From customizable orders to the hand-written chalkboard menu, personalization is part of the Starbucks experience. We focused on the chalkboard as an asset to communicate personalization to the home coffee drinker. In media, we sought environments that provided culinary credibility.Through innovative use of magazine space, we shook home coffee drinkers' belief that Starbucks is too strong for their taste – and did it on a limited budget. We transformed the typically non-discreet, overlooked masthead page of Bon Appétit into a personalized Starbucks chalkboard to convey the variety of Starbucks coffees available at grocery. We ran our ad adjacent to the masthead, featuring the same style and color-palette of the masthead chalkboard. The execution created the implied endorsement of the Bon Appetit staffers. For example, Sara Lipton (Food Category Manager) wrote, “Starbucks Breakfast Blend and a blueberry-nut breakfast bar is all I need to kick-start my day.”

The execution increased purchase intent by 44% and ranked in the top 5 recalled ads for that issue. It marked the first time a brand “owned” the masthead and created a fully integrated advertising message in magazine editorial. While Conde Nast has said that it was a one time deal, other publishers are now exploring masthead integrations thanks to Starbuck’s game-changing innovation.The industry took note of our ability to buy what wasn’t for sale. AdAge wrote, “We wouldn't have thought there was much real estate left in magazines still untouched by advertisers…But Starbucks has found some.”