Starbucks brewing next PR stunt?

According to Jack Flack, we can expect more publicity stunts from Starbucks and Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz in the future because, even though everyone knows that Starbucks launches these campaigns — here’s a detailed look — more for hype than to effect any kind of meaningful change, more than a few, particularly USA Today, which has long since eschewed its journalistic integrity, are more than happy to play along.

Here Flack’s five reasons why he thinks the Starbucks Froth Formula, as he calls it, will keep on brewing, largely through media outfits like USA Today — Jim Romenesko calls it the “SBUX PR department’s favorite publication” — who apparently can’t resist his charm:

1. Schultz is a celebrity “get.” Thus, there will always be a willing media outlet for his latest campaign, especially if access to Schultz is divvied out as “exclusives.” Starbucks capitalizes on the dynamics of access journalism as effectively as any company in the world, trading precious time with their celebrity CEO in exchange for fair-to-fawning treatment.

2. Schultz stands out. Because few other CEOs see any benefit in “taking a stand” on social issues that are peripheral to their companies, Schultz’s social proclamations are novel, and thus qualify as news in a content-starved media environment. The journalistic rationale is “Hey, it might be light on substance, but at least he’s saying something different than most corporate bosses.

3. Schultz knows how to package. He and his team excel in creating non-event events, capitalizing on the topicality of hot social issues by manufacturing a few symbolic gestures and putting Schultz on the stage. For instance, want to champion employment when you’ve actually been shrinking your own workforce? Then why not simply sell job-creating “Indivisible” bracelets for $5 a piece?

4. Schultz keeps moving. By shifting from one cause to the next, Starbucks never faces serious scrutiny on the actual results of its efforts. For instance, a year from now, will any journalist have much incentive to follow up on whether Starbucks actually fulfills the promise it made last week to hire 10,000 disadvantaged teens and young adults? Even if so, that lone report will likely be lost amidst coverage of whatever Starbucks’ new cause of the day might be.

5. Schultz won’t back down. Of all of his strengths as a leader, Schultz’s intrepid sense of conviction has likely been the most important ingredient of his undeniably remarkable success. No matter how skeptical the questioning becomes, Howard Schultz seems to really, really believe Howard Schultz.

If you have to believe in something, might as well believe in yourself, I guess.