If you’re a coffee drinker like me, there are few things better than having a daughter who works at Starbucks.

From a marketing standpoint, she’s given me a little extra insight into one of the best-known brands in the world. The training materials she received when she began, for example, are themselves a case study in how to do it absolutely right.

Recently, she gave me something else: a customized Starbucks card, which I have to say is pretty cool. I was a little doubtful at first: What I really wanted to do was upload my own artwork onto the card. But the Web interface offers enough options (with more on the way) that I was able to find something I liked: me in the store enjoying some caffeine and tunes while she slaves away in the background. Being able to put my URLs on the card is a welcome bonus.

To drop a coupla buzzwords: It’s a savvy combination of one-to-one and word-of-mouth marketing. I get to create something unique for myself that I’ll undoubtedly show to friends and family. Each card becomes not just a convenient purchase mechanism but also a nifty WOM vehicle.

Who knows — maybe some people will even blog about it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Internet Stuff, Marketing Stuff.