Friday, March 25, 2011

Marvel Comics for Free? There's a Catch

(*you gotta drink some Starbucks)

Gosh, this is really interesting.

We wrote in November about the roll out of "Starbucks Digital Network," where Starbucks customers can access Wi-Fi along with content from several partners for free while doing so.

It looks like Marvel Comics is joining the party, allowing Starbucks patrons to browse comics through Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited service.

The Marvel DCU is usually $10/month, equal to about five cups of Starbucks drip coffee, or maybe three espresso drinks (though year-long commitments currently go for about $60/half off).

You know I love to criticize SBUX, but this actually seems like a great move for both parties. I think people would in fact indulge in Starbucks for a Marvel DCU preview, and those used to spending so much on coffee, not to mention people that are online and enjoy reading, seem to be a great target market.

Looks like I'll be visiting Starbucks again pretty soon--the partnership starts April 23--just to check out the MDCU interface and catalog. Might be fun to see how the Hulk looks on my Droid.