Cust Dev on the Campaign Trail
Hands down, my favorite part of this campaign is interacting with customers at the coffee shops. Whether it’s surprising the owner of a reusable mug with a complimentary coffee, or a casual conversation with one of our regulars, I love seeing people’s positive reactions to Kill The Cup. Over the past week, there have been a number of encounters that stuck out.
It begins with some of our “power users.” At Roger’s last week, there was a rush of cup-killers that have uploaded at least ten photos during the campaign. Christine H. (tied for 13th on the iPad leaderboard) came by to claim the $10 gift card she won in May 1’s daily raffle. We also ran into Vicky S. (6th place on the iPad leaderboard – 2.9% chance of winning with two weeks to go) – she’s always on her way to a meeting, but always makes time for a morning coffee and a KTC upload!
New users are just as fun. I approached an unsuspecting undergrad and bought him a free coffee for having his own mug. I’m pretty sure he was able to absorb at least some of the information I was putting out. When the clerk asked if he wanted room for cream, his response was “Honestly, I don’t even care.” The only other item in his purchase was a multiple choice scantron – he was on the way to a midterm. Hopefully he cared a bit more about the exam.
Making it Fun to be Green
It’s a rainy Monday morning at UCSD – the first rainy weekday I can remember in more than a month. And I should know. The Kill The Cup campaign has been under way since April 1st, and our team has been trekking all over campus each day, making it fun to be green. You see, Kill The Cup is a social venture aimed at reducing the number of disposable cups used at campus coffee shops. We reward coffee drinkers who bring their own cup by entering them into daily, weekly, and grand prize contests to win cash or an iPad. We also visit campus coffee shops and buy re-users free coffee – sometimes it’s scheduled, other times it’s spontaneous!
The idea for Kill The Cup was formed in Lab to Market, an entrepreneurial workshop series that defines the MBA experience at Rady. Students form teams, develop business ideas, and test prototypes in the market. We’re constantly pressed to advance our ideas – or be forced to kill the project and start anew. We’re privileged to present our businesses to a panel of esteemed local entrepreneurs every week – a “Shark Tank” atmosphere featuring Founders, CEOs, and C-level executives. It’s exhilarating. [Read More...]
Greetings from… Price Center?
We tried something new today: KillTheCup.com set up a table at the Price Center, offering free coffee to anyone who brought their own cup. Typically, we set up at campus coffee shops and offer to pay for customers with reusable mugs. You know, people who were planning on getting coffee. Our goal is to make it fun to be ‘green’ – and the complimentary coffees come as a pleasant surprise.
But this Price Center experiment brought out a whole different crowd. People approached us with all kinds of empty containers – Gatorade bottles, empty coconut waters, even paper coffee cups. And none of them were turned away. You see, today was as much about increasing awareness as it was about rewarding re-users. [Read More...]
