Analysis from SocialBakers shows Starbucks outperformed rivals Costa during the Olympic Games
Social marketing analysts, SocialBakers, measured the success of long-term competitors Starbucks and Costa Coffee’s social media success during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Measured from 27 July – 12 August, and exclusively in Central London outlets, SocialBakers monitored check-ins, Facebook engagement and promotions from both coffee shop brands.
Starbucks naturally had a head start in this competition due to having eight times the number of stores (248 compared with 30 Costa’s) but despite the difference in store numbers Costa, on average, gets more customer check-ins.
During the Games, Starbucks was the winner in terms of check-ins with a 36 per cent rise. SocialBakers, CEO, Jan Rezab attributes this rise to the “international proliferation of the Starbucks brand and the fact that they have been on social channels longer than Costa,” she adds that with the “influx of international coffee drinkers to Olympic London, their [Starbucks] check-ins increased during the Games.”
Check-ins to Starbucks reached their peaks on the days of the swimming, tennis and athletics finals and during the closing ceremony day. As these events were, undoubtedly, the most popular events worldwide it could be suggested they drew the most foreign visitors to the city with Starbucks representing a familiar meeting point.
The Facebook communities of the two brands in the UK are similar in size – Costa has over 698 thousand and Starbucks has over 877 thousand – but SocialBakers discovered there wasn’t too much Olympic-based activity on eithers wall. On 3 August Costa posted a poorly engaging status update: “The Olympics are in full swing and we have to say: We are loving it! If coffee drinking were an Olympic event, we'd definitely win gold. What quirky discipline would you win a medal in?” The comment generated 121 Likes and 48 Comments. Starbucks, however, utilised picture updates which generate the highest Engagement Rates, its patriotic sunny picture with a refreshing drink and a British flag with the London Eye in the background generate 6,000 Likes.
In terms of promotions to drive customer’s in-store, both brands run Twitter initiatives. Starbucks try to attract visitors with its #TreatReceipt which offers an iced drink for £2 to anyone who produces their morning receipt after 2pm. Costa Coffee hosts happy hours on Twitter every Monday and Wednesday afternoon asking people to express what makes them happy using #costahappyhour for a change to win a £5 free gift card.
Despite Starbucks winning the popularity contest during the Olympics a survey from Allegra Strategies identified Costa as the UK’s favourite coffee shop in 2010 and 2011. This would explain why Costa generally outperforms Starbucks outside of the Olympics when looking at the number of check-ins per store. Rezab concluded that: “Starbucks is a truly global brand, so with spectators flocking into London from around the world, it’s no surprise that they opted for an international brand to get their caffeine fix. What is clear, however, is that without an international lift when it comes to geographic targeting and social community engagement, Starbucks has work to do to compete with Costa.”
