Starbucks will pilot a custom Creator Network in TikTok's Content Suite, becoming the first brand to test the tool, in a push to scale employee-driven marketing that it unveiled at Cannes Lions, according to Marketing Dive. The pilot builds on Starbucks' Green Apron Creators program from 2024, letting the company share campaign briefs with select employee-creators and compensate them through ad revenue sharing as their content runs in paid advertising. The move leans on already-heavy posting by Starbucks baristas, who skew Gen Z, with employee-generated content increasingly driving product discovery for that demographic. TikTok is pitching Creator Networks broadly as a way for brands to assemble a pool of employees, partners, or advocates whose content can power ads, with the Starbucks program launching this summer.
