Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes are apparently just as popular on the Internet as they are in real life.
The massive coffee chain certainly needs no help selling its beverages, in particular its signature autumn drink, but a social media campaign for the item is in full swing.
“The Real PSL” has its own Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr accounts — and all are full of posts that feature a Starbucks hot beverage cup doing what you’d expect to see on the social media pages of people who consume Starbucks’ most popular seasonal beverage of all-time.
The Real PSL sports wayfarer and aviator sunglasses, reads while relaxing against trees, hangs out in pumpkin patches, yearns for #sweaterweather and even has a cat named Ginger..
“The Starbucks social team established traits to support PSL’s spirited persona and decided to treat it as a celebrity after noticing people who follow PSL on social media also follow more celebrities than the average user.” a Starbucks spokesperson said.
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The Twitter and Tumblr pages premiered last fall, and at the beginning of last month The Real PSL’s Instagram page was born.
In the span of just five weeks it has nearly 18,000 followers. Combine that with almost 107,000 Twitter followers and the usual 1,000-plus notes on its Tumblr posts, and The Real PSL has quite the digital footprint for a personified drink.
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It’s not all just a popularity contest though. Starbucks is using the massive following to their advantage when it comes to business as well. The company recently took to the social media accounts to let fans start pumpkin spice season a little bit earlier than usual.
The Real PSL gave followers the chance to get their hands on the drink four days before the general population by posting a link and password to a page that text messaged followers a pass. The pass could then be shown to a Starbucks barista, and in return you’d be able to get a PSL.
Besides and increased social media presence, this year’s pumpkin spice lattes taste different too. They are finally being made with real pumpkin.
