Starbucks
A full-funnel autumn campaign drives engagement and brings fresh faces to Starbucks counters nationwide.
Goal
Some people mark the arrival of fall with sweaters and scarves. But for millions of Canadians, autumn officially begins with that first sip of a Starbucks seasonal drink. This year, Starbucks wanted to make sure their fall menu wasn't just a treat for regulars, but a discovery for new customers too.
Starbucks wanted to reach both loyal customers and those who hadn't visited in the past year. They partnered with Pinterest to create a campaign that would inspire Canadians to make Starbucks part of their fall rituals.
Strategy
Starbucks brewed a targeted campaign for adults 25-49 with interests in coffee, breakfast and seasonal flavours. They used a mix of formats, including image ads, Carousels, Showcase ads, and videos. And they were the first quick service restaurant to use Pinterest Collages. The brand also secured two strategic Total Moment Takeovers—premium placements that allowed it to supercharge Starbucks' association with important fall moments by owning three high-impact fixed placements on Pinterest for a single day.
From the creative side, campaign imagery featured steaming lattes and flaky pastries against rich autumn backgrounds. This approach invited people to imagine Starbucks as the perfect cozy pause in their busy fall schedules.
To measure real impact, Starbucks implemented both a Brand Lift Study and a Foot Traffic Study, tracking not just engagement but actual store visits resulting from their Pinterest presence.
“
The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is loved by Canadians and is a symbol of the season. Sharing its return with Pinterest just made sense. Our customers actively use Pinterest and often seek inspiration for seasonal ideas, making it an ideal contextual match. Campaign engagement was strong and most critically it inspired Canadians to visit our stores and experience one of the season’s most iconic products."
Pete Bond
Director of Marketing
Results
The campaign’s success felt a bit like a perfectly pulled espresso shot. Store visits perked up across Canada, with over 25% coming from people who hadn't recently stepped through Starbucks' doors.¹ This focus on acquiring new customers was efficient too—their cost per store visit came in over 15% lower than vertical benchmarks.¹
What’s more is that the ads caught people's attention. Carousel Pins helped drive engagement rates 2.2 times higher than benchmarks, while video content achieved completion rates 2.6 times higher than quick service restaurant industry standards.²
Most importantly, the campaign drove significant lift in store visits across key Canadian regions including Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia—proving that digital inspiration can become action.¹
Over 25%
total store visits from people who weren't frequent Starbucks visitors¹
Over 2x
higher engagement rates than benchmark with fall carousel pins²
Over 2.5x
higher video completion rates than QSR benchmarks²
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