Starbucks Got $2.3 Billion In Free Advertising From A Coffee Cup On Game Of Thrones That Wasn't Even Theirs

When you own a brand like Pampers, Band-Aid...or, apparently, Starbucks...your market dominance can lead to some unexpected boons when the public has a difficult time distinguishing the generic form of your product from the one with your name on the side. That seems to be what happened to Starbucks this week, as experts estimate the coffee giant got more than $2 billion in free advertising from a well-publicized gaffe on Game of Thrones -- due to a coffee cup that was not even theirs. That fans online spotted the mistake -- a disposable coffee cup was left on a table during filming -- and immediately thought "that looks like Daenerys just had Starbucks" meant that the onslaught of attention given to the continuity error over the last few days has benefited the company.

Stacy Jones, CEO of marketing company Hollywood Branded, told CNBC that she put the estimated value of all the buzz at $2.3 billion. Jones cited PR subscriptions service Critical Mention, which has tallied 10,627 mentions of Starbucks and 'Game of Thrones' online and on TV and radio around the world. That increased social media traffic actually merited a story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime collision of opportunity for Starbucks," Jones said. "But really, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because what isn't being monitored or estimated is the word of mouth and social media on top of this."

Starbucks has declined to comment on Jones's speculation, but had clever quips to offer earlier this week, suggesting that perhaps the Queen of Dragons got the wrong order. "TBH we're surprised she didn't order a Dragon Drink," Starbucks joked on their Twitter account. HBO took a similar approach, saying, "The latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea."

In addition to news coverage and social media buzz, the mistake landed the series on late night comedy shows, and of course, product placement itself has some value on a massively-popular show -- even if it was obviously not intentional. All of that can add up.

"It's impossible to put a real figure on how much free advertising Starbucks gets out of the situation, but it's in a totally different category than product placement because it was accidental, which makes it more valuable," said Dan Hill, CEO of Hill Impact. "I know people assign a value to these things, 'more than $1 million in public relations,' but I think it's all hogwash — too hard to quantify. Plus this one will live on as a meme, so I guess you could say it's a gift that will keep on giving."

The meme may live on, but fans will have to use those images to savor the goof, as HBO has since digitally erased the cup from the episode.

New episodes of Game of Thrones air Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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