On Thursday, March 15th from 10am to noon, most of the United States and Canada will find itself standing in line at a Starbucks. Why you might ask?Well, Starbucks is offering a FREE 12oz. coffee at any of it North American locations. Starbucks promoting this event as a "Coffee Break." And to make sure you don't forget (and I'm not sure what coffee drinker would) they are very quietly offering a reminder via text message if you text BREAK to MYSBUX (697289) or visit starbucks.com. Since nothing is for FREE anymore, why is Starbucks making such a kind offering to all of North America? I'll tell you why and why it's brilliant.
In the age of partnering with other businesses to increase awareness and market share, Starbucks is using this two hour event to promote the use of text messaging in association with its stores. The new wave in marketing today is getting your message directly to your customers via mobile media (cell phone devices). What better way to spread the word than to do the best word-of-mouth generator possible, give something away for FREE to get people to try your product. The deal here is that the product isn't coffee, it's the text messaging (which I'm sure makes the mobile phone industry smile).
Not only will Starbucks remind you of the event, they can also provide you with a nearby Starbucks via their new service which gives you two options for finding the nearest Starbucks coffeehouse in the U.S. or Canada. Ah ha, now isn't that convenient! You can do this by texting your zip or postal code of your current location to MYSBUX (697289)*, and they’ll send you three store matches in your neighborhood. Can you see where we're going here? Oh and of course, carrier charges may apply for using text messages.
As you can see, Starbucks is testing how it can best reach its customers via mobile device, by offering you a chance to stand in line on March 15th for a FREE cup of coffee. Enjoy.
