Coffee Shop Advertising Via Its Free WiFi ID

from the today's-specials... dept

Wed, Nov 5th 2008 6:32pm — Mike Masnick

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).

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Filed Under: advertising, free wifi

17 Comments

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Michael Vilain, 5 Nov 2008 @ 7:39pm

Re: Buy another cup of coffee already
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?
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Paul, 5 Nov 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
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- Paul M, 5 Nov 2008 @ 8:34pm
  
  Re:
  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.
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- Sos, 5 Nov 2008 @ 9:05pm
  
  Re:
  Since when does coffee come from a vat?
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Nov 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
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Mogilny, 5 Nov 2008 @ 9:12pm

mmmmmmm
I love the latte brownie combo...
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IanK, 5 Nov 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.
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DanK, 5 Nov 2008 @ 11:36pm

Coffee Shop
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.
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Zeecar, 6 Nov 2008 @ 12:36am

Its Holland!
I'm surprised we haven't seen this in the US already!
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2008 @ 5:45am

This is clearly the type of innovation that proves why IP doesn't work.
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chris (profile), 6 Nov 2008 @ 8:21am

people don't pay attention to SSID's
when i was first learning to use wireshark i opened an access point called "youarebingsniffed" and people still connected and got sniffed.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 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
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another mike, 6 Nov 2008 @ 12:42pm

Re: people don't pay attention to SSID's
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.
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Jiny, 13 Nov 2008 @ 8:26pm

very nice
that nice for me because i like to drink coffee and work
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leonnel coucou, 4 Dec 2008 @ 4:30am

free admin shop only
hello I need accounts for free online shopping thank you to my send to the leonnel2005@yahoo.fr
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Silver Lining ad supported WiFi, 9 Feb 2009 @ 5:31pm

Silver Lining ad supported WiFi
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
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Api GmbH, 18 Jan 2015 @ 11:00pm

Kaffe På Nätet
Our Coffee is all natural, Kaffe På Nätetand Caribbean Coffee French Roast Malet estate- grown beans. our tea is all natural sencha leaves. I really enjoy the thrill of being seriously concerned that they may have pissed in the coffee shop online.
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