Starbucks Digital Network

Beginning Wednesday, Starbucks customers who use the free Wi-Fi at more than 6,800 U.S. company-operated stores will be greeted with the Starbucks Digital Network (SDN) — an exclusive content network curated by the company and designed to enhance the customer’s in-store experience.

Starbucks has been teasing SDN for months, but now that the network is about to go live we have a much clearer idea about the type of content provided and the purpose behind the digital endeavor.

Starbucks’s Vice President of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman:

“The vision,” he says, “is for Starbucks Digital Network to be a digital version of the community cork board that’s in all of our stores.”

Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of each channel:

News: This section of SDN is comprised of Starbucks media partners offering premium or exclusive content to customers. The New York Times has opened up access to its Reader 2.0 subscription-based service for free, all content from the The Wall Street Journal is available minus the paywall and the exact replica of the USA Today newspaper is accessible to users on the network. Newly signed content partner GOOD is providing early access to its infographics, so Starbucks customers can view them before anyone else.

Entertainment: Starbucks has populated the entertainment portion of its network with music, apps and books from Apple’s iTunes, full access to a selection of books picked by Starbucks and provided by the Bookish Reading Club (via an HTML5 reader), business e-books courtesy of New Word City, a kid-rich experience powered by Nick Jr. Boost and handpicked documentary films provided by SnagFilms.

Wellness: Health and fitness publisher Rodale is the primary content provider for this SDN channel. Customers have access to specialized content — not available to anyone other than Starbucks customers — from Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Prevention, Organic Gardening and Eat This, Not That!, along with a custom built “Map my Ride, Map my Run” application.

Business and Careers: Professional social networking site LinkedIn (LinkedIn) is making exclusive video and blog content available to Wi-Fi users in this channel. The network also provides LinkedIn job search and suggestions, and offers users a 30-day free trial for the premium account.

My Neighborhood: Starbucks is adamant about creating a localized experience to connect customers with the community around the store. The company delivers on this objective by serving up content to users based on the exact whereabouts of the store where the user is accessing the free Wi-Fi. Community fare includes local news from Patch and a look at nearby DonorsChoose.org classroom projects that could benefit from small contributions. Foursquare (Foursquare) users can check in via the web from Starbucks stores, and Zagat makes available full ratings for restaurants in the surrounding area for free.

Starbucks: This channel provides a personalized customer experience for Starbucks account/card management and also amasses all of Starbucks social (Twitter (Twitter)/Facebook (Facebook)/MyStarbucksIdea) and digital properties under one umbrella.




SDN certainly packs in a variety of content that makes for interesting material to explore on a laptop, but the network was also designed with the mobile user in mind.

Users accessing the network via mobile devices and tablets will benefit from the HTML5 smartphone-optimized network. SDN for mobile is also touchscreen-friendly, offering a hands-on, swipe-able experience.

More than 50% of users logging on to the free Wi-Fi are doing so from mobile devices, so the company was motivated by usage behaviors to build a mobile web experience just as good, if not better than, the standard web experience. Content was also designed to be “snackable,” so the mobile user can get value even while waiting in line, says Brotman.

Mashable

Old Navy’s “Booty Reader”

From the sophomoric cauldrons of humor at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, the same agency that brought Burger King’s Shower Babe and the Whopper Sacrifice campaign to the Internet, comes Old Navy’s “Booty Reader” web application, which asks women to upload a shot of their derrières to find the most suitable pair of Old Navy jeans.

Visitors to the microsite are prompted to choose three scenarios in which they would wear the jeans they’re looking for (on a date, lounging at home, to the office on a Casual Friday, etc.), and then to use a web cam or photo so that the app can gauge their body shape. Women who are too uncomfortable (or lazy) to use a photo can choose diagrams to inform the app about their proportions.

Although hundreds upon hundreds of branded apps and magazine articles have taken consumers through the same jeans-fitting process, Old Navy’s app was named in such a way that it is guaranteed to attract press without generating controversy, unlike American Apparel’s Best Bottom campaign [Warning: Explicit]; according to Adweek, the Booty Reader was designed by a team of female creative directors for female shoppers.

Nevertheless, we question whether the app is really “on brand” — both the company’s brick-and-mortar and online stores emphasize its offerings for plus-size and pregnant women, as well as men, infants and children. How many Old Navy shoppers do you know use the word “booty” — or want to engage with a web application with that word in its name?

Lauren Indvik for Mashable

Buy gum With PayPal, Your Phone and Twitter

A proof-of-concept vending machine shows how we can dispense with cash for everyday purchases, skipping credit and debit cards altogether and going straight to electronic transfer.

The vending machine uses QR codes, PayPal, a smartphone camera and Twitter. And, to complete the geek-buzzword bingo checklist, the hardware is based in part on Arduino, an open source hardware platform.

“We’re experimenting with ways of taking PayPal payments beyond the web,” PayPal Labs’ Ray Tanaka said. At the PayPal X Innovate 2010 developers’ conference, he showed off a gumball machine that lets people use their smartphone to scan a barcode instead of fishing for change.

Tanaka and his team put together their gumball machine using an ordinary mechanical vending machine, an Arduino processor, a WiShield and a few other smartly chosen basic parts.

Scanning the QR barcode sets the gumball machine in motion. Then the customer gets a Twitter notification that their PayPal payment has gone through and how much they’ve been charged. On the merchant side, Tanaka showed off an instant payment-notification system using an LCD display.

Candy is cute and “gives good demo” (as Steve Jobs puts it), but I can easily imagine 101 even better uses for a simple electronic payment system like this where cash is short and speed is essential. Here’s a short list to get you started:

* parking garages
* public transit
* toll booths
* grocery checkout
* gas stations

In short, anywhere you need to be on the move and would rather not whip out your wallet.

From: Wired

Gap's model search through iphone app

If you’ve ever looked into the windows of a babyGap or GapKids storefront and thought to yourself: “Wow, my child is way prettier than all of these kids photographed in the window front, it’s too bad I’m too lazy to take a quality portrait on my digital camera, and upload it to Gap’s website for its annual babyGap and Gap Kids Casting Call contest,” today is your lucky day — if you own an iPhone, that is.

For the fifth year of its Casting Call campaign, Gap has developed a special iPhone app [iTunes link] to make it easier for parents to enter their 0 to 10-year-olds into the contest, the four winners of which will be featured in the company’s babyGap or GapKids store window advertisements, and other promotional materials. Gap judges will select and fly 20 finalists to San Francisco for a professional photo shoot in mid-November. Fans will be able to vote on the final winners from December 6-20.

Parents can enter their 0-10-year-olds using the mobile app. After registering, you’ll be asked to fill out a short entry form including your child’s name, sex and date of birth, as well as your contact information. You’ll then be prompted to take a photo of your child using your iPhone or to pick one from your existing library, which cannot be more than three months old.

After you’ve entered it’s time to beg your friends to download the app and start voting for your kid; the one with the most votes will receive a $1,000 Gap gift card for receiving the most votes, though s/he will not be flown out to do a photo shoot, unless s/he is also a favorite of the judges. You can then keep track of how many Fan votes your children have garnered under “My Entries,” as well as keep track of how many votes the competition has received in the Gallery section.

In all seriousness, the app is a smart idea that should substantially increase the number of submissions, which numbered more than 1 million last year. Gap has pursued an aggressive digital and mobile marketing strategy as of late, having offered discounts via Foursquare (Foursquare), Loopt, and Groupon all within the last six months.

From: Mashable

Clarks. Shoes you can live in.

You've heard the kids story of the little old woman who lived in a shoe. Well Clarks Shoes have literally brought that to life in their latest ad promo.


Appearing today in Westfield Parramatta were 2 giant sized shoes which formed the home for 2 human inhabitants for a week.

Well that's one way to bring their tag line to life.

Debenhams Interactive TV

Debenhams has launched an interactive TV channel today (Monday) to attract new customers by offering fashion and beauty advice, alongside the opportunity to buy.

Debenhams TV, which is available on Debenhams.com, Youtube and Debenhams’ iPhone app, includes interviews with top designers such as Ben de Lisi, Henry Holland and Matthew Williamson and expert fashion advice. There is also a ‘how-to’ focus with online fashion workshops and beauty lessons.

The station is expected to generate 1.5 million views in its first week. Customers can purchase products using a click-to-buy feature as they watch.

Menswear shows on the channel will feature exclusive footage from the launch of Debenhams latest brand, FFP, and other behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from photo shoots, fashion shows and launches.

Debenhams said it hopes to “attract the attention” of shoppers who might not already be using Debenhams.com.

Debenhams online trading director Simon Forster said: “Our online TV channel is a brilliant way for our customers to get style and beauty advice, see the latest fashions and just be entertained. You can see it on our website, through our iPhone app, on Youtube and coming soon – in our stores.”

Retail Week

River Island now available on ASOS!

Fashion retailer River Island is to sell its product on etail fashion giant Asos.

It is the first time River Island has partnered with another retailer, and the agreement will make its offer available in more than 170 countries.

It will launch selected product on Asos, starting with its autumn 10 range next month.

Asos product and trading director Rob Bready said River Island offers a “strong point of difference”, and added: “We look forward to our customer’s response to the proposition.”

River Island said: “We are excited to be able to offer River Island to customers around the world.”

Retail Week

D’Espresso - New York

The new D’Espresso on Madison Avenue (at 42nd) in New York has received more media attention than is generally awarded to a tiny coffee shop in this world of millions of new coffee shops.

The reason for the attention is the fun design by the Manhattan-based nemaworkshop, a team of designers and architects that has created numerous cool retail and hospitality concepts. Founder Anurag Nema took the idea of a coffee shop that looks like a library – giving a nod to the nearby New York Public Library’s Bryant park branch – and turned it on its side. The walls are not lined with books but the floors and ceiling are. Except that it is all an illusion, a life-size image of books printed on custom tiles. Pendant lighting does not hang from the ceiling; it sticks out from the walls.

The tiny coffee bar of 420 square feet (39 square meters) is the second for owner Eugene Kagansky (the first one is on the Lower East Side) who plans to create an entire empire of coffee shops. Apparently, the next one will be completely upside down. - Tuija Seipell

Finger in the nose

What a great name for a kids’ brand. Well, this French brand is the epitome of style (regardless of the size of their audience!) From its ‘Sartorialist-snap-worthy’ mini models with just the right amount of attitude to its authentic rock n roll aesthetic, this brand offers quality kids’ wear for the emerging fashionista.

This label is not just about cutting a stylish figure on the streets; integral to its DNA is the long-term quality of the pieces, offering superior comfort and wearability. They use 9-11 ounce real European denim with raw, stone, bleach, snow and leather-look washes, and real feather down for their jackets and Geelong merino angora for their knitwear. Their 100% cotton tees feature wild animals and mythology-style graphic prints. The only negative? Your kids could quite likely steal the spotlight from your own sartorial efforts. Consider yourself warned! – Kate Vandermeer

EBay's Fashion Outlet

EBay is soon to launch a new service that allows users of it's new fashion outlet store to create their own preferences. No longer will you have to trawl through different pages of designers or sizes. You simply select the size, brand and format you frequently search for and you'll receive customized search results. The service will search through all the clothing, shoes and accessories available on eBay, from the smaller boutique outlet stores to the 20 major retailers that use eBay as their outlet source.

This new feature is part of eBay's 'User Labs' which takes feedback from users and adapts that into their product. Yes, some retailers do listen!

Real-Time interactive wall

The Canadian Tourism Commission and DDB Vancouver have developed a great interactive campaign to drive awareness of Canada as a tourist destination to a number of Cities in the US. The campaign integrates interactive digital screes installed in ‘screen-scapes’ with supporting print media. The screens display real time feeds from social media such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, providing live feeds of people’s experiences as they travel around Canada. Passers by can choose to glance at the feeds or interact with them and ‘dive’ deeper into the feeds.

This is a great demonstration of integrating social media and digital signage to drive advertising campaigns outside of the traditional channels.

Mind the Gap

Gap has dropped plans to change its logo after being ridiculed by bloggers and tweeters for a new design unveiled last week.

The new look (pictured, above) was meant to give Gap a more contemporary look but was criticised for its uninspiring design. Gap consumers also objected to the change being introduced without any warning. Gap North America president Marka Hansen admitted that the US casualwear giant had not approached the launch of the new logo in the right way, adding:

“We’ve learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognize that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing.”

She added that the logo may be changed in the future but that “when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way“.

The retailer said that it would revert to its traditional logo on www.gap.com and would turn it red for the US holiday season.

Exerts from Retail Week

3 to use Augmented Reality instore

Store staff for mobile phone retailer Three are to use an augmented reality app in stores to improve customers’ perception of its network coverage.

Smartphones using the app will allow store staff to point the phone camera in any direction and show the masts that 3 own to potential customers. Augmented reality involves superimposing images onto live pictures captured using the phone’s camera.

One or two handsets with the app installed will start to go into Three’s 307 stores in the coming months.

A spokesman for Three said that it is in the pipeline expand the app’s capabilities to display where stores are located.

The current app allows selection of a mast to show where it is exactly and how far away it is from where the user are standing. The app will not be available directly to consumers.

The masts will be categorized by different colours to show which ones have been added since Three’s has completed its three-year long network upgrade yesterday through sharing mast sites with T-mobile.

Post: retailweek

Shopping Hauls

Yep, online spruking is the future.

I guess it just taps into that innate female inquisitiveness of what other chicks have bought and what they paid for them. After all, a recommendation from a like minded person is far more compelling that the retailers stamping out what they think I should buy. In that sense it's the fashion world's version of Tripadvisor.

Currently millions of viewers are voyeuristically soaking up every minute of the 150,000 haul videos on YouTube about mundane purchases, from a bargain bag of apples to a mascara wand.

Have a look at these shoppers' hauls: xoFemmeBeauty | eyedollbeautytv | snorkleyy

"It really is exactly like show and tell," hauler Holly Go-Lightly said. "This is essentially what haul videos are, showcasing all the pretty things you found on your shopping trip, but to a larger audience in the comfort of your own home."

It's video blogging or 'vlogging' and it's got tweens, teens and adults around the world taking note. And like blogging it's already being tapped into by PR and Marketing departments alike to flog, sorry vlog their goods.