Brewing Relevance: How Starbucks Balances Intention and Attention

Closing out the Forbes Social Interview Series, in partnership with Rokt

Relevance defines how iconic brands earn trust, shape culture, and stay ahead in a world where customer expectations shift by the minute. The Forbes Social Interview Series, produced in partnership with Rokt, has spotlighted how today’s leaders are reshaping brand strategy in a world where consumer expectations shift constantly.

In this third and final installment, Seth Matlins, Managing Director of the Forbes CMO Network, sits down with Tressie Lieberman, Global Chief Brand Officer of Starbucks, to explore how the company balances timeless intentionality with the need for real-time cultural resonance. The series has offered a candid look at how forward-thinking leaders are aligning data, technology, and purpose to build lasting impact.

Episode Three: Tressie Lieberman, Global Chief Brand Officer, Starbucks

In this episode, Lieberman shares how Starbucks threads the needle between enduring brand equity and the urgency of cultural relevance. From elevating global coffee creators to orchestrating premium in-store rituals, she explains how intention and attention can coexist to fuel connection and growth.

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Defining relevance on Starbucks’ terms

For Lieberman, relevance begins with making customers feel seen and valued, rather than chasing fleeting cultural moments. That means constantly asking three questions: what matters to Starbucks as a brand, what matters culturally, and what matters most to the consumer.

When all three align, the result is authentic storytelling that resonates deeply. Lieberman points to the company’s global coffee creator program as an example, which invited real coffee lovers and creators to share their experiences. Rather than forcing a cultural moment, Starbucks leaned into what already felt true to its community, and the response was powerful.

Intention meets attention

Lieberman frames Starbucks’ marketing approach around two paths: intention and attention.

• Intention brands: premium, detail-obsessed, building for the long term.
• Attention brands: nimble, disruptive, and designed to break through in real time.

She believes Starbucks can be both. The brand aspires to be a premium, accessible lifestyle brand, one that customers are proud to carry in their hands, while also showing up in culture in ways that feel fresh and relevant. That duality is what sets Starbucks apart.

Strengthening loyalty through connection

Lieberman points to Starbucks’ most valuable asset: its community. Through Starbucks Rewards and social channels, the brand has a direct line to millions of engaged customers.

The key, she explains, is listening; treating the community with the same care and attention YouTubers give their followers. By solving problems, delighting fans, and never breaking trust, Starbucks strengthens loyalty while driving results.

Staying relevant today and tomorrow

For Lieberman, relevance at Starbucks is both a daily practice and a long-term ambition. The brand’s future playbook includes:

• Designing iconic, intentional experiences across cafés, merchandise, and menus
• Moving faster and in real time to meet cultural moments as they unfold
• Building innovative pipelines that keep customers returning for the ritual of Starbucks

The goal is clear: to remain an iconic, premium brand while also being one that feels current and connected to every customer’s life stage.

Relevance, reimagined

Starbucks’ approach, as articulated by Lieberman, underscores a larger truth: relevance isn’t a campaign, it’s an operating model. By blending purpose, intentionality, and agility, the brand actively shapes culture and deepens its place within it.

This conversation marks the close of the Forbes Social Interview Series, in partnership with Rokt. Across the series, leaders from Ulta Beauty, Shake Shack, and now Starbucks have shared how relevance fuels stronger connections, deeper loyalty, and measurable growth.

The series highlights a unifying theme: the brands that win are the ones that stay close to the customer, act with clarity of purpose, and move in real time.

Rokt is proud to power this exploration as the global leader in ecommerce, unlocking real-time relevance in the moment that matters most, the Transaction Moment™.

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