The telecom industry is pulling back from Starbucks marketing amid controversy over Starbucks' "Tank Day." Companies are canceling scheduled marketing plans or removing traces of Starbucks from promotional materials. Starbucks Korea sparked criticism by running an inappropriate campaign called "Tank Day" on the 18th, the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement.
As of the 26th, KT deleted the Starbucks logo from its "Sweet benefits" poster that promotes membership discounts after the Starbucks controversy flared. However, a giveaway that will provide 300 people with a Starbucks Sailing Club Bearista keychain through entries by May 31 will proceed as planned.
A KT official said, "For subscription products linked to over-the-top (OTT) services, membership, and marketing already announced, the company cannot unilaterally cancel or change products under contract," adding, "For now, we will minimize (Starbucks) exposure and review customer reactions to decide the direction of the partnership going forward."
LG Uplus had planned a marketing activity on the 20th for "Youth Day" to award five Starbucks star rewards to customers in their 20s via the Uplus One app, but canceled the event. The Uplus One app integrates the customer service app and the membership app.
An LG Uplus representative said, "The Starbucks marketing was intended to boost app traffic, but after much deliberation we canceled the event."
SK Telecom held an event offering a free coupon for one Starbucks Americano from the 4th to the 8th of this month, before the controversy erupted. The company said, "Some products bundled with Starbucks are already being used by customers, and we cannot suddenly discontinue them," adding, "We will monitor customer reactions and conduct marketing accordingly."
A telecom industry official said, "Public sentiment toward Starbucks has soured, but there are so many bundled marketing deals that it will be hard to cut them off."