Starbucks hired WPP for a comprehensive makeover and then promptly didn’t, moving to Anomaly in the US instead.
The world’s biggest coffee shot chain has been ailing with slow service and a programme based on discounts from its sky high prices. It’s now focussing on coffee (there’s a thing) but keeping its odd habit of writing customer’s names (or aliases) on the cups before it eventually arrives. Which Anomaly has made the centre point of its first big ad.
And there’s more coffee here
CEO Brian Niccol, newly arrived from Chipotle, says: “We’ve shifted our marketing from discounts to highlighting our brand story and coffee leadership.”
Anomaly has been pretty quick off the mark too and this is solid, brand-building stuff. Be interesting to see if Anomaly, now part of Stagwell, stays on the case long term and if more bits of Stagwell become involved. A doubtless smarting WPP is still, seemingly, hovering in the wings.
MAA creative scale: 6.5.
