STARBUCKS RACE

TOGETHER
Maria Leonen
Principles of Marketing
3/26/15

WHAT IS THE RACE TOGETHER

PROGRAM?
Race Together is a campaign
launched by Starbucks midMarch 2015.
Within the program, CEO Howard
Schultz encouraged his
employees to write the words
race together on customers
cups.
The goal of this program was to
facilitate debates concerning
race between employees and
customers alike.

PROBLEMS WITH THE RACE

TOGETHER PROGRAM
It is difficult to carry out logistically - baristas will hardly be able to engage in racial debates
when there is a long coffee line. And is just writing race together supposed to spark
questions for debate?
Press photos for the campaign feature only white hands.
Some have claimed it is hypocritical, considering that Starbucks upper echelon is mostly
white.
An internal memo contained ten conversation starters for the program, including:
In my Facebook stream, ___% are of a different race.
In the past year, I have eaten a meal with someone of a different race ___ times.
My children have ___ friends of a different race.
I have ___ friends of a different race.
These conversation starters seem to separate different races from the speaker, rather than
inspiring debate or teaching cultural acceptance.

TWITTER BACKLASH
The Twitter community reacted harshly to the
announcement of the program, some even mocking it with
the hashtag #NewStarbucksDrinks
Starbucks senior vice president of communications, Corey
DuBrowa, even deactivated his Twitter account to avoid the
responses.

THE END OF RACE

TOGETHER
CEO Howard Schultz announced the end of the Race
Together program this past Sunday, March 22.
He wrote, "While there has been criticism of the
initiative and I know this hasn't been easy for
any of you let me assure you that we didnt
expect universal praise.
The campaign lasted about a week.

SOURCES
http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-race-togeth
er-initiative-2015-3
http://www.eater.com/2015/3/17/8231973/can-starbu
cks-fix-racism-with-a-message-on-a-cup
http://www.eater.com/2015/3/20/8267405/starbucks-r
ace-together-conversation-starters-ranked
http://www.eater.com/2015/3/22/8272697/starbucksrace-together-cup-writing-campaign-ended