Starbucks launches Tweet a Coffee program
Starbucks has announced a new Tweet a Coffee program that lets you tweet a $5 Starbucks Card eGift to anyone on Twitter, whether you want to say hi to a friend, suck up to a potential employer or client, or try to buy influence by being memorable. For only $5 a pop, you could be the most popular girl or boy in town. Right?
Not so fast.
First, let’s talk about how it works. You buy a Starbucks account and keep your credit card on file, then you can gift other Twitter users a $5 Starbucks Card eGift, which can be printed or shown on a digital screen to the barista.
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Caveats of the Tweet A Coffee program
Unlike most programs, there are so very few caveats (we’ll explain why in a moment). In order for the program to work, a user cannot have a private account enabled to send or receive a tweeted coffee. The Tweet A Coffee program only works for $5 at a time, so users wanting to send more have to tweet multiple times.
Some have already pointed out that it is unclear whether or not the recipient must also have a Twitter account linked to a Starbucks account, but it will be a popular program regardless.
The real genius in Starbucks’ plan
The programs’ Terms of Service, once accepted by a user, allows Starbucks permission to tweet on your account. Some may be deterred from using the program for this reason, others may decide it’s worth it.
So, for $5, you can win favor with others, but for free, Starbucks gets millions of data points overnight – a genius marketing move if we’ve ever seen one. They’ll be collecting, analyzing, and taking action on this data, making their marketing better. Genius.
Marti Trewe reports on business and technology news, chasing his passion for helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to stay well informed in the fast paced 140-character world. Marti rarely sleeps and thrives on reader news tips, especially about startups and big moves in leadership.