties to Omnicom Group’s BBDO just weeks after its former agency, independent Wieden & Kennedy, split with the coffee chain following a rocky relationship, executives close to the matter said.

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Luhrmann Does Double Duty on Australian-Themed Projects Q&A: Director’s Ad Campaign Promoting Continent Accompanies Release of His Latest Movie

Madison & Vine

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Baz Luhrmann is combining both film and commerce with the simultaneous release of his latest two creative projects, all in the name of his homeland, Australia.

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Credit Crisis Knocks Down Domino’s Franchisees

Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC Having Harder Time Obtaining Loans

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — From Domino’s to Yum Brands and beyond, the credit crisis is sweeping the fast-food industry, resulting in increased scrutiny for loans, delayed construction and even some store closures.

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Starbucks’ Surprise Success: Oatmeal Women, Millennials Make New Breakfast Item Into Best-Seller That Could Reinvent Its Category

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks seems to have a slam-dunk new product: oatmeal. Yes, that mush your grandma pushed on you as a child is shaping up as the company’s most successful food launch of all time.

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Credit Crunch Takes Bite Out of McDonald’s

Planned Coffee Rollout Hit by Banking Crisis That Is Restricting Loan Capital

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — The banking crisis is threatening to take a rather surprising hostage: McDonald’s big-budget coffee rollout.

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The Real Reason Why Wieden Quit Starbucks Agency Kept Bumping Up Against a Marketer That Wasn’t Receptive to Its Ideas, Executives Say

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Last week, reacting to what it saw as Starbucks’ micromanagement, waffling and shift to a jump-ball approach for future ad assignments, Wieden & Kennedy took the unusual step of quitting the business. Executives with knowledge of the situation said Starbucks was simply a very frustrating client for the agency.

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Study Casts Doubt on Value of DTC Ads

Prescription Sales Found to Be Barely Affected in the Long Run

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The $5 billion-plus that pharmaceutical advertisers spend advertising to consumers may have less of an impact than believed, according to a joint U.S. and Canadian study released this week.

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Starbucks’ ‘Billion-Dollar’ Plan Starts With Breakfast Rollout of Healthier Menu Items Said to Meet Consumer Demand

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Howard Schultz’s “billion-dollar idea” starts with oatmeal, apple bran muffins and a protein plate. The Starbucks CEO has been promising healthier and better-quality choices in his stores, the result, he says, of consumer demand that will ultimately rake in a billion dollars for the company.

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Schultz Announces 1,000 More Job Cuts at Starbucks

Senior VP-Global Strategy Michelle Gass Shifts Back to Marketing Role as Part of Reorganization

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the coffee retailer will cut 1,000 jobs in addition to those resulting from the 600 store closures announced earlier this month. It’s unclear how many marketing personnel will be affected, but those familiar with the matter said some groups are facing double-digit cuts in what’s being described internally as a “bloodbath.”

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McCain’s Jukebox Stutters Again After ‘Obama Love’ Debacle, SFS Plays GOP Music Supervisor

Songs for Soap

We wouldn’t exactly call this an ideological repudiation, but John McCain got a slap in the face from the Warner Music Group for his “Obama Love” ad, which featured the Frankie Valli song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” It appears that no one ever cleared the rights to use this song, and the McCain team was forced to hastily replace the track with some soupy elevator tune that sounds ripped from some consumer-grade family home video soundtrack disc.

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Talking Brand Strategy With Starbucks’ Senior VP-Marketing

Q&A: Terry Davenport Discusses TV Ads, Latest Offerings and Retailer’s ‘Suggestion Box’ CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks might have taken a hiatus from TV advertising, but it isn’t ruling out a comeback to pitch its new health-and-wellness platform, Vivanno Nourishing Blends, said Senior VP-Marketing Terry Davenport. Mr. Davenport, who oversees the coffee giant’s overall brand strategy, talked to Ad Age about his upcoming plans. FULL ARTICLE

If Julie Is Paula, Linda Kaplan Thaler Is Randy And Gene Simmons Will Have to Take on the Simon Role for CBS Game Show ‘Jingles’ NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Ad-agency honcho Linda Kaplan Thaler will join outspoken marketing executive Julie Roehm on “Jingles,” a new CBS game show that has gone into production. Kiss bass player and tongue wiggler Gene Simmons will also be on the judging panel. FULL ARTICLE

AT&T’s Wendy Clark to Leave Telecom Corporate HQ’s Move to Dallas Cited as Reason for Her Departure NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Wendy Clark, senior VP-advertising, AT&T, and one of the most powerful executives in the marketing world, is preparing to leave, the telecom said. FULL ARTICLE

GM Opens Cutting-Edge Green Dealership Near Detroit Earth-Friendly Move Offers a Rare Bright Spot in Publicity for Embattled Automaker DETROIT (AdAge.com) — As it plots major spending cuts and bats back bankruptcy rumors, General Motors Corp. celebrated the opening yesterday of its first green dealership, LaFontaine Automotive Group’s new $15 million Buick-Pontiac-GMC and Cadillac facility in suburban Detroit. FULL ARTICLE

DDB Braces for Fallout From A-B Sale Agency President Admits Marketing Budget Could Be Cut, but Sees Hope for Growth CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Rick Carpenter, president of Anheuser-Busch’s lead agency, DDB, Chicago, held a meeting with agency staff Tuesday in which he acknowledged there could be cuts to the brewer’s domestic media and marketing spending in the wake of its $52 billion sale to InBev. FULL ARTICLE

The Truth About Black America Radio One/Yankelovich Study Shatters Myths The Big Tent Finally, here’s a study that quantifies the way many Blacks live every day: dreaming, living, buying, connecting, thinking and, yes, hurting. It also sends a message that Blacks are so much more — more than criminals, welfare recipients, athletes and overachievers. Black Americans don’t all live the same way or believe the same things. FULL ARTICLE

Seth MacFarlane Discusses His Landmark Google Content Deal A 3 Minute Ad Age Video Report NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Seth MacFarlane, the country’s highest-paid TV series creator, says his new content deal with Google is so complicated even he doesn’t really understand it. Ad Age Los Angeles bureau chief Claude Brodesser-Akner caught up with the director at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills. The landmark agreement turns Mr. MacFarlane into an internet producer while transforming Google into an original entertainment content player with massive global distribution capabilities. FULL ARTICLE

Is Advertising Still Attractive to College Graduates? Staying Close to Campus Can Keep Industry Brand Alive and Well Small Agency Diary Several agency CEOs agreed that young talent is going elsewhere for careers. I found that consensus alarming, as our industry has long been considered sexy by the (naive) youth entering the business. I say “naive” because agency life always appears more glamorous than it really is. FULL ARTICLE

Senators Share Concerns About Online Privacy

Targeted Web Ads Likened to Spying at Hearing, but Also Dubbed ‘Helpful’ WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — At a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday, some senators questioned whether the use of behavioral profiling to target web ads has gone too far. FULL ARTICLE

Starbucks Offers More Samples, Discounts Tactics Hint at Deeper Troubles for Upscale Chain CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Starbucks said it is offering prolonged and far-flung sampling of summer beverages to assuage consumers and boost traffic through the season. The promotions, which vary by region, are focused in major cities. They’re also targeted at faithful customers who have Starbucks cards or visit the stores more than once a day. FULL ARTICLE

Blockbuster Fills Vacant CMO Post Rebecca Johnson Formerly Led Marketing Efforts at Brinker NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Blockbuster has appointed Rebecca “Becky” Johnson to the role of chief marketing officer. Ms. Johnson was formerly chief marketing and global branding officer at casual-dining giant Brinker International and has also worked at PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division and KFC Corp. FULL ARTICLE

Exacerbating the Ad Agency Racial Gap: A Commentary A 3 Minute Ad Age Video Report NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Of the 16 ad agencies forced to sign diversity-hiring agreements with the New York Commission on Human Rights in 2006, only two sent representatives to the latest progress meeting this week. Ad Age Features and Blogs Editor Ken Wheaton was a member of the tiny audience at that gathering. He wonders aloud how companies that are such experts in creating and nurturing corporate images can so neglect their own when it comes to racial diversity. FULL ARTICLE

‘Groundswell’ Gains a Following Practical Advice Makes for a Useful Primer on Social-Media Explosion Bookstore While Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li introduce the groundswell as an unstoppable force and one that today’s companies must understand and embrace, they acknowledge it can be hard for companies to change. Practical advice is what sets this book above the raft of other tomes pontificating on social media. FULL ARTICLE

License to Divide: The Perils of Excessive (Hispanic) Pride We Can’t All Take Credit for Everything The Big Tent Hispanic Corporate Achievers wants Florida to issue a license plate claiming Hispanics discovered Florida. This has left our blogger thinking there must be something wrong with her Hispanicness. FULL ARTICLE

Keeping Up With the Network Where Do You Focus Your Social Energy? Small Agency Diary I’m wondering about my breaking point with social networks, especially as it relates to our business. I have a Facebook page, a (terrible) MySpace page that I think I updated in 2005, a LinkedIn account and one for the Oregon Media Network. There are some questions that keep nagging me, though. FULL ARTICLE

The Battle of the Band (Coffee) Brews SFS Pits Dave Mustaine Against Billy Bob Thornton and Styx Songs for Soap Craving more attention from the musical community, imagine our joy when we recently received coffee from three of our favorite bands — Megadeth, Styx and Billy Bob Thornton’s The Boxmasters. FULL ARTICLE