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How Starbucks is pouring inspirational, non-commerce content into its app

Starbucks is the latest marketer putting corporate social responsibility at the forefront of its mobile efforts, this time by unveiling a content series featuring Americans engaging in compassionate acts, showcasing the importance of including humanity-driven storytelling within mobile applications.

The coffee chain?s Upstanders digital series, which debuted earlier this month, is available within the Starbucks mobile app as well as on its social media channels. Written and produced by Starbucks? CEO, Howard Schultz, the series serves as a prime example showcasing how food and beverage brands can build loyalty and make commerce pushes less overt ? by transforming their mobile apps into hubs for uplifting, lifestyle-oriented content.

?Starbucks is a lifestyle company that sells coffee, so it's important for the brand to continually redefine and reinforce what lifestyle niche it aims to fill,? said James McNally, director of digital strategy at TDT NY. ?Content that is well-produced, has a socially positive message, and doesn't scream ?commercial? is a great way to bolster Starbucks? brand appeal, and make customers feel good about the calories and dollars they are spending with the brand.?

Real Americans, real content
Starbucks? latest entry for the Upstanders digital series experienced a viral moment last week, garnering more than 82,000 social shares. The clip, titled A Warrior?s Workout, featured former professional football player David Vobora?s work in private fitness.

Mr. Vobora?s workouts are designed for soldiers with traumatic injuries and disabilities. The video, which runs for approximately five minutes, showcased some of these exercises and detailed how they offer inspiration and strength to wounded warriors.

Another recent Upstanders entry discussed college student Maria Rose Belding?s Web-based solution designed to save tens of thousands of pounds of food annually. Her work was inspired by the fact that forty percent of the U.S. supply of food gets wasted each year.

Upstanders will feature a total of ten videos and stories, which can be viewed on the series? microsite, Starbucks.com/Upstanders, as well as within the Starbucks mobile app and on the coffee giant?s social media channels.

Although Starbucks has secured its status as a leader in the mobile commerce sector ? with its mobile ordering program seeing among the highest usage rates in the industry ? it is now turning its attention toward corporate social responsibility efforts.

Instead of continually adding new app features created to incite more spending, Starbucks is opting to employ more of a humanitarian storytelling angle in a bid to drive increased mobile engagement among customers.

By providing uplifting content on a regular basis, the beverage marketer is encouraging consumers to check its social channels and mobile app to keep up these upstanding individuals? stories ? and perhaps place an order for a latte while watching.

Starbucks is far from the only brand using this strategy.

Quick-service seafood chain Long John Silver?s recently extended its corporate social responsibility outreach to mobile as well, leveraging several social channels ? including Vine, YouTube and Facebook ? to showcase mobile videos discussing its focus on sustainability, family and quality (see story).

Loyalty and lifestyle
Starbucks has long been a purveyor of lifestyle-centric content, with some of its preferred tactics including choosing to personify its popular menu items and rolling out mobile personality quizzes coinciding with new product launches.

The brand recently cemented the pumpkin spice latte?s status as a beloved beverage and social media caricature by rolling out a separate PSL Facebook Messenger chatbot, which enables users to interact with the drink by taking a quiz and discussing fall-themed topics (see story).

?Food and beverage chains compete somewhat on flavor and value, but ultimately they win loyalty by being lifestyle brands that consumers want to associate with,? Mr. McNally said. ?CSR-themed content is a tried-and-sometimes-true way for brands to foster goodwill and attention, but it?s certainly not a panacea. 

?When brands invest time and resources into creating CSR content, they need to ask two very difficult questions: first, can your brand produce content that is legitimately good?? he said. ?Just because you have a content marketing team or agency and are able to create content does not mean it will resonate with consumers. 

?Second, is CSR part of your brand's appeal? Which is to say, do your consumers actually care if your brand is eco-friendly, charitable, etc.? For some brands the answer is yes, but for others the answer is simply no, CSR-themed content is not impactful to your consumers ? and in those cases, food and beverage brands would be better off focusing on emphasizing their value, taste, aspirational lifestyle or 'cool' factors.?