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Thought this was already revealed as a viral marketing campaign by starbucks: http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2011/08/08/starbucks-and-the-starkbucks-jonathan-

by rrival 15y ago

Thought this was already revealed as a viral marketing campaign by starbucks: http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2011/08/08/starbucks-and-the-starkbucks-jonathan-card-viral-marketing-campaign http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2011/08/08/starbucks-and-the... Not sure if that means there's more of a reason to exploit it or not, at least Sam's doing it for good =)

ximeng 15y ago
Did you read the article? It mentions that.
- JHCDigital 15y ago
  What our little hacker here did amounts to a cut and dry case of wire fraud - here's the wikipedia in layman's terms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fraud http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fraud. With all the press on Jonathanscard, it is more than likely this guy will be prosecuted because it is an open and shut case. Good luck kid...
raganwald 15y ago
There are people who may or may not wear tinfoil hats who have shared circumstantial evidence suggesting this. Jonathan, his friends, and Starbucks have all denied this is the case. My experience is that when confronted with the evidence, the people behind “viral marketing campaigns" have no trouble ‘fessing up, they usually boast of it and use it to drum up more business for their “social media agencies.” A company like Starbucks as zero incentive to lie about it and a huge disincentive. If even one employee spills the beans that it was a marketing stunt and that Starbucks is lying, their brand equity takes a huge hit. It is difficult to “prove” things one way or another to the standards of science or law, but I’m personally satisfied that it was not a marketing stunt.
- vidar 15y ago
  I kind of agree with your point, but saying that the Starbucks brand takes a "huge" hit is a bit of an overstatement.
  - raganwald 15y ago
    If Starbucks does a viral marketing campaign, gets outed, and says “Yes, we did a viral marketing campaign,” there’s no hit to speak of. But I do think that if they deny in writing that there is a viral marketing campaign and then are busted for lying about conducting a viral marketing campaign, this is a scandal that would end up on the evening news. I suppose there’s room for conflicting views over how much damage that might be, but I can’t see any marketing person thinking that it is worth the risk.
lean 15y ago
Mobiquity's reply: http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/10/the-vast-starbucks-conspiracy-jonathans-card-wasnt-faked/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/10/the-vast-starbucks-conspira... "Mobiquity has no professional affiliation with Starbucks."

by rrival 15y ago

ximeng 15y ago

Did you read the article? It mentions that.

JHCDigital 15y ago
What our little hacker here did amounts to a cut and dry case of wire fraud - here's the wikipedia in layman's terms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fraud http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fraud. With all the press on Jonathanscard, it is more than likely this guy will be prosecuted because it is an open and shut case. Good luck kid...

raganwald 15y ago

There are people who may or may not wear tinfoil hats who have shared circumstantial evidence suggesting this. Jonathan, his friends, and Starbucks have all denied this is the case. My experience is that when confronted with the evidence, the people behind “viral marketing campaigns" have no trouble ‘fessing up, they usually boast of it and use it to drum up more business for their “social media agencies.” A company like Starbucks as zero incentive to lie about it and a huge disincentive. If even one employee spills the beans that it was a marketing stunt and that Starbucks is lying, their brand equity takes a huge hit. It is difficult to “prove” things one way or another to the standards of science or law, but I’m personally satisfied that it was not a marketing stunt.

vidar 15y ago
I kind of agree with your point, but saying that the Starbucks brand takes a "huge" hit is a bit of an overstatement.
- raganwald 15y ago
  If Starbucks does a viral marketing campaign, gets outed, and says “Yes, we did a viral marketing campaign,” there’s no hit to speak of. But I do think that if they deny in writing that there is a viral marketing campaign and then are busted for lying about conducting a viral marketing campaign, this is a scandal that would end up on the evening news. I suppose there’s room for conflicting views over how much damage that might be, but I can’t see any marketing person thinking that it is worth the risk.

lean 15y ago

Mobiquity's reply: http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/10/the-vast-starbucks-conspiracy-jonathans-card-wasnt-faked/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/10/the-vast-starbucks-conspira... "Mobiquity has no professional affiliation with Starbucks."