As part of my role at Sociowash, I contributed to Starbucks India’s ongoing digital marketing efforts by designing a series of branded emailers and promotional graphics. These creatives were part of seasonal campaigns that aimed to increase customer engagement, loyalty program participation, and in-store footfall. The designs needed to align with Starbucks' global branding while resonating with the Indian market through culturally relevant imagery, messaging, and promotions.
Objectives
Brand Consistency: Ensure all digital creatives reflected Starbucks’ global visual identity while localizing where needed for Indian audiences.
Conversion-Focused Layouts: Design modular email templates that communicated offers clearly and prompted action.
Mobile Responsiveness: Optimize layouts for both mobile and desktop, supporting Starbucks India’s increasing mobile-first audience.
Timely Delivery: Deliver multiple variations quickly for seasonal rollouts (e.g., Holi specials, festive drinks, monsoon menu).
Challenges
Maintaining Global Brand Voice: Adapting visuals for regional campaigns without compromising on Starbucks’ strict brand guidelines.
Tight Turnarounds: Many campaigns had short timelines between concept, design, and deployment.
Audience Segmentation: Emails had to be flexible enough to adapt across different city regions and customer behavior types.
My Approach
1. Brand Research & Alignment
Reviewed Starbucks’ global brand guidelines to ensure consistency in tone, layout, and color usage. Assessed past campaigns for visual cues and audience expectations within the Indian market.
2. Campaign Adaptation & Design
Collaborated with content strategists to translate seasonal and product-specific messages into clear, high-conversion visual layouts. Designed modular, mobile-first templates using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
3. Key Design Features
Responsive layouts adaptable to mobile and desktop
Clear CTA placement for seamless action flow
Seasonal color and imagery adaptations for local relevance
Space-conscious design for image-heavy newsletters
Conclusion
The email campaigns contributed to a consistent digital brand presence across channels and helped drive seasonal product awareness. Starbucks India’s marketing team continued to adopt and iterate on these designs for future rollouts.
