Starbucks
Social impressions still tiny compared with paid display ad impressions
Starbucks Is Charging $450 for a Specially Etched Metal Gift Card to Buy Coffee Flavored Water
Starbucks, purveyor of coffee flavored water, builder of coffee scented corner stores and shelter for no coffee drinking Wi-Fi leeches, has a new shtick: a premium gift card. It’s made of steel! It’s ‘specially etched’! And it’s a super, limited edition that inanely costs 450 bucks.
The gift card itself costs $50 to make, the other $400 will be loaded as Starbucks credit and can only be bought on Gilt. I guess Starbucks people go to Starbucks enough that the $400 will manifest destiny itself in the caffeinated brown liquid but damn if this isn’t some elitist craziness. The card, which will surely make its owners feel good about themselves, comes with “with gold-level Starbucks card membership benefits, such as gifts and freebie refills on brewed coffee and tea.”
Jason Goldberger, executive vice president at Gilt.com, told the USA Today it’s all about exclusivity:
“When you’re waiting in line at Starbucks, the next person in line won’t have it.”
Ugh. [USA Today]
Boston-area Starbucks testing wireless smartphone charging; Starbucks, Google and AT&T back PMA standard
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/pma-starbucks-google-att/
The Duracell Powermat and the Power Matters Alliance are charging forward in their quest to make wireless charging of smartphones all the more ubiquitous, today announcing the appointment of several notable companies to the PMA’s shareholder board: Google, AT&T, and Starbucks. Subsequently, said appointments will result in various initiatives involving the wireless charging standard — select Boston-area Starbucks will get PMA standard-based wireless charging spots, AT&T is selling PMA standard-based charging devices in “select markets,” and … uh … Google is just kinda throwing its support in. Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist (best job title ever?) Vint Cerf already serves as honorary member of the PMA’s board, so perhaps that’s more than enough.
Ah, and of course, if you’re into charging mobile devices wirelessly while getting $2,500 Remy Martin bottle service, Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club is also supporting PMA-based wireless charging spots. Of course. For a full list of spots, check the PR below the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Peripherals, Google, AT&T
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/pma-starbucks-google-att/“>Boston-area Starbucks testing wireless smartphone charging; Starbucks, Google and AT&T back PMA standard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Closest Starbucks Is Never More Than 170 Miles Away
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-map-2012-10
Astronomer James R.A. Davenport posted this fantastic map on his blog If We Assume.
It shows every company-owned Starbucks in the U.S., which means all the franchised Starbucks locations are not shown.
Davenport writes that the farthest you can ever get from a corporate Starbucks in the mainland U.S. is 170 miles. That’s a bit more than the 115-mile number posted by McDonald’s, points out Paula Forbes at Eater.
Another great stat from Davenport is the number of people that live quite close to a Starbucks.
He explains:
There are ~311 million people living in the USA, with 82% living in urbanized areas. One might define urbanization in the modern era as the distance to the nearest Starbucks. An “urban” environment would therefore be anyplace within a 20 mile radius. Yes, more than 80% of the USA (that’s 250,000,000 people) live within 20 miles of a Starbucks.
NOW SEE: 15 Crazy Starbucks Customers Who Will Make You Never Want To Be A Barista >
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Dr. Augustine Fou is Digital Consigliere to marketing executives, advising them on digital strategy and Unified Marketing(tm). Dr Fou has over 17 years of in-the-trenches, hands-on experience, which enables him to provide objective, in-depth assessments of their current marketing programs and recommendations for improving business impact and ROI using digital insights. 
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