Starbucks introduces its popular red cups to ring in the holiday season

Websites, Twitter hashtags and blogs have been buzzing about the countdown for Starbucks’ red holiday cups. Starting in early November, Starbucks has been serving warm beverages in their highly-rated holiday cups that make their customers feel almost as warm and fuzzy on the inside as their drinks do. What’s not to like about a red cardboard cup decorated with snowflakes and snowmen? In the minds of Starbucks fans, the unleashing of red cups marks the official green light for the holiday season. 

Customers personally connect with Starbucks as a brand during the holidays, as many look forward to having their names written on their orders, even if they are spelled wrong most of the time. Starbucks-goers flood Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with pictures of their beverages steaming in their personalized coffee cups. After some time, it’s a trend most can anticipate around the holidays. At the same time, people like to deny the fact that Starbucks is a corporation with 19,972 locations in 61 different countries. So, the venti “skinny” iced peppermint mocha with your name written in script with the message, “Have a great day,” isn’t actually that personal. 

Starbucks has generated a status symbol among its customer pool with the red cup phenomenon. By having social media pick up on the red cup trend, people grow curious about what the red cup buzz is. Whether or not you think there’s nothing special about the red cups, it’s pretty difficult to deny Starbucks does an excellent job with brand recognition and advertising. Although Starbucks is a vast corporation, it connects to its fan base on a personal level, especially during the holidays. After all, ‘tis the season to reel in customers.