In March, Starbucks launched one of its broadest initiatives ever: Race Together. The campaign — which aimed to spark a national conversation about race relations by having baristas write the phrase "Race Together" on Starbucks cups — was a huge failure. It also asked employees to engage customers in conversations about the delicate subject. Additionally, Race Together involved a set of strange and misguided "conversation starters" published in USA Today. Quickly, the campaign became the laughing stock of the internet. So why did Starbucks fail so hard? Show
According to an in-depth look by Fast Company, there was a lot of doubt about the Race Together campaign from the get go. Many of Starbucks' board members — while they agreed that something should be done — differed on how the company should approach the topic of race relations. Some members "felt that Starbucks should focus first on its own diversity shortcomings" while other wondered if approaching the subject publicly given "how volatile the issue had become" across the country was a good idea. Schultz himself acknowledges one of the biggest flaws in his initiative — people "might find it hard to understand" where his empathy comes from. "I'm not black, I haven't lived a life in which I was racially profiled, and I wasn't discriminated against because of the color of my skin," notes Schultz. Additionally, Starbucks did not spend time "discussing how it would look for a white billionaire to front a national dialogue on race." Instead the company put their effort into scaling up what had worked — the "partner" (employee) forums. Even though when it launched, Race Together seemed to back fire, Schultz notes, "The irony is, we did create a national conversation — not how we intended, but you learn from mistakes." So where does Starbucks go from here? Schultz says that he knows the chain "won't bridge the racial divide on its own" and that a coffee company "can only do so much." However, he hopes to keep pushing forward and pursue initiatives that matter to him with the "same vigor he pursues corporate profits."
The coffee giant's comms leader Corey duBrowa said he'll be back on Twitter soon after quitting the platform early Tuesday. Sign in to continue
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LoadingSomething is loading. Howard Schultz made many difficult decisions in his time as Starbucks' CEO. But, few were as widely ridiculed as the chain's 2015 "Race Together" campaign. In Schultz's new book, "From the Ground Up," the former CEO and chairman delves into why he made the decision to launch the campaign to address racial inequality. Following a series of internal forums on racial inequality, Starbucks created a discussion guide about the topic to be distributed in Starbucks locations. As the company prepared to launch the initiative, Starbucks' corporate staff floated the idea to write "Race Together" on cups to draw attention to the guide. The idea sparked internal debate, according to "From the Ground Up." People questioned what the impact could be on baristas. Schultz said that Mellody Hobson, one of two African Americans on Starbucks' board of directors, asked him if he had "moral authority" on the issue. Schultz made the decision to push forward with the "Race Together" cups. And, Starbucks faced near-instantaneous backlash. "The remarks unified the public in ways I did not foresee, which was against us," Schultz writes. According to Schultz, the "volume of negative attention was like nothing the company had ever seen." Schultz recounts headlines such as "The Internet Is United in Despising Starbucks' 'Race Together' Cups." Starbucks' head of global communications was driven off Twitter, with Schultz recalling a "less-offensive" tweet calling him "mayonnaise boy" alongside death threats. "Starbucks was called tone-deaf and patronizing," Schultz writes. "We were accused of overstepping acceptable bounds for a corporation, seizing upon a moment of national crisis to promote our brand, and preaching through the company megaphone." The backlash far overshadowed the actual rollout of the discussion guide, and baristas were told they did not have to write "Race Together" on cups. Schultz said that in retrospect, it seemed "obvious" that having baristas broach the topic of race was very different from holding internal forums. "When we polled our store partners, many aired their displeasure, calling the effort divisive, embarrassing, and poorly explained," Schultz wrote. "It's true the execution was sloppy, not properly sequenced, and too swift, no question." "The truth is that I threw Starbucks onto the third rail of society in a way that put an unfair burden on baristas and store managers," Schultz said. "These discussions needed to be had, but not in the way we had them." 'Go back to being ratioed on Twitter'Schultz has thrown himself on the third rail of society once again this week, with the announcement that he is "seriously considering" running for president as an independent. The former Starbucks CEO has pledged to keep his potential campaign separate from Starbucks, but it is clear that the "Race Together" incident has deeply impacted his approach to politics. Read more: Democrats are begging Howard Schultz not to run for office — and threatening a Starbucks boycott if he does Schultz asserts that he has learned from the incident. In "From the Ground Up," he writes that the failed "Race Together" campaign helped shape the company's measured and inward-facing response to the arrests of two black men at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia in 2018. However, with his potential plan to run in 2020, Schultz is once again facing backlash and accusations of being tone-deaf. On Monday evening, a protester interrupted an event to promote "From the Ground Up," calling Schultz an "egotistical billionaire" whose presidency could help reelect President Donald Trump. "Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter," the protester yelled. "Go back to Davos with the other billionaire elite who think they know how to run the world." Still, Schultz seems to have adapted to online controversy since "Race Together." After waves of backlash following his presidential announcement, Schultz told the news website Axios he was "not considering this to win the Twitter primary." What did Starbucks state as the reason they quit writing race together on the cups after one week quizlet?What did Starbucks state as the reason they quit writing "Race Together" on the cups after one week? The initiative lasted for its intended run date and was simply a jumping off point in the conversation.
What should be the focus during the crisis impact stage of crisis communications?The focus during a crisis then should be on the key information to be delivered rather than how to handle the media. Once more preparation helps by making sure the various spokespersons have the proper media relations training and skills. Quickness and accuracy play an important role in public safety.
Which of the following occurs in the precrisis stage of crisis communications?In the pre-crisis stage, crisis communication revolves around monitoring crisis risks, making decisions about how to manage potential crises, and training people who will be involved in the crisis management process.
Who is typically responsible for corporate brand management?The Marketing/Communications department is usually responsible for managing the brand. This is the team that will typically have most of the resources and skills that will be required to reach out to all the different stakeholder groups and ensure the brand is effectively communicated.
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Which of the following reasons best describes why the Starbucks race together campaign was not well received?
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