We intended to run the campaign in six markets: China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. With a traditional print or TVC campaign, we would have faced the twin challenges of:

(a) buying expensive local media

(b) stringent local media restrictions and regulations (especially in China).

Without a media budget to work with, we decided early on to eschew traditional, local paid media in favor of leveraging Starbucks' owned and earned media channels in the region, which were a rich source of loyal fans and customers.

A "social-by-design" approach led to the video gaining traction within the participating markets, as well as worldwide.

The 2013 Holiday season at Starbucks was about ‘Creating Wonder, and Sharing Joy’. Our challenge was to create an online video that unites our Asian markets and demonstrate that the holidays are not the same without the wonder, and theatre that Starbucks brings.

Though unsupported by paid media, the video became the most liked, shared and commented video on Starbucks Global Facebook page, making it the highest performing video to date.