The Starbucks Digital Network

As of Wednesday, October 20th, users of Starbucks Wi-Fi will be greeted with the Starbucks Digital Network.




Starbucks has hinted at this idea for months now, first with the rollout of nationwide Wi-Fi in July 2010. In an interview with Mashable, Starbucks' Vice President of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman said, “The vision is for Starbucks Digital Network to be a digital version of the community cork board that’s in all of our stores.”

But really, it's more than just that. The unique selling proposition is that SDN makes available content from paywall sites such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. It's partnered with iTunes to provide free music downloads and listening experiences to users. It caters Zagat ratings and entertainment information. And, as Brotman mentioned, provides a local element unique to each area as well. Brotman has noted that Starbucks will keep a close eye on traffic, using web analytics to provide more than 40 unique experiences on the landing page. The idea is to have a full array of content available from the start, but also keep the look, feel, and partners fresh for repeat and regular users. 

(via Mashable.com)

Yahoo! not only curated the technology, but is also hosting the portal as well. This in turn has provided Yahoo! inroads to the local search that the company desires, as well as banner space and revenue.


Personally, I like the idea. With the release of branded media in stores, as well as special edition CD's and digital downloads available through Starbucks, its commitment to being as much of a media company as a coffee chain possibly can has always unabashedly been part of their core.

Why this will win: By offering a branded experience that provides useful and in demand content that's not available for free anywhere else, Starbucks created a media portal that is unique and financially beneficial for all involved parties.

What are your thoughts on this? Is Mashable right in questioning whether or not this is information overload? Will you use Starbucks and SDN the next time you're on the road and need Wi-Fi?

Week 2: Online Marketing to Influence the Influencers

I realize the title of this post sounds a bit goofy.

But this is really what it comes down to as a marketer. In this Mashable article, Barb Dybwad analyzes the Forrester's Marketing Forum about the state of "Online Word Of Mouth Marketing." However, the argument that's presented is almost exactly to the letter what Malcolm Gladwell presented in his 2002 book The Tipping Point - basically, word of mouth trends are pushed by certain types of people, and that reaching the right people at the right time is key to a marketer's success.

In Gladwell's book, there are Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Forrester analyst Augie Ray refers to a similar concept as Social Broadcasters (at the top), Mass Influencers (middle), and Potential Influencers (bottom of the pyramid). Reaching Social Broadcasters is not a new concept (at least trying to reach them isn't), but only as of recently can we say that online marketers have been having a lot of success doing so.

The most obvious example in my mind about reaching these Social Broadcasters (or Connectors) is the Social Media campaign recently unleashed by Old Spice Body Wash. This campaign was considered successful because of the sheer amount of sharing that went on. But why did this campaign tip so quickly? As we can see now, Old Spice did their homework. They reached out to Social Broadcasters and Connectors. I think the best was the ongoing response with Alyssa Milano. By reaching out to her and her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers, Old Spice engaged a Social Broadcaster.




And by continuing to post and engage regular consumers - the Salesmen and Mavens, Mass Influencers and Potential Influencers - Old Spice carried out online exactly what Gladwell, and more recently Forrester, were talking about.