How Starbucks’s #UnicornFrappaccino Changed the Way Companies Engage on Social Media

It’s insane to think the #UnicornFrappaccino craze was four years ago — in April of 2017. But for a mere five days, the internet was covered in pink and blue Frappuccino photos. The hashtag was used over 150K times in those five days alone! Even celebrities and news stations were joining in on the fun. Starbucks proved they know and understand their audience, and single-handedly changed the way companies engaged on social media.

The hashtag was used over 150K times in those five days alone!

The #UnicornFrappaccino was not created by accident or as another permanent menu item. In all honesty, the drink didn’t event taste that great — but that wasn’t the point. The product was used to capture the public’s attention in a genius PR stunt. Similar to Taco Bell with the Locos Tacos and Pizza Hut with the hotdog stuffed crust. The drink got people talking (and posting), giving Starbucks all the marketing power and publicity it needed to go viral.

The concept of “there’s no such thing as bad PR” was 100% valid with this campaign. Even consumers that did not like the drink, posted their experience — giving the drink even more publicity. At one point, there was a trending tag on Instagram, “#tastesdisgusting.” Although inherently negative, the tag continued to peak the curiosity of consumers that had not yet tried the colorful concoction.

And to be fair, the item wasn’t necessarily marketed towards adults. At the time I was 21 and not interested in the sugar packed drink, but you know who was? — Tweens and teens already obsessed with the brand! They begged their parents to drink them to the nearest store where Starbucks not only got the business from the #UnicornFrappaccino, but let’s be honest, the parent probably ordered something for themselves, too.

Starbucks threw in another component to make the drink even more irresistible — it was a Secret Menu Limited Item. Since the drink was only available for a limited time (five days to be exact), consumers had no choice but to flood to the coffee shop to try it out themselves. Starbucks playing on the idea of FOMO (fear of missing out), is the whip cream on top of a genius marketing strategy.

Goal and KPI’s

Unless you live under a rock, you’re likely familiar with Starbucks as a brand (even if you don’t consumer their products). Because of this assumption, Starbucks can market towards the middle of the sales funnel and engage with their audience. This stage of the funnel is great for nurturing relationships and leading consumers to the end of the sales funnel.

For this campaign, Starbucks goal was most definitely to increase engagement across their social platforms. As previously stated, they received over 150K posts with the hashtag #UnicornFrappaccino. And this was in the small window of five days! I don’t think anyone would argue that Starbucks did not reach their goal with this one.

There are many ways (KPI’s) to measure increased engaged. Some are more complex than others, depending on how deep of a dive you’re looking to take. Here are a few key examples:

• Mentions
• Replies
• Likes
• Shares
• Clicks

When analyzed together, these metrics give a great idea of how well you are engaging with your social audience. It’s important to note that followers are not a KPI for measuring engagement. At the end of the day, you could have a TON of followers that do not engage with your content — making them useless (unfortunately).

Key Takeaways

Starbucks may have reinvented the wheel with this campaign. The combination of flash marketing, FOMO, color, and frequency illusion created a marketing scenario that not yet been seen by consumers with other companies. Since this phenomenon, Starbucks has promoted other secret menu items such as the Mermaid Frappuccino and Pink Drink — which was so popular they had no choice but to keep it on the menu. Overall, this was an 11/10 campaign that shifted the way companies look at marketing via social media.