Why a simple move by Starbucks can revolutionize the college student’s life… if it sticks.
At the beginning of October, Starbucks announced that they would be offering free access to a limited number of newspapers when you are connected to their wifi.
Their press release read, “Starting today, for a limited time, we will provide complimentary digital news courtesy of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), USA Today, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and New York Daily News to our customers through our free in-store Wi-Fi.”
The unfortunate part of this story is two-fold. The company has, for the time being, done away with any physical copies of newspapers, and also announced that this promotion is only for a limited time.
So, what are the true benefits and drawbacks of this complementary digital access to newspapers?
The benefits
The most obvious benefit of this promotion is that there will be more people reading the news. Few people go out of their way to pick up a newspaper today, and when Starbucks stopped offering print copies, those without paid subscriptions did not even have access to many publications.
A USA Today study revealed that about 18 percent of students in the US do not have access to the internet at home. It is a surefire bet that if they do not have access to the internet, they do not have news subscriptions. This move by Starbucks will ensure that all of those students not only have the ability to do their homework, but also have the resources necessary with these subscriptions.
The second benefit of this move is for the smaller companies that are involved in this transaction. An article by Inc. points out that “It’s a good promotional opportunity for the news organizations —particularly the lesser-known ones that were rarely in Starbucks to begin with.” This is great publicity and promotion for those companies to be pairing with the biggest coffee chain in the world.
The final benefit is that Starbucks announced they will also be providing special subscription levels for print and digital subscribers.
On the whole this is going to greatly encourage both students and the general public to be more engaged with the news. When something is more readily available, the public will be more open to the idea of staying informed with the news.
Overall this seems to be quite progressive in the world of free media and promotes a generally informed public, which is always a good thing.
The Drawbacks
Although Starbucks claimed that they are going to continue to listen to their customers to always be improving the experience, their release did say that this service was only going to be offered for a limited time.
They provided no answer or justification as to why this would be and it raises quite an interesting question. Can Starbucks put a price on providing college students with access to information that they need but may not be able to have otherwise?
I personally had to pay the subscription fee for the WSJ for the semester and would have loved for this to have happened beforehand. What exactly is going to happen after this “limited time offer” is over is unpredictable, but I suggest that everyone take advantage of it while it is available.
With somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000 stores in the U.S., Starbucks’ small move has the power to make a big impact and they should not take this lightly.
Providing free access to as many sites and newspapers as possible is a revolutionary and productive move by Starbucks. With a Starbucks just across the street from Azusa Pacific’s campus, I can all but guarantee that I will be spending more time there (probably more money as well; a great marketing strategy).
College and high school students alike should take advantage of this promotion for as long as it lasts, and Starbucks should really consider its audience before they decide to end it.
A free subscription with my mocha and encouraging the public to stay informed? Now that’s the real tea.