Coffee Shop Advertising Via Its Free WiFi ID

from the today's-specials... dept

Over the years, we've had plenty of discussions over the pros and cons of free vs. fee-based WiFi in restaurants and coffee shops, and these days, for the most part, we're happy to see that free has won out in most cases. However, that doesn't mean there isn't room to experiment, and reader Jon, alerts us to a story of a cafe in Holland, called CoffeeCompany, who is constantly renaming its WiFi SSID name with gentle reminders to buy something. Among the names being rotated around:

OrderAnotherCoffeeAlready, BuyCoffeeForCuteGirlOverThere?, HaveYouTriedCoffeeCake?, BuyAnotherCupYouCheapskate, TodaysSpecialExpresso1.60Euro and BuyaLargeLatterGetBrownieForFree
It's a cute, and probably somewhat effective way to get the folks hanging out in the coffee shop to feel good about buying something at the shop (though, the cheapskate claim might piss off some).

16 Comments | Leave a Comment..


If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...
 

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  

    Re: Buy another cup of coffee already

    identicon
    Michael Vilain, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 7:39pm

    The local coffee places here in Palo Alto have a SSID and 60 minute non-peak login on the receipt you get when you buy something. During peak hours when table space is nil, I think that goes down to 15 minutes. Starbucks is free if you use the AT&T WiFi. And Peet's (the progenitor of Starbucks) doesn't have hardly any sitting space in their shops here.

    Don't they dispense coffee with an eyedropper in Europe?

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Paul, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 8:09pm

    Just the kind of professionalism I seek when scouting out a new coffee place. I enjoy the thrill of being seriously concerned that they may have pissed in the coffee vats

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 8:14pm

    regardless of its "professionalism", as paul put it, it does have a certain flair that im sure will appeal to the customer base, subtly alerting them "hey, were pretty laid back and enjoy a joke"

    if i lived anywhere near Holland id check this out myself

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Re:

    identicon
    Paul M, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 8:34pm

    Nothing personal, man, but I'm relatively certain you're not their target demographic. Seems like they're going for the people who have already had the stick removed.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Re:

    identicon
    Sos, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 9:05pm

    Since when does coffee come from a vat?

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    mmmmmmm

    identicon
    Mogilny, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 9:12pm

    I love the latte brownie combo...

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    IanK, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 9:33pm

    I don't mind them using the SSID to advertise specials, or for messages like "BuyCoffeeForCuteGirlOverThere?". If they're going to call someone a cheapskate, it's probably best to add a ;) to the end. Sarcasm gets lost in the text easily than through verbal communication, and you just know that 1 in 10 people are not going to get the joke.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    Coffee Shop

    identicon
    DanK, Nov 5th, 2008 @ 11:36pm

    Wait a minute... Coffee Shops in Holland have a special meaning. They sell coffee, juice and marijuana (think Amsterdam). I don't think they need any special advertising to get people to buy more coffee or cake since most customers will have the munchies anyway! That said, I think it's a clever idea though.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  

    Its Holland!

    identicon
    Zeecar, Nov 6th, 2008 @ 12:36am

    I'm surprised we haven't seen this in the US already!

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 6th, 2008 @ 5:45am

    This is clearly the type of innovation that proves why IP doesn't work.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  

    people don't pay attention to SSID's

    icon
    chris (profile), Nov 6th, 2008 @ 8:21am

    when i was first learning to use wireshark i opened an access point called "youarebingsniffed" and people still connected and got sniffed.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Nov 6th, 2008 @ 8:51am

    I setup a wireless for my company years ago using something like "ForWiFiCallXXXXXXX"

    It works! We got a tons of biz that way. If you think it's "unprofessional", well, if it makes me money... :P

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  

    Re: people don't pay attention to SSID's

    identicon
    another mike, Nov 6th, 2008 @ 12:42pm

    i've probably mentioned my free wifi AP i run. the one with the trap that give incoming connections a click-through, "this is slow, insecure, and i'll turn it off at random for my own amusement." the one that violates the ISP's TOS. yeah, that one.

    anyway, i named it 'notlinksys' to go with the six, count 'em six of the twelve recently sniffable, APs named 'linksys'. i also name it things like 'notthedroidsyourelookingfor', 'whiteandnerdy', 'obscuregeekreferencehere', 'cleverssid'.

    when i put on wep i had names like 'passwordiswarchalk' and 'kismetfindswepkeys'. i was still getting visitors connecting through it.

    it's a holiday weekend. i should go warchalk the neighborhood again.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  

    very nice

    identicon
    Jiny, Nov 13th, 2008 @ 8:26pm

    that nice for me because i like to drink coffee and work

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  

    Silver Lining ad supported WiFi

    identicon
    Silver Lining ad supported WiFi, Feb 9th, 2009 @ 5:31pm

    Silver Lining Networks offers a simple and effective way for businesses like this coffee shop to make money on their WiFi. With Silver Lining businesses have complete control on how they monetize their WiFi. They can serve contextually targeted ads or charge a small amount for access (for instance many businesses charge just $1/hour. Learn more at http://www.silverliningnetworks.com

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>


A word from our Sponsors...
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
From the Techdirt Archive...
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This