Tuesday Tidbit: A Branding Lesson from Starbucks Marketing #RedCups

Happy Tuesday! Here's your tidbit for the week.

When I opened my inbox and opened the Promos tab on the day after Halloween, you'll never guess what I saw...yep, references to gifts and holidays and cheer, oh my! I'm no scrooge, but since when did we start celebrating Christmas on the day after Halloween? I can't help but feel like this is a giant ploy to get us consumers to buy, buy, buy! More, more, more!

Anyway, back to the point of this Tuesday Tidbit. One of the holiday-themed emails in my inbox was from Starbucks, announcing the return of the red cup. Yes, folks, just as the #PSL (pumpkin spice latte) induces a '60s Beatles-style frenzy, the #RedCups are meant to put us in a holiday (spending) mood and, well, crave Starbucks.

And the Starbucks marketing works. According to an article posted on Digiday, there have been more than 40,000 tweets within the past couple days using the #RedCups hashtag, with 92% of those tweets being positive.

How does Starbucks marketing achieve such brand recognition and cheer-driving nirvana? According to the article:

1. Red is a central color of Christmas, and the color is eye-catching and communicates excitement and passion.

2. Starbucks does a great job and pushing the cups as an official symbol of the holiday season. They're consistent.

Take from this what you will for your own brand. How can you use consistency in your branding to pay off in a Starbucks #RedCups kind of way? How can you strike an emotional chord with people over something as positive and widespread as holiday cheer?

Love or hate those red cups, there are definitely some marketing and branding inspirations to find in them!