Our entry is appropriate to Promo & Activation because it achieved unprecedented results both online and in-store:

It got people’s attention. The new social media channels we created for our Pumpkin Spice Latte character, @TheRealPSL, rapidly generated a over 90,000 followers in four months—with nominal media spend.*

It was engaging. Our “Spot the Spice” scavenger hunt averaged a fan engagement rate of 70%.

It drove transactions. “Spot the Spice” generated significant in-store traffic by letting people gain access to the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte early—but only if they earned a password through our channels.

It won people’s hearts. By the end of the campaign, 23 of @TheRealPSL’s followers asked it to marry them on Twitter.

After two months of character development, we introduced The Real PSL campaign to the social media world on August 4, 2014.

Using Twitter and Tumblr to host original and reblogged content, we established the product’s quirky voice with cultural commentary and shareable images.

We then launched “Spot the Spice,” our social scavenger hunt designed to give PSL fans the opportunity to earn access their beloved beverage in stores early.

The “Spot the Spice” challenge lasted two weeks and exceeded expectations, resulting in a huge social following, off-the-charts engagement, and most importantly— fans successfully unlocking PSL early in every participating Starbucks.

Over four months, @TheRealPSL sent 10,000 tweets; 99% were @replies by Starbucks' community team.

During that time we grew @TheRealPSL’s Twitter community from 0 to nearly 90,000 followers on a nominal media spend.*

During the two-week “Spot the Spice” challenge we averaged a fan engagement rate of 70% (unofficial Guinness Book Record).

Our social community directly unlocked early access to PSLs in 100% of participating Starbucks stores (17,000 doors) one week earlier than scheduled.

Our social campaign resulted in a 22% YOY sales increase at launch.

Our favorite social interaction? 23 fans asked @TheRealPSL character to marry them on Twitter.