on cloud nine: marketing for STARBUCKS' new drinks

Are you on cloud nine after Starbucks' recent announcement of their new drinks? The Caramel Macchiato has been a popular choice for Starbucks' patrons, and it seems that the drink's success has spawned a new generation of macchiatos: the "Cloud Macchiatos"!


Starbucks has been teasing fans with mysterious cloud-themed social media posts for a couple days, but it seems like the coffee beans have finally been spilled. I have to admit, I had no idea what Starbucks was aiming for with their vague Twitter and Facebook posts about clouds and rainbows. Did you?

Zoom in on the rainbow. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/omEOJ7yDu9

— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) March 4, 2019

Now that the secret's out about the Cloud Macchiatos, I wanted to talk about the marketing surrounding these drinks. I think the visuals for these new drinks are really appealing, and are perfectly timed for regular and non-regular consumers of Starbucks to look forward to sipping a refreshing iced drink as spring and summer approach. I think the copy accompanying the announcement of these drinks is also enticing (Who doesn't want to taste a "light and fluffy" cloud?), although the disclaimer about the egg whites has put off many people on social media.  

Screen captures of comments left on Starbucks' Facebook announcement of the new drinks.

Besides concerns about drinking egg whites in coffee, it seems like overall reactions to the new drinks are mixed. I think this is probably the result of the vague nature of Starbucks' communications surrounding these new drinks. The visuals are beautiful and compelling, but there isn't much information about the Cloud Macchiatos.

The confusion over what the drinks actually taste like is also further prompted by the similarity of the new drinks to existing drinks already on the menu. The Iced Caramel Macchiato and Iced Cinnamon Almond Milk Macchiato have been staples on Starbucks' menu for a while now, and so it would seem like the new Cloud Macchiatos are simply those existing drinks made with the "cloud" foam, but that isn't the case. The two flavors announced are Caramel and Cinnamon, but not mentioned anywhere in the announcements is that the Cinnamon Cloud Macchiato also contains a lemon syrup. 

This leads consumers to wonder what else about these drinks is different, and what ingredients are in the drinks that Starbucks hasn't announced yet. Additionally, Starbucks' menu in-store is rather minimal and doesn't provide any description of beverages, so I would be concerned that customers would avoid ordering the drinks since they don't understand what they are. 

The campaign is further confused by an announcement exclusive to Twitter that Ariana Grande is a Starbucks Ambassador of the new Cloud Macchiatos. What this means, I really have no clue.

🌫 @starbucks cloud #cloudmacchiato #starbucksambassador #trythesoyversion 🌱 pic.twitter.com/y2LRAx33Sq

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) March 5, 2019

Do you think you'll try the new Cloud Macchiatos? Or are you feeling too overwhelmed by lemon syrup, egg whites, and Ariana Grande posing with iced coffee and puppies? I know I'm more than a little confused, and I'm not sure that I'm sold on Starbucks' new drinks.