# Artful Cup Design Contests Starbucks' White Cup Contest Challenged Customers to Make Art on Cups By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2014-06-24 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/starbucks-white-cup References: [ifitshipitshere](http://www.ifitshipitshere.com/starbucks-unveils-white-cup-contest-winning-design/) & [blogs.starbucks](http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2014/04/22/white-cup-art-contest.aspx) Earlier this spring, the [Starbucks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shade-akanbi) White Cup Contest got started, asking people to submit their creative coffee cup doodles to [Instagram](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/2024-starbucks-blend) and Twitter with #WhiteCupContest. With its minimal branding, Starbucks cups are the perfect blank canvas for creatives to draw on. Plenty of Starbucks' customers do this on their own, so the choice to hold a cup design contest seems like a smart one. With nearly 4,000 submissions that came in over just a few weeks, Starbucks has just announced that the design by 20-year-old Brita Lynn Thompson is the winner. Thompson's artful cup creation was quite spontaneous and began with a zig zag line around the bottom of the cup. Now, as the winner of the competition, her design will be printed on Starbucks' limited-edition reusable white plastic cups and will be made available for sale online this fall. More of the creative designs can be seen on the [Starbucks White Cup Contest Pinterest board](http://www.pinterest.com/starbucks/white-cup-contest/). ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.6/10 - Popularity: 64% | Activity: 66% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 30% men, 70% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Branding](https://www.trendhunter.com/branding) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **User-generated Designs:** Businesses can launch design contests to encourage user-generated content, creating a sense of community and engagement with the brand. - **Minimalistic Design:** Minimalistic design themes may offer enormous marketing and branding opportunities for businesses. - **Branded Merchandise:** Businesses can turn user-generated artwork and designs into branded merchandise, such as reusable cups, to boost brand awareness and loyalty. ### Where This Applies - **Food and Beverage:** Restaurants, coffee shops, and other food and beverage businesses can launch similar design contests to showcase their products and engage customers. - **Marketing and Advertising:** Marketing and advertising agencies can develop campaigns around user-generated content to create unique and memorable branding opportunities for clients. - **E-commerce:** E-commerce businesses can explore user-generated content as a way to differentiate their products and foster a sense of community among their customers. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Limited-Edition Cup Capsules](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shade-akanbi.md) - [Artistic QSR Merch](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tim-singleton.md) - [Sustainable Compostable Coffee Cups](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/better-cup-for-all.md) - [Iconic Reusable Red Cups](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reusable-red-cup-giveaway.md) - [Co-Branded Hydration Tumblers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/starbucks-x-stanley.md) - [Complimentary Reusable Cafe Cups](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/red-cup-day.md) - [Reusable Holiday Cup Giveaways](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/free-reusable-red-cup-giveaway.md) - [Artistic QSR Merchandise](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/damon-brown.md) - [Large-Scale Barista Competitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/global-barista-champion.md)