Starbucks India picks TBWA\Lintas in a USD 1.1B market

Starbucks India has picked TBWA\Lintas as its new integrated creative agency after a multi-agency pitch. The Omnicom Advertising India agency will now lead brand campaigns, social media, digital activations and consumer participation, bringing creative and digital under a single mandate.

The appointment lands as India’s cafe market is projected to reach USD 1.1 billion by 2034. Coffee culture is moving beyond metros into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which makes this less an agency change than a brand reset for a wider, younger consumer base.

01 · A brief with cultural ambition

TBWA\Lintas has been asked to bring integrated, media-agnostic thinking to “re-mystify Starbucks and rebuild cultural magnetism.” In practice, that means keeping the brand desirable as more Indians discover coffee as a daily ritual rather than an occasional treat.

Mitali Maheshwari, Head of Product and Marketing at TATA Starbucks, said the brand wants locally relevant, digital and experiential storytelling that resonates with young consumers, coffee lovers and first-time drinkers. “Over the past 14 years, Starbucks has played a meaningful role in shaping India’s coffee culture,” she said.

02 · Why participation is the operating word

For marketing leaders, the strategic signal is clear. Starbucks is not asking for more visibility; it is asking for ideas that earn a place in how people live.

Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Experience Officer at TBWA\Lintas, put the mandate this way: “The most exciting brands today don’t just show up in culture. They give people something to do with them.”

• One agency now owns creative and digital, reducing the gap between brand idea and daily content.
• The brief asks for consumer participation, not just impressions, matching a generation that creates culture instead of only consuming it.
• Local relevance becomes a growth lever as coffee culture spreads beyond the largest cities.

The cafe category is becoming an experience economy, and agency language about “ideas that travel beyond the cup” suggests the work will be judged on shareability, participation and cultural presence—not just campaign recall.

03 · What to watch next

The first work will reveal whether the new mandate tilts toward platform-native storytelling, local rituals or experiential formats. The sharper test is whether Starbucks India becomes something consumers do, not simply something they watch.

For CMOs, the win is a timely reminder that category growth does not automatically renew a brand’s relevance. It has to be designed for.

Source: Campaign Brief Asia

Mad About Marketing Desk The strategists and writers at Mad About Marketing, writing up what we see in the work every week.