How can Starbucks as a foreign brand foster a deeper connection with consumers in China? Introducing the Starbucks Chinese Calendar, a special 30-day calendar on social media during the Chinese New Year. It is tailor made for the journey and experiences of a typical Chinese during this period.

Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese festival. But our target audience is looking for new and fresh ways to celebrate it. Intending to alleviate this cultural fatigue, we decided to re-invent CNY through a re-imagined version of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar; one of the most important elements of CNY and in fact every Chinese’s life. By adding to the calendar innovative Starbucks elements such as colors and witty wordplay based on the brand’s Chinese name, we managed to pay an engaging homage to local Chinese culture whilst maintaining our aspirational, international image.

Our CNY campaign was a runaway success. Our target loved our Starbucks-style CNY. Our re-imagined traditional Chinese lunar calendar became a true social object that people eagerly discussed and shared in China’s social media space. Better yet, it achieved its two main goals: our local audience fully embraced the promoted signature product offers and understood that it was possible for Starbucks to be fluent in Chinese culture whilst maintaining its international image of a prime coffee house brand.