In an earlier post I wrote about a “challenge” that Starbucks is doing right now. Remember this?:
Today, Shawn and I went to a local Starbucks to take the “VIA Challenge”, and get the free coffee that Starbucks offers in the above ad.
On the counter where you place your order you will see this:
Here, on a little round tray, you see two little pitchers of coffee, one sitting on each side of the color coded advertisement. One is the “regular” brewed coffee, and the other is Starbucks new “VIA” instant brewed coffee. This is where you need to go if you want to take the “Challenge”.
It’s pretty easy to spot. First, when we arrived at the Starbucks, we saw several advertisements on the windows and doors about this new Challenge. We nearly walked into a strategically placed display that had packages of the new Via instant coffee on it.
You can purchase three packets of VIA in a cute little origami folded package for about three bucks, or a larger package of 12 packets for about ten bucks. (I may be wrong about the price of the larger package). There are two different kinds of VIA you can purchase. One is called “Columbia” and is “medium”, and is in the orange packets. The red packets offered a stronger VIA coffee, but I can’t recall the name of that one right now.
Also, all the Baristas were wearing bright orange aprons, that had something printed on the front about the “VIA Challenge”. I think that even if you did not get information about this in email, didn’t see any television commercials, and also somehow managed to avoid all mention of Starbucks new ad campaign to introduce it’s instant coffee online, you still would be able to figure out that there was a “VIA Challenge” going on the minute you entered the Starbucks.
Here is how that works:
* Ask the Barista if you can take the VIA Challenge. They are more than happy to assist with that. They will explain what it is (in case you really had no idea), and offer you two little tiny dixie cups of coffee. One is the “regular” and one is the “VIA”. Which is which? Try them and see.
* When the dixie cups of coffee cool, smell them, taste them, try them both. The Barista at the Starbucks I went to was kind enough to offer me some ice cubes to put in the dixie cups, so the coffee would cool down faster, and I could taste test it faster. Enjoy your double shots of free coffee! Savor the lovely caffeine buzz.
I could not tell the difference between the two different coffees, (surprise, surprise), but Shawn could. He noted that one was “less bitter and more smooth” than the other, and he liked that one better. Shawn picked the VIA as having the best taste. We let the helpful Barista know what we thought about it, and he told us a little more about the new VIA coffee.
NOTE: It turns out that simply taking the “VIA Challenge” does NOT automatically get you a coupon for a free coffee on your next visit. Did I read the ad wrong? I really thought it did.
It turns out that in order to get the coupon for “one FREE tall brewed coffee on your next visit” you have to make a purchase of VIA.
We decided to buy a three packet package of VIA coffee. We chose the Colombia style, because that is the kind we tried in the taste test, and Shawn liked it. He is thinking about drinking coffee in the mornings when he works, and didn’t really want to brew an entire pot just for him, so he decided to give VIA a try. The VIA comes in little one cup packets, perfect for somebody who just wants a cup of coffee, without all the fuss.
Once we made that purchase, the helpful Barista was able to give us the coupon we heard about in the ad. The photo shows a paper that says “Thank You”. Inside that folded paper is the coupon we came in to get, and also another coupon for “$1 off Starbucks VIA Ready Brew”.
In other words, you do get free coffee. The coffee they hand you to take the Challenge with is free. However, the coupon for a “One FREE tall brewed coffee on your next visit” only is given if you buy the new VIA first. It’s a little misleading, but it ultimately worked out for us.
Do you want to go take the Starbucks VIA Challenge? You still can. They are doing this promotion until October 5, 2009.
I’m not 100% sure about us not actually getting a free coffee today. After we purchased the Via, the guy said something about us getting a free tall coffee, and I think he meant we could get one today, as he said something to the girl making the drinks that she should make a tall black coffee. I stepped back from the counter to wait for the drink, and Jen came up to me with the coupon she had received and showed me where it said “free coffee on next visit.” So we left. And to be honest, I wasn’t really in the mood for a cup of coffee at that time, especially considering we had just eaten lunch (and Jen had purchased an iced tea while we were there, so she didn’t need a coffee, either). If indeed we had a free coffee coming our way, I’m not disappointed about not getting it. But still, the process could’ve been a bit clearer.