The Sharpie is Back at Starbucks

When you’ve got a powerful marketing asset, hold on to it …

Source: Me

Back towards the end of 2024, newly minted Starbucks CEO announced the return of the Sharpie to the Starbucks experience, as a way to personalize the brand relationship with its customers.

I had forgotten about this “announcement” and then suddenly started noticing that my cups starting having nice little messages written on them. I even got a “Good Morning, Handsome,” one early am, on a particular morning when I really did need a little pick-me-up. I was thankful.

As noted in the video above, Sharpie is from the Newell portfolio of brands who actually did form a partnership with Starbucks for the holidays this past season to promote writing on the cups to foster the holiday spirit.

Back in the day, “cup writing” at Starbucks was indeed a big “thing,” as it started to form a neighborhood bond between the baristas and the local customers. It was a founding principle behind the Starbucks brand, and set it apart. It was a way to make this big global company feel so personal and so local. It was a way to get to know the person behind making the cup of coffee and for that person to make a personal connection to the neighbor buying the cup of coffee. It worked.

When you’ve got a powerful marketing asset, hold on to it.

The best part? It started to take on a life of its own, as customers took it as their own!

Marketing gold!

With the Sharpie back, is this going to give customers a reason to go back to Starbucks time and time again? Maybe. One tool in the marketing tool kit, that’s for sure. At the local level, one customer at a time. Not every brand as it!

What’s your experience? JIM