The Campaign Structure
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is marking its 63rd anniversary with a structured, multi-phase brand campaign titled Make It Yours — and the mechanics behind it offer a replicable framework for any multi-unit F&B operator trying to convert heritage into current-day relevance. The campaign, rolling out globally across more than 1,200 locations in 20-plus countries, is built around three sequential phases: seeding brand affinity through owned storytelling, amplifying through creator partnerships, and closing with community-driven in-store activation.
That sequencing matters operationally. Rather than a single anniversary push, CBTL is staging the campaign so each phase generates content and social proof that feeds the next — a compounding structure that keeps the brand in rotation across earned, owned, and paid channels over an extended window.
Influencer and Creator Layer
The middle phase leans hard into creator-driven distribution. Influencers and social creators are being activated around the hashtag #MakeItYours, tasked with showcasing customized drink builds using CBTL's On The Rocks platform — a modular format that layers Crème Crowns, Espresso Shots, and Flavor Boosts. For operators watching beverage customization trends, this is a direct read: menu modularity isn't just a consumer preference driver, it's an influencer content engine. Drinks that photograph well and allow visible personalization generate organic reach that a standard menu item cannot.
Global artists are also embedded in the campaign as cultural validators, sharing personal stories tied to the brand. That talent integration extends the campaign's shelf life beyond a standard promotional cycle and gives media partners and trade press a hook that isn't purely transactional.
What Operators Should Take Away
For operators and brand teams, the more instructive layer here is the merchandise play. CBTL is releasing limited-edition, artist-designed anniversary merchandise — patches, keychain straps, and tote bags — explicitly designed for personalization. This is a proven mechanic for deepening loyalty program engagement and driving incremental in-store visits without discounting the core menu. It also creates a physical brand artifact that extends campaign reach beyond the digital window.
The Jollibee Group's backing gives CBTL infrastructure advantages most independent operators won't have, but the campaign's three-phase architecture — affinity, amplification, community — is transferable at almost any scale. Regional chains and emerging beverage concepts running brand launch programs or planning anniversary activations should note how CBTL is using earned creator content to reduce paid media dependency while maintaining sustained brand visibility.
For agencies and vendors in the growth marketing space, the campaign also signals continued investment in social-first brand storytelling among major QSR and specialty coffee competitors — territory that remains contested as TikTok and Instagram continue to be the primary discovery channels for beverage-forward concepts.
CBTL's full campaign hub is live at cbtl.com/makeityours.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
