The coffee chain said Tuesday it will give free drink coupons and food discount coupons to all Starbucks Rewards members through Aug. 14. Existing members received the coupons the same day, and anyone who joins by July 31 will get theirs the day after signing up. Starbucks Korea's rewards program had about 15 million members as of early this year.
The free drink coupon covers one tall-size iced Caffe Americano, iced Caffe Latte or iced Vanilla Latte, or their hot equivalents. At regular prices, that is a drink worth 4,700 won for the Americano and 5,200 won for the two latte options. A separate coupon offers 30 percent off sandwiches, cakes, bread and ice cream.
The campaign marks a return to normal marketing for Starbucks Korea. The company spent much of June managing fallout from a tumbler promotion tied to May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, a pro-democracy movement crushed by South Korea's military government in 1980.
The event was branded "Tank Day," a name critics said evoked the tanks the military sent into Gwangju. Its tagline, "tak on the desk," echoed a notorious 1987 police cover-up in which officials claimed a student activist died after they "hit the desk" during interrogation. Both references touch on some of the most painful chapters in modern Korean history.
The backlash was swift. Within days, Starbucks Korea's chief executive was dismissed and the company opened an internal investigation. Its chairman issued a public apology.
Starbucks Korea also temporarily eased refund rules for prepaid gift cards and postponed planned promotions and summer menu launches.
The response culminated on June 22. All of Starbucks Korea's roughly 2,160 stores nationwide closed early, at 3 p.m., so employees could watch training sessions on Korean history and social sensitivity. The chain had never done that before in the 27 years since its first store opened in Seoul in 1999.
Shinsegae Group, which controls Starbucks Korea through its E-Mart division, said executives across its affiliates would undergo the same training.
Since then, the company has gradually eased back into business as usual. It relaunched its delayed summer products in late June before restarting rewards promotions this week.
A Starbucks Korea official described the summer coupon event as part of a customer benefit program the company has run for years, rather than a response to the controversy.
Starbucks Korea has rolled out several other rewards-member promotions this year, including size-up offers on cold brew and other drinks in April, a cherry blossom merchandise event in March, buy-one-get-one coupons in January, and 30 percent drink discount coupons in January, February and April.
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