Nat&Marie

“I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t see and pursuing that vision.”

- Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks

Gavin Slate (@gavinslate), a Toronto-based musician, (and Nat & Marie Alumn!) decided that he was going to take marketing of his latest single in his own hands. During NXNE 2012 he printed off thousands of his own, self-designed, Starbucks “Song of the Week”, he hit a long list of Toronto’s Starbucks topping up empty “Song of the Week” boxes at the cash with his homemade cards - and filmed the whole process.

Gavin’s a really genuine and talented guy. Beyond the fact, this music video/documentary/guerrilla marketing tactic is entertaining. With Howard Schultz’s own quote as inspiration, I think Gavin did a great job to take matters in his own hands.

FAQ

What happened to the artist that was supposed to have song of the week?

It was apparently an APP download, but most of the boxes were actually empty so Gavin assures that he was just topping it up. So no one should have felt ripped off.

How many Starbucks drinks did Gavin drink that day?

About 7. Between the whole crew, they spent $50 at Starbucks. One drink was apparently on the house because he’s “song of the week”. <3