Starbucks teases to ‘Big Event’ on Tuesday

April 4th, 2008, 12:15 pm · 3 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer

4 p.m Update Friday: See added info from Starbucks in Comments section, below. Apparently Hollywood is tied to event.
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I’ve joshed the Starbucks press corp lately on how they are keeping the media busy with all their “big” announcements. It’s almost as if they’re desperate for attention, or customers.

But, this latest gimmick takes the cake.

On the company Web site, Starbucks is pumping up a huge surprise for customers on Tuesday, April 8. Here’s what it says: “We’re doing something big at Starbucks. Like Venti big.”

It then goes on to say, that it doesn’t want to “ruin the surprise” by coughing up more details. Instead, the company is inviting customers to stop by a cafe at 9 a.m Pacific time to find out what’s happening. The so-called “celebration” is apparently happening at all Starbucks cafes across the nation.

That’s it. Nada. No more details beyond that. I emailed Starbucks today asking for more details, and I haven’t heard back.

I know it’s a marketing ploy, but I don’t care. They had me at “Venti big.” I’m hooked — and curious.

And, I don’t want to be disappointed. So, this better be good, like a 99-cent latte or curbside coffee delivery. To read what some fans are speculating , read the Starbucks Gossip blog.

One person on the site said it would be the intro of the new Pike Place coffee roast, set to debut in U.S. stores on Tuesday. If so, that’s lame because that’s not a surprise. That product news was revealed at the mid-March shareholder meeting.

What do you think it is? Write in and let me know.

In the meantime, here’s the laundry list of other Starbucks news the chain has announced over the last few months:

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Posted in: Marketing Buzz • Starbucks

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nick says:

April 4, 2008 at 1:24 pm

I haven’t been to a Starbucks in months if not over a year. I can’t imagine this is anything worth changing your daily schedule for. I hate when companies use the media to hype their own agenda. Why give them free advertising? But by chance they read this: Hey Starbucks, why not try having coffee that doesn’t taste like the backside of a 69 Chevelle oil pan? Oh probably because if you had good tasting coffee people would buy that for $2 instead of plunking down $4 for an ‘espresso’ drink.

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Nancy Luna says:

April 4, 2008 at 3:58 pm

Friday 4 p.m.: I just heard back from a Starbucks rep, who hemmed and hawed when I asked her: Is this Tuesday event related to any other product news you’ve already announced.
“It’s worth coming to,” she said. Hmmm. Also, the main event is happening at a cafe at Hollywod and Highland in Los Angeles. Once, again, she declined to say why. Only that whatever the event is, it is tied to Hollywood.