Since 2013 I’ve worked in the Starbucks Global Creative Studio. I left agency life behind, determined to understand a world-class brand from the inside — to be truly part of it rather than adjacent to it. Every day, as I write, dream, strategize, collaborate, and present to senior leaders, I gain perspective on how the pieces fit together to support this enduring, evolving, iconic brand.
Role
Lead Writer, Starbucks Global Creative Studio
Current Collaborators
Jen Quotson, VP
Ben Nelson, CD
Derek Shimizu, ACD
Objective
Regardless of the project, the goal is to articulate the essence of Starbucks — a deceptively complex, evolving brand — for consumer audiences and internal stakeholders.
Approach
Work cross-functionally to develop brand expressions that resonate at every level of the enterprise.
Starbucks Reserve Roasteries
I served on a cross-functional team including creative, marketing, store design, coffee, and company leadership to develop a unique vision, narrative, and messaging approach for the roll-out of each Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Seattle, NYC, Shanghai, Tokyo, Milan, Chicago). I directed a team of writers through roll-out and sustainment phases, executing across various channels (naming, OOH advertising, social media, digital/web, environmental copy, packaging, events, collateral, merchandise copy, menu, chalk signs, fresh sheets).
Early notes on Roastery voice. It took months of revisions before then-CMO Sharon Rothstein nodded her approval. That same day, my appendix burst. (Coincidence?)
Starbucks / Race Together
Howard Schultz has publicly reflected that Race Together was well-intentioned but ultimately flawed in execution. Be that as it may, I’m proud to have contributed this ad that ran in the New York Times. Turning a familiar refrain (“We Shall Overcome”) inside out yields unsettling results, abruptly demoting a once-proud spiritual declaration to a question. We felt then as we do now that America is moving in the wrong direction (namely: backwards) when it comes to civil rights. Credit to CDs Steve Murray and Mike Peck for supporting this work and selling it through to company leadership.
Starbucks Reserve Coffee
I worked with our marketing and coffee teams in building a repeatable messaging framework for Starbucks Reserve coffees. The system reflected our desire to honor the communities who cultivate these extraordinary coffees while maintaining an inviting, approachable tone for our customers. I wrote (and went on to direct other writers who wrote) Starbucks Reserve packaging and takeaway cards.
Strategic Brand Initiatives
Much of my time over the last few years has been dedicated to high level brand initiatives: The Starbucks 50th Anniversary, reconsidering the notion of “The Third Place” amid cultural sea changes, updating our Brand Characteristics, and contributing to a new Brand Book for starters. Confidentiality and respect for my employer prevent me from sharing this work broadly, but I’m able to discuss upon request.
