Game of Thrones, a fantasy drama television series began it’s premiere of the last and eighth season this 2019. The fourth episode ‘The last of the Starks’ was telecasted on 05 May 2019, and the lynx-eyed enthusiasts found a cup of beverage placed on a table in front of Emilia Clarke, playing the role of Daenerys Targaryen. The speculations regarding the mysterious cup began, and the fans went on to the social medias to tweet and to find the logical reasoning about the situation. The cup was referred to as Starbucks, and the fans of Game of Thrones went frenzy about it.
They gained reach via controversy around $2 billion worth of marketing at no cost, as the tweets regarding this was on trend, and the news was highly discussed about. Product, price, place, promotion are the four Ps of marketing. Here, the beverage cup referred to the Starbucks is the product, and the promotion was done free of cost by Game of Thrones. As for now, the cup has been removed from the scenes in the episode of the series, but the talks are still on. This has turned out to be one of the best accidental marketing strategy we have seen blooming, and creating a huge benefit to the Starbucks.
Coffee cup in Game of Thrones (S08E05)
HBO confirmed that the brief appearance of Starbucks was a mistake, and we can’t stop thinking what if it wasn’t a mistake. Too many ‘what if’s’ going around, and the major ones are
What if this was a marketing strategy by Game of Thrones for the Starbucks?
What if we learn, and try to experiment similar marketing methods in future?
We all know, there are many series incorporating, and promoting several products in their story telling. Nothing has ever gone viral similar to this, and let us tell you why. A modern cup doesn’t fit into the series like Game of Thrones, and the enthusiasts trying to comprehend the situation lead to this news spread like a wildfire. We wonder if this is one time thing, or will it go viral again if this kind of cameos are reappear in the future, when the situation doesn’t call in for the products to be placed in a contradictory way.
All of us are surprised, and it's mind boggling to know that a cup is worth $2 billion digital marketing. The tweets by Starbucks, HBO, and Game of Throne Series actors also caught the attention of us. The series has high number of followers, and each episode is always greatly discussed about. A 'cup' increased the reach in most unbelievable way.
The most interesting fact is that it wasn't even Starbucks cup, and this shows how we are naturally inclined to think that it was theirs when we see a coffee cup. The Starbucks is the third-largest food restaurant chain by number of locations in the world, so we are not surprised that the conversation around this coffee cup directly lead us to them. We could learn one or two thing, or maybe more things from this whole incident regarding product placement, digital marketing, and the most effective ways for promotion.
The prominent Starbucks, and the popular Game of Throne series collaborated by a mere chance of twist in fate, and turned heads faster than ever in the marketing field!!!