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Dive Brief:

• Starbucks will pilot a custom Creator Network in TikTok’s Content Suite that it helped create, in an effort to expand employee-driven marketing, according to information shared with Marketing Dive. The news was announced at Cannes Lions this week during a joint session with Starbucks and TikTok.
• The Creator Network builds off of Starbucks’ Green Apron Creators program, which encourages employees to post social media content around the brand. The pilot will allow Starbucks to share briefs and compensate select creators in the program through ad revenue sharing.
• The program is set to launch in the summer, with expansion based on lessons learned for the pilot.

Dive Insight:

Starbucks is further investing in employee-driven marketing in a new collaboration with TikTok, making it the first brand to pilot a custom Creator Network with the social media platform. The company’s employees post at a three times higher rate than employees at similar-sized chains, according to data cited in press materials. The high levels of social media activity from Starbucks employees creates an opportunity for the brand to leverage the content in paid advertising.

“Every day, our partners bring Starbucks to life by creating moments of connection with our customers and with each other. And more than ever, they are sharing those moments with the world online in authentic, creative and unique ways,” said Erin Silvoy, Starbucks senior vice president of global marketing, in press materials. “Collaborating with TikTok provided us with the opportunity to build a customized [tool] that allows us to celebrate and amplify our partners' authentic storytelling.” 

Employee-generated content is becoming a popular tool for brands. Office supply retailer Staples has been supportive of Kaeden Rowland, better known as the Staples Baddie, who posts ASMR-style videos about her job at the company. Rowland, who goes by Oblivion on TikTok, has nearly 600,000 followers on the platform.

These employee/content creators have become a vehicle for product or service discovery, with 61% of Gen Z, and 40% of the population overall, saying they frequently learn about new products or services from employee-generated content, according to Sprout Social data. As employee-creators become more common, brands may need to find ways to reward those individuals, as 61% of consumers believe brands should compensate employees who promote the brand on social media.

TikTok is positioning Creator Networks as a way to enable brands to create a customizable pool of employees, partners or brand advocate creators, with the aim of using user-generated content in paid advertising.

The news sees Starbucks building from its Green Apron Creators program that it launched in 2024 in an effort to use its own employees to stay culturally relevant on social media. Gen Z make up the majority of Starbucks baristas and the program gives them an opportunity to develop their careers and online presence.

Starbucks’ second quarter revenue totaled $9.5 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase, according to an earnings transcript. Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ chairman and CEO, pointed to strong marketing efforts as one of the reasons its rewards program hit 35.6 million members during a call with investors.