Don’t be the first or last one to respond to the humanitarian crisis
Starbucks takes mild and no-fault reactions to the Russia-Ukraine conflict
The war in Ukraine is perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis that humanity has encountered in recent years. But, to counter the powerful Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has brought out his potential — perhaps the best “digital marketer” in history. By cleverly leveraging the resources on social platforms, Zeleskey has gained tremendous attention worldwide and much support from those big-name brands in different industries, from high-tech companies to retailers. (Know more boycott information about companies to Russia-Ukrain conflict )
But the role of different companies in the war is completely different. For high-tech companies, such as SpaceX, Tik-Toks, their products and skill sets are more closely related to the war to some extent. Since their products and skills are involved in the dissemination of information, it seems to me that they are more of a humanitarian social aid to Ukraine, and therefore these companies tend to be more responsive.
However, for industries far from the center of the war, such as the retail industry and the quick-service industry, their products are not particularly sensitive to political issues. And the actions they take are primarily driven by moral pressure from mass media criticism. As a result, they tend to be slow to take a stance in political situations, and the sanctions they carry can be relatively ambiguous. Starbucks is a good example of this.
How Starbucks responsed to Ukraine crisis?
Starbucks has 130 stores in the Russian market, while globally Starbucks has about 34,317 stores. It can be said that the Russian market is not a very important for Starbucks. And given Starbucks’ economic power, it makes sense for them to react aggressively and quickly — to stand up to Ukraine — to demonstrate Starbucks’ humanitarian concern. In fact, Starbucks hadn’t made any particularly big moves before the public outcry, and its sanctions against Russia were mild and gradual.
Letter to Partners from Kevin Johnson on Ukraine:
March 4th, 2022. “First, we will donate any royalties we receive from our business operations in Russia to humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine. Second, the Starbucks Foundation has contributed $500,000 to World Central Kitchen and the Red Cross for humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine. And our EMEA business will continue to work in the market to support people in need through additional financial contributions and service.”
March 8th,2020. “We continue to watch the tragic events unfold and, today, we have decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products.”
Did Starbucks do the right reaction to the war?
Overall, Starbucks’ response was not at fault. Because in sensitive times of war, choosing a position too early or too late is risky, especially for industries with quick-services that are far from the heart of the war.
In politically sensitive times, if Starbucks reacted too aggressively and quickly — they took strong measures before online users had a chance to regain their senses. The mass media may question whether they are taking advantage of political issues in order to gain traffic and attention — which doesn’t necessarily have a positive impact on the brand. However, if the brand is too slow to react, it can be even more deadly for the brand. A brand that is far behind its competitors will be criticized by the mass media for being unethical and callous.
So in my opinion, the best thing for a brand to do in politically sensitive times is to keep a low profile, keep up with the competitors, and not make mistakes. These were also mentioned in my last Blog — Watch Out! Be Careful about the Marketing Strategy during the Politically Sensitive Period!
