Last Updated on 13 September 2020

As a companion site to their Holiday promotion this month Starbucks launched TheRedCup.com website.

Starbucks Red Cup
Each day there is a different tidbit of information about holiday traditions and the season… The Holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for Starbucks.

For example, today they share “Fire Building 101” how to build a great fire in your fireplace… It even includes tips (below) on the best woods to use…

Firewood Tips
Some background about the Holiday promotions at Starbucks… specifically about the red cup…

During my years at Starbucks, I lead three holiday seasons. Christmas never ends at Starbucks… before this year’s Christmas has launched – someone is already working on next year’s promotion. It’s one of the most challenging marketing promotions to lead because it’s the time of year when ALL of Starbucks products get featured in-store…

As project lead, you manage the priorities of the…

  • beverage offerings (egg nog latte and gingerbread latte),
  • whole bean (Christmas Blend),
  • merchandise (gift packs),
  • music (holiday CDs),
  • the Starbucks Card (gift-giving) and typically,
  • a toy drive

All this going on within an 8-week period from the second week of November until December 26th… The secret to success was to serve as an air-traffic controller – to allow each of these messages to have their place within the store, make sense to the customer and not crash into each other…

The red cup is a key part of the Starbucks holiday promotion… It’s the official signal that holiday beverages are available – especially egg nog latte. A customer favorite.

The red cup is a Starbucks tradition… In fact, each time Starbucks strayed from using the red cup customers have complained… and for some reason, overall sales for the season would be soft… So it’s been long established that the RED CUP be a non-negotiable holiday item.

Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes story about straying from the RED CUP design and how Starbuck barely avoided a promotional disaster.