April 16, 2014

Starbucks is teaming up with the brand new York Times on a promotion that doles out free access to the publisher’s newly launched mobile news product.

Starbucks’ My Starbucks Reward members can receive 12 weeks of access to the recent York Times’ new NYT Now mobile application. What’s interesting about this initiative is the indisputable fact that Starbucks is basically leveraging its brand reputation to drive mobile app downloads and adoption for the brand new York Times’ initiatives. 

“The Long island Times has a longstanding relationship with Starbucks, both in print and digital,” said Linda Zebian, spokeswoman for the recent York Times, Ny.

“We were distributing The recent York Times newspapers in lots of Starbucks locations inside the country for years and likewise offer digital access to NYTimes.com through the Starbucks Digital Network,” she said.

Doling out free content
The promotion fits right into a much bigger push from the brand new York Times that launched last month. NYT Now could be a subscription news product that features a stand-alone mobile app and Site that serves up a curated amount of reports items for $8 every four weeks.

NYT Now also includes its own editorial staff accountable for curating news for smartphones and tablets (see story). 

Starbucks is promoting the partnership through an email blast that was sent to all My Starbucks Rewards members. 

Starbucks’ email

When consumers click through at the email, they’re prompted to either sign-in to their Ny Times account or create an account. After logging in, consumers type in a 20-digit unique code that’s inside the email to start their free trial of NYT Now. 

This isn’t the first time that Starbucks and the recent York Times have teamed up on mobile promotions. Last year, the newspaper company offered consumers connected to Starbucks’ Wi-Fi access to fifteen free daily news stories.

The promotion runs through April 21.

NYT Now

Mobile jolt
Starbucks has reigned the mobile space for quite a few years with a technique that heavily plays up loyalty and rewards.

Mobile now makes up about 14 percent of Starbucks’ revenue throughout the Us of a, and the logo has also taken numerous recent steps to enhance its app’s payment features (see story). 

Payments are just a part of the key to Starbucks’ mobile success though.

The brand can also be heavily invested in mobile-specific content similar to rewards and in-app offers that get pushed out routinely in Starbucks’ app through a newsfeed. 

Starbucks has also tested different advertising campaigns that revolve around content, including one with Flipboard late last year (see story). 

“This special offer is an extension of our relationship with Starbucks and in a different way for The days to arrive new digital customers,” Ms. Zebian said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York