I was dismayed to learn this week from my favorite baristas at the Colorado and Arizona Starbucks in Denver that the Gold Card Pilot Program that I got to participate in ended October 31.  Guess I did not read Starbucks Gold News #3.  So the pretty white card with my name on it reverts to be just a regular Starbucks card now.

Their new membership product is also called a Gold Card and costs $25 a year.  Benefits include a 10% discount on all food and beverages at the time of purchase which is great and comes with three coupons for 10% off other Starbucks purchases.

However, I now see no mention of the piece I was drawn to initially with the pilot program – the percentage back from my cappuccino addiction to a nonprofit.  So I guess they discontinued that feature.  Granted my whopping contribution through the end of September was only $2.58 but it was the principle of getting to choose whether to take the 10% off myself or contribute it that I appreciated.  Bummer.  I see they have now decided to become part of Product(RED) – maybe they decided that was the better way to go?

I bought one of the new Gold cards anyway.  It is still my destination of choice for my morning dog walk and I love the spinach feta breakfast wrap.  Onwards…

I got an “personalized” email today with the Starbucks Gold News.  At the bottom, they provided me a visual of the amount of money my dividend amounted to – which will be donated to the nonprofit I selected when I signed up.  So the dollar amount ($3.07) for last month is not large based on how much I spent at Starbucks.  However, that they track it… AND let me know…is a great way to keep me hooked in and feeling good about my cappuccino addiction!

What I would now like to see from Starbucks (and hopefully they will do this in the future – the program is only a month old) is how much has been raised TOTAL for the two nonprofits customers can choose to support by donating our dividends.

So, if you are doing a cause marketing promotion with your customers…what are you doing to update your customers periodically – both about the piece they have contributed to the cause you are supporting as well as how much you have raised overall… of which their piece is only a small part?  If you are not sharing that information, you could end up losing business down the road.

Living in Denver has some perks…and it’s not just the view of the mountains!  Starbucks decided to pilot its new Gold card program here starting last month.  Since I live in Denver and use their refillable gift cards (it’s much easier to carry on a dog walk than cash!), I was invited via email to join last month.  On the website www.starbucks.com/gold it says, “If you enjoy espresso beverages, you’re in fine company. On average, Starbucks lovers in Denver drink more espresso beverages than the rest of the country, especially Caffe Lattes flavored with vanilla syrup or customized with soy milk.”  Who knew…
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