Starbucks hit social media gold


In the season of giving, Starbucks rolled up their tech sleeves along with (RED) to create a  global sing-along as a part of their continuing efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. The project is Starbucks Love Project.



At 1:30 pm GMT on December 7th, people from 156 countries joined in the sing-along. You can see the video edited together on the Starbucks site, Starbucks Love Project, YouTube, even their Facebook fan page, which has a caption that reads 'One moment. One song. 156 countries.'

From accross oceans, tribes, languages, cultures, ages and more, people came together to sing one song of love for all to hear, 'Love is all you need.'

This is a project that wouldn't have been possible years ago, and with the assistance of social media, this has become an amazing tool to create AIDS awareness along with brand awareness for (RED) and Starbucks. I can't help but think of how this is such a phenomenal example of how technology can be used for extraordinary things. Starbucks and (RED) didn't just create a montage of clips of people singing. They gathered people from corners of the world, had them huddle around their webcams and sing together. It's a brilliant and unprecedented event, giving us one voice. Taking a Beatles hit 'All you need is love' and running with the event.

I think they not only excelled in the use of the new media, but busted through a roof. Starbucks and (RED) gave consumers what they wanted during the holiday season. This 4 minute video is something that can't help but bring a smile to faces in such an uncertain time. While places are facing political unrest, economic uncertainty and more, people are stopping and sining about love.

Is this really just a video?