jayanta jenkins

Starbucks

Here's to Joy & Coffee

The Challenge – During the holiday season, Starbucks’ iconic holiday cups symbolize connection, tradition, and simple moments of joy. However, declining sales signaled a need to reignite customer love. We saw an opportunity to deepen emotional connections, spark fresh excitement, and remind people of Starbucks’ unique role in holiday moments.

The Insight – Faced with declining sales, Starbucks needed to reignite customer love and strengthen its bond with holiday traditions. While holiday celebrations look different for everyone, everyday moments shared with others make them truly special. Starbucks aimed to capture this spirit, using its iconic holiday cups as a key element to blend nostalgia with fresh designs, deepening emotional connections and celebrating diverse holiday experiences.

The Solution – I led the ‘Here’s to Joy & Coffee’ campaign, moving beyond playful jingles and winter wonderlands to reflect a broader range of holiday emotions. Through the artful direction of Academy Award-nominated Henry Alex Rubin, we showcased Starbucks’ unique role in the season with authenticity and warmth. The holiday cups, featuring rich jade green and cranberry red with siren-inspired motifs, became symbols of connection and joy. A cohesive brand design system unified the holiday cups, immersive in-store experiences, and digital touchpoints to bring this vision to life. This approach was amplified by a compelling TV campaign and lively cultural conversations on our social channels, inviting customers to make their holiday rituals with Starbucks even more personal and meaningful.

The Impact – While specific metrics on the campaign’s impact are not yet available, the initiative is anticipated to drive increased customer engagement and foster a stronger emotional connection with the brand. By blending thoughtful storytelling, a unified design system, and immersive experiences, ‘Here’s to Joy & Coffee’ aims to rekindle customer love, transforming everyday coffee rituals into heartfelt celebrations of joy and togetherness.

Siren Chorus is a celebration of vibrant, striped holiday charms, coming together in a beautiful chorus of colors. Drawing inspiration from the intricate patterns formed by raking coffee beans under the sun and the , flowing lines of the Starbucks siren, this design creates a playful yet elegant visual experience.

The Joyful Connection cup, with its circular patterns, honors the artistry of coffee roasting, symbolizing warmth and joy. The design beautifully captures the essence of connection and the communal experience that coffee fosters.

With Warm Wishes, Starbucks designers started with the idea of a view of coffee cups from above coming together and saying “cheers” to each other. Interconnected dots evoke glowing holiday lights and moments of enjoying coffee together.

Lyrical Landscape features vibrant, undulating lines that weave together, reminiscent of holiday ribbons and the green rolling hills where coffee is grown. Alternating bands of red, green and pink create a symphony of color like a perfectly wrapped gift.