• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 7, 2013

Starbucks has launched a new cross-channel sampling and sharing campaign to accelerate growth of its Blonde Roast offerings, introduced a year ago in its cafes and in grocery stores.

Starbucks is also introducing a Vanilla Blonde variety of the lighter roast, sweetened with vanilla syrup, as an option in its cafes. 

The company says that it’s seen “significant success” with the lighter roast since its launch, reporting that 79% of its Blonde Roast sales at retail and 70% of its sales in Starbucks stores have been incremental. Blonde Roast was launched to attract the approximately 40% of U.S. consumers who prefer lighter-roast coffees. 

Elements of the sampling and sharing campaign, launched today:

*Blonde Roast samples will be dispensed in more than 8,000 food, drug, and mass grocery retailers -- Starbucks’ biggest in-store sampling campaign to date.

*Customers who share a Starbucks card e-gift with a friend through a new desktop and mobile-enabled Facebook app receive a free tall (12-ounce) cup of Blonde coffee for themselves. The app includes humorous cards to accompany the gift cards.

*Starbucks mobile cafes will appear (for three weeks each) in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas. The mobile cafes will offer free samples of Blonde Roast and Vanilla Blonde, along with vouchers for a free tall cup of either flavor and $1 off offers for Starbucks packaged coffee and K-Cup packs.

*In addition, a dozen ambassadors will don coffee-filled jet packs to dispense samples and vouchers in areas of these cities not visited by the mobile cafes.