Starbucks stimulates customers, viewers with new film series 'Upstanders'
Starbucks today unveiled its first-ever original content series called “Upstanders” that it hopes will “inspire Americans to engage in acts of compassion, citizenship and civility.”
The coffee giant released ten stories “about ordinary people doing extraordinary things to create positive change in their communities,” that comes with written and video content.
Starbucks will also release weekly podcasts related to the stories. This is not Starbucks’ first effort with digital content — it has a partnership with music streaming company Spotify, for example — but it marks the companies first venture into original content.
The series was written and produced by Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and ceo, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Starbucks executive producer and a former senior editor of The Washington Post.
“We’ve asked ourselves what is the role and responsibility of a public company and, as citizens, how we can catalyze hope in a time when we need more optimism, empathy, compassion and leadership,” said Schultz. “The upstanders featured in this series are inspiring individuals whose actions are emblematic of the American spirit and what is missing from so much of today’s national dialogue. We have always been storytellers at heart, and more of these stories need to be heard. We are using our scale to share them as broadly as possible.”
Schultz told Business Insider that the point of “Upstanders” isn’t to sell more coffee, but rather to inspire and unite Americans. Schultz, who is now focusing on long-term projects, has long been vocal about political and societal issues in America. At the company’s most recent shareholders meeting, he said that U.S. political leaders have caused “dysfunction and polarization.”
“Broken promises — void of truth and leadership — have led to a lack of trust and confidence not only in our elected officials, but in our institutions,” he said in March.
The stories will be available on various platforms, including Starbucks’ website and mobile app, on Medium, and through media partnerships with Mic.com and Upworthy. New podcasts hosted by Schultz and Chandrasekaran will debut each week.
“’Upstanders’ is a unique set of stories told in a unique way,” said Chandrasekaran. “When we turn on the news or scroll through our social media feeds, we are inundated with stories of discord and dysfunction. But there is more to America than that. In cities and towns across the country, there are people who are courageously, selflessly, collaboratively, and thoughtfully creating positive change. We want to share their stories, which are often ignored by traditional news organizations, with millions of our fellow Americans through Starbucks unparalleled platform."