A Cool Tactical Idea I Saw at Starbucks

This isn't the flashiest technical thing I've ever seen. Nor is it the most mind-blowing piece of creative advertising. It's really just a coupon. But I like how it was teed up. 

I was at the Starbucks inside of our building meeting with a vendor partner of ours last week. Opened my laptop to connect to the wifi and this is the landing page that I got after logging in:

It's just a BOGO coupon for their Friday happy hour. Big whoop.

What I did like was the "Add to Calendar" button on the screen. Thought this was a really well thought out button for a few reasons:

• Their happy hour is a limited time window. Most people aren't just going to remember so Starbucks is providing a reminder option. 
• Adding it to a calendar gives the happy hour more weight in someone's mind than it normally would. Most of us live and die by calendar notifications. 
• This is on the wifi confirmation screen. Starbucks knows their audience. If I'm there with a laptop connecting to wifi, I'm likely to be working on something. If I'm working on something, my calendar is likely something I use a lot. 

Like I said, this wasn't mind blowing. It's super simple. That said, I'm a firm believer that the most simple details can have profound results. 

No matter how you feel about their coffee or business, you have to give them credit. They do a really good job of making it really easy for the customer to shop with them, via mobile ordering or reminders like this. Also, their Outlook plugins have shown their commitment to catering more to a busy, working audience.

It's almost like they're embracing people coming into their shops to work. 

I don't know if this calendar feature helped Starbucks drive more foot traffic during the three o'clcok hour...but I imagine it didn't hurt.