Jay G.’s weblog

Selling Cups of Coffee through Wi-Fi Networks

In the previous article, we examined how to get a cup of coffee. Now it’s time to sell cups of coffee. A few weeks ago, I read an interesting article on ReadWriteWeb. It said a Holland-based coffee company sells their products through Wi-Fi networks.

I like coffee very much, so I go to a coffee shop almost everyday. When I decide which coffee shop to go, the first thing I consider is of course the taste of coffee. But the second most important thing is Wi-Fi access. Nowadays almost every coffee shop provides Wi-Fi access for free. So I don’t have to worry about it anymore. However, I feel everyday that most coffee shops use the default settings for their network names. The most famous name in Korea, iptime is also one of the product names and the default setting of it.

Holland-based CoffeeCompany uses the network names to sell cups of coffee. More precisely, they use their menu items or today’s special as their network names, such as ‘OrderAnotherCoffeeAlready’ or ‘BuyaLargeLatterGetBrownieForFree’. What a brilliant idea! It could be possible for people who order a cup of coffee and stay for a whole day, or sit down on a bench and steal internet access to buy one more cup of coffee. Even someone could encourage himself to talk to the girl over there after seeing the network name, ‘BuyCoffeeForCuteGirlOverThere’.

There is more. A German car rental company tried to attract customers in the same way. The blogger who introduced the company called this kind of marketing ‘Wifitising’, which is a combination word of ‘Wi-Fi’ and ‘advertising’.

Of course this method can’t prevent people trying to steal internet connection without charge. But, it doesn’t require any expenses, and it could make customers laugh. So there is no reason not to try. Now I have to change my network name to a funny one. Who knows? Maybe the pretty girl next door will give me something delicious. ;)