Leaf Rakers Society
Over its 15 years on Starbucks menu, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) has become synonymous with Fall and a cultural marker for its return. Upon even a hint of its name, it can generate excitement around an entire season.
After years of observing customers celebrating Fall with a PSL in hand, our audiences generously shared their thoughts on the season: Fall isn't just a mindset, it's a mood. And, for many, it's filled with excitement that's often criticized.
They expressed a desire to indulge in Fall without judgment, so we created the Leaf Rakers Society, a private Facebook group, just for them. In the Leaf Rakers Society, PSL fans celebrate the season they love within the context of a creative environment topped with moments of joy.
We developed exclusive content, including virtual treasure hunts leading to the revelation of the anticipated PSL release date.
Members took it and ran with it. We listened to this thriving community and created photos, songs and videos scripted from the group's members truly embracing the spirit of co-creation.
We tapped into the passion we were seeing and enlisted volunteer Leaf Rakers to moderate the online community, creating a self sustaining group.
Many members deemed it the happiest, most loving place on the internet. And it's still going strong.
Within one campaign we organically grew the group to 28,000 members, all without any paid media support.
PSL launch day social conversation increased 79% YoY. Group members created over 25,000 posts, left 340,000 comments and 1.9M reactions. Two-thirds (67%) of members were active every day during Fall.
More people connected PSL to Fall this year, too. Fall was mentioned in 33% more positive PSL conversation in 2018 than in 2017, strengthening the perception that PSL = Fall even after 15 years.
Shorty Award – Winner of Best Online Community
