Starbucks hoped to teach Hollywood a marketing lesson with "Bee"

This story notes that Starbucks' first venture into movie marketing wasn't very impressive. The reporter says:

Starbucks launched a partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. in January, promising to teach Hollywood a marketing lesson. But its first campaign, for "Akeelah and the Bee," failed to deliver the hoped-for result.

After spending $20 million in marketing, Lions Gate has taken in only $17 million at the box office. Lions Gate executives privately say the white viewers they were counting on Starbucks to deliver never showed up in great number.

Many Starbucks customers found the marketing campaign confusing, people familiar with the effort said. The campaign included printing "words of the day" on coffee sleeves and on bright green note cards posted in the stores. But some customers mistakenly thought the words were new coffee flavors, the sources said.

Starbucks maintains that the campaign resonated with customers.

Is there *anybody* at Starbucks corporate who is honest enough to admit that this venture flopped? Their phony spin on this is enough to make a "guest" gag. (Los Angeles Times/reg. req.)

Comments

[David McWherter]

I think it's pretty clear that the Starbucks advertising worked --- in the sense that practically EVERYBODY who's been in a Starbucks knows about the movie. It got mindshare...what advertising is 9/10ths of advertising. The only problem is that despite knowing about it, nobody wanted to actually go see it.

[CitizenSane]

Hey Romenesko,

Why are you so angry and worked up about Akeelah and the Bee? Every time you bring it up, you're just drooling for some SBUX partner to tell you "the real deal" about how the movie failed. News flash: None of the partners care. There is no conspiracy to hide the truth. Sorry to disappoint you.

[I'd much rather go by Pulchritude Patty thanks...]

Wow I highly doubt that they thought the new coffee 'flavors' were pterodactyl or lyceum....although while wearing one of the clip on words "argillaceous" a customer asked if it was my name...and webmaster, I do sense a bit of bitterness towards the movie...

[FloridaBarista]

Yah trust me, as a barista.. I could care less about this weird movie. I walked into work one day and I was like what the f*ck is all this green crap? My ASM had to explain it to me and I was like sounds dumb..

[BaristaNoMore]

I think Starbucks did a great job getting the customers and baristas talking about the movie. I had sooo many conversations with customers about the words and what they meant and were for. I think it's because the actual movie wasn't that great or had too small a demographic. Next time, a better movie should help.

[leala]

I agree with "David" and "Baristanomore" - I don't think the issue was bad advertising. I mean, everyone thanks to SBUX knows about the movie, what its about etc. The movie just did not appeal to that wide of an audience or me for that matter. I just seemed more like a movie kids would enjoy, don't ask me why.

[Christopher Meisenzahl]

I have to see, all the "buzz" about this movie in the Starbucks I visited got annoying very quickly.

[KT]

I was confused by the Word of the Day tactic. And I'm still not sure what the movie is about. But I will continue to appreciate Starbucks for its coffee.

[Amy K]

Ironically, the movie played here at the Tribeca Film Festival and still wasn't received that well. Still, as an English teacher, I thought it was nice that S'bux was promoting a film that was about academics!

[JustABarista]

I think that one of the reasons it failed was due to the fact that people have seen several spelling bee movies lately. Ever since Spellbound had such good success, it's been a new genre. I overheard more than a few customers saying "oh wow, ANOTHER spelling bee movie"

[higgins]

I think the reason the movie failed is that it was lame. I was mildly entertained until the moment the whole nieghborhood pitches in to help her drill on flash cards. Including the local drug kingpin. Who talks nostalgically about a poem he wrote in the fifth grade. Veeeerrrryyy believeable.

[Hirayuki]

"But some customers mistakenly thought the words were new coffee flavors". Is this one of the saddest things you've read on these pages or what?

[managermatt]

I kid you not, we had at least two separate customers in our Drive-Thru ask for the pterodactyl Frappuccino and another asked for some other oddly name frappuccino beverage. Other than all the green post-it notes on the windows it was a good advertising campain, it just wasn't the world best movie idea.

[seattle]

It wasn't a good idea because the general public isn't all that intelligent. Someone actually complained about the promotion, not because of all the silly green stuff or the fact that it was in their face everytime they walked in a store, but because the promo words were difficult and we didn't post a definition as well.

It's fascinating to me that someone will admit to an anger that results from being too lazy and unmotivated to pick up a flipping dictionary.

[generallyirkedbymedia]

Starbucks picked a movie that was inspirational, touching, and was about a young black girl from the hood who brought a community together. That is why Starbucks chose to support this movie - because it aligned with the core values of the company. God and everyone knew about this movie thanks to Starbucks. Unfortunately, all of the white folks chose to skip it in the theater. But don't worry. They will buy the DVD. What would everyone be saying if the bucks chose xmen? The movie has made 20M already. imagine how poorly it would have done without their support?!?!?!?!

[deusx]

Lol, you sound like you are inferring that we "white folks" chose not to see the movie because it was a black girl?

I didn't pay to see the movie because it was cliched, shmaltzy and not much different from the spelling bee movie that came out the month before it.
I have news for you too, in the test screenings(and I was in one) the movie was not recieved well by the blacks. They felt it was unrealistic and painted a fairy tale picture of what living in a bad neighborhood is like..aka "whitewashed")

[Just me]

I was actually at a movie theater, with my bored, nerdy friends, and we decided to skip Akeelah. Not for racist reasons, not because we can't appreciate intelligent themes, but I had only heard about it through Starbucks. We are home-coffee drinkers, and there was little if any advertising for the movie OUTSIDE of Starbucks, at least that I noticed. For a while I was under the mistaken impression that this movie, from the title, might be another version of "A Bug's Life"! I might check it out through Netflix, but I have to agree that "Spellbound" stole its thunder and it just didn't seem like that great of a movie!

[Tanya]

With all the recent hoopla over "Akelah", having a counter sign read "win 1 free lbs. of your favorite coffee" in my Starbucks made me laugh. Obviously the new banana marketing team never talked to the spelling bee team or it would have read "win 1 free lb. of coffee".

[CoffeeMaster]

Movie trailers push movies.... and this was a film where the trailer really couldn't push waht it was about. I had no desire to see this film, but went to a screening starbucks had for it's partners and came away from it really moved. I think it will have a better life on DVD, and, DVD sales are more profitable than the theatrical release. So, I don't think anyone can call this a failure until we see how it does on DVD. And the Bucks is gonna be selling the DVD.

[HopkinsBella]

Managermatt,

A pterodactyl Frappuccino!!! It made me spit out my coffee laughing this morning.

OK. Back to "serious" business/topic: the promos for the movie sucked.

[Kelly]

As someone with a marketing background, I find this whole situation very interesting. I agree with a previous poster, I'm not sure the advertising wasn't at fault. I think the movie just wasn't unique. If spelling bee movies were an untouched category I think the whole situation would be different. I would have loved to see Starbucks promote something a little different and less played out.

[jamEs]

My thoughts on that movie was that I already watched Finding Forrester, why do I need to watch it again?

That aside, you find most movies that have stupid names have a tendancy to fail, so Starbucks hitching it's wagon to this movie seemed kinda moronic from the get-go. I know myself I'll probably end up watching it, but not in theatres. I doubt there were many people jumping out of their skin to see this movie when it came out, but like anything, they will probably make the money back on DVD.

[Disappointed]

Akeelah and the Bee was a GREAT movie, and I think the comments here are proof positive that there are still many Americans who find it distasteful to portray Black people in successful roles. It is sad that some people have not widened there horizons enough to see a movie that features primarily Black actors as the protagonists. As if Million Dollar Baby was Oscar worthy? Pulease !!!.

[JD]

Movies make less than 10% of their overall gross in the theaters. Media sources love to play up how much a movie grosses, but studios know where the real money is: DVDs. In reality, todays theaters are just promoting future DVD sales. Antwone Fisher on DVD, in one day out grossed its entire theatrical run. Lets see how Akeelah does on DVD.
:JD:

[Jeannie]

I loved the movie. I thought the advertising great. I can't wait to buy the dvd. We have a tv-guarding at our school so showing the movie to the upper grades; minus some language will make it a most excellent movie. The reason it flopped? The same reason a lot of movies that are "decent" flop. They are just that... decent.

[Pxlchk1]

IMO, the movie simply came to closely on the heels of Spellbound. Spelling bees may be interesting, but not enough so to warrant seeing two in such close proximity.

[Afinagenija]

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