vertical video
like everyone else in 2020, we started prioritizing vertical video seemingly overnight. In a few short weeks I helped our team launch tiktok, develop a channel strategy and brainstorm content. since those early days I’ve worked with multiple videographers and teams to hone our video voice, find what works, and embrace relevant trends.
brand starbucks
copywriter myself
videographer ryan moriarty
acds austin tott & carole guizzetti
scripted content
the task: use real-life baristas to communicate new releases, coffee education and drink hacks. my scrips had to be both detailed enough to satisfy marketing teams, while being straightforward enough to catch (and keep) our customer’s attention.
the work: our seasonal menu series was a consistent top-performer, and our coffee education series continued to rack up views on YouTube Shorts months after posting.
social-first promo beats
the task: create social-first thumb-stopping content that fulfilled campaign objectives (highlight product, communicate policy changes, welcoming a new season).
the work: this content always had me asking “what else?” okay people think our racoons cake pops are cute, but what else is cute? we’ve updated our drive-thru cup policy, what else can we say about personal cups? by embracing evergreen trends (minis, generational differences) or spinning the message to be customer-focused (highlighting customer’s personal cup personas vs. the policy change) i created connections beyond transactions.
quick-turn trend responses
the task: (quickly!) respond to trending formats, customer behavior or cultural conversations (like the nyt declaring the “summer of fancy ice”) in a way that felt uniquely starbucks.
the work: each of these examples happened without a brief and, in the case of the two cake pop videos, went from idea to feed in less than an hour. all of these were top-performers with 1 million+ views, but my favorite example from this bunch is our cake pop hack inspired by customer behavior. we filmed it in 5 minutes (with yours truly as the talent) and it earned a million views in less than 2 hours, eventually topping out at 30 million views between tiktok and reels.