Cup O' Joe #2: Caribou

Coming in second this week is the second largest chain after Starbucks, Caribou Coffee.

There is something on this page that I also saw on the Biggby site as well, that I hadn't seen in awhile. The "Trivia Question" widget. Do those work? I'm assuming the goal is to get someone to slow down and stay on the page a few seconds longer, and hopefully be enticed to shop instead of locate a store, or vice versa. The work on the web has come a long way, but it is still very much experimentation. How do Trivia Questions stack up against Flash games, or Intro Movies, or Polls etc. What's the success measure for them, increased stick time?

Using a device to increase Stick time, and comparing that time with your amount of sales on the site, or sales in general seems a lot like the guesstimate game of broadcast advertising. X impressions + X time = PROFIT. But you can track things so much better digitally.

Here's a test for the Trivia Question widgets. When someone clicks on it to see the answer, show them the answer plus a link saying "Find Out about X". Track that link. Give that widget a concrete purpose. If it's working, put promos in there. This is..of course...if anyone is clicking on the "answer" link. I would hope they are if the widget is still living on the page. Or, why keep them on the page at all? If they want to know the answer, direct them to a new page with the answer on it, and more interesting content.

Here's a page within Caribou that would be a great payoff destination for a Trivia link.

They ask you questions to determine what Coffee would be good for you. Now here's an app with a solid purpose. After you make your selections, it shows you the coffees with a Buy Now link. Homepage->Trivia widget->Recommender->Sale. Now your Trivia widget has a purpose, and if it doesn't work, make a small crappy Flash game! (jk).

Another note on their site, almost every page has a little video window box promoting their "Coffee Talk" videos. If you click to view, it opens up on the page you're on. Not rocket science, but a nice touch.

The last thing I found was an Email Your Boss app. "Demand Caribou Coffee".

Looks kinda boring. But I filled it out and sent to a friend to see what the end result is. It hasn't arrived yet though (after 20 minutes). I've got a hunch it's gonna be boring as well. Neat idea though - and with some good creatives you could probably have a lot of fun with that idea. Now that I think of it, have we seen that done before? hm.

/.riddlemethis.\