spicy refreshers launch
everything about the starbucks spicy refreshers launch was ambitious. we had 9 weeks to launch (and develop) a drink different than anything we’d made before, and my team was solely responsible for the content. it required lots of parallel pathing, creative thinking and quick execution, but in the end we made a big splash and learned a lot about teasing, launching and sustaining a product.
designer/collaborator
jordan kay
videographer/collaborator
ryan moriarty
acd
carole guizzetti
tease
one- to two-day teases were part of our regular playbook, but senior leaders wanted to go big and bold with a 7 days worth of content to build anticipation for spicy. with a mix of video, text, and illustration we drummed up pre-launch conversation 2x that of lavender from a month before. the neon flame tease garnered 5.3m shares across tiktok and reels on its own.
launch
with 7 days of lead up our launch post had to pack a punch, so we came up with the idea of conducting a taste test with people around the building. i spent a very ambitious shoot day mixing hundreds of drinks, making our tasters comfortable on camera and walking them through a series of prompts to get their genuine reactions. the resulting video prompted shared 7x and 3x typical on tiktok and instagram.
additionally, we concepted a still image (shot by SPSHP) that helped outperform lavender launch.
