ImaginativePRO Blog

STARBUCKS NEW CONCEPT STORE IN AMSTERDAM IS A LABORATORY FOR REINVENTING THE BRAND

A NEW COFFEEHOUSE IN AMSTERDAM WILL BE THE TESTING GROUND FOR IDEAS THAT WILL FIND THEIR WAY TO THE REST OF EUROPE.

Starbucks is known for its unwavering consistency, from its unoffensively homey store décor to its burnt-coffee smell. But this Thursday, the brand that normalized the $4 latte is opening an experimental concept store in Amsterdam that offers a glimpse of the Starbucks of the future--at least in Europe.

The historic Amsterdamsche Bank, a landmark building on Amsterdam's famous Rembrandt Square is the site of Starbuck's concept store (Click Image To Enlarge)

Close-up of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank, which has been redeveloped into a commercial center, and is now the site of Starbuck's concept store in Amsterdam (Click Image To Enlarge) 

Located in the former vault of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank on Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square), on the ground floor of The Bank, a commercial and retail development, the new Starbucks concept store will be a showcase for sustainable interior design and slow coffee brewing, with small-batch reserve coffees and Europe’s first-ever Clover, a high-end machine that brews one cup at a time. But the most radical departure is in the aesthetic: the multilevel space is awash in recycled and local materials; walls are lined with antique Delft tiles, bicycle inner tubes, and wooden gingerbread molds; repurposed Dutch oak was used to make benches, tables, and the undulating ceiling relief consisting of 1,876 pieces of individually sawn blocks. The Dutch-born Liz Muller, Starbucks concept design director, commissioned more than 35 artists and craftsmen to add their quirky touches to the 4,500-square-foot space.  The new concept store will officially be open for business on Friday, March 9, 2012.

Click Images To Enlarge

The designers took great care to retain some of the building’s original details, such as the 1920s marble floor and the vault’s exposed concrete. But while the design respects the bank’s architectural history, the store’s overall look approaches that of a theater, with the baristas visible from every vantage point of the multi-tiered spaces (which also cameo as stages for local bands, poetry readings, and other cultural events). The coffeehouse will also use social media to communicate relevant moments throughout the day--for example, by sending out a tweet when warm cookies roll out of its in-house bakery. The concepts that go over well in Amsterdam will find their way to other stores across Europe. They may even filter into the highly individualized local concept stores that Starbucks has been stealthily opening in the United States, including one made from shipping containers outside of Seattle.

Click Images To Enlarge

This isn’t the first instance of a quintessentially American brand revamping its approach to appeal to foreign tastes and markets. Check my other blog posts dated December 6, 2011 about the new Burger King concept restaurant in Singapore and November 22, 2011 about the new McDonald's concept restaurant in Paris, France.

Click Images To Enlarge

COMMENTARY:   Now that's my idea of what a Starbuck's store should look like.  BIG. Roomy, beautifully decorated, slick, modern and definitely a social watering hole.  Not the little 1,100 square foot stores we are accustomed to here in the U.S.    If you are ever in Amsterdam, and want to checkout the new Starbucks concept store in Rembrandt Square here's the location on Google Maps.

 Click Image To Enlarge

I love the location for Starbucks new concept store in The Bank located on Rembrandt Square. I can definitely see myself sitting under a tree doing my blogging while drinking a cup of my favorite brew. 

Courtesy of an article dated March 6, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design and the press release dated March 6, 2012 issued by Starbucks

 

HOW WHOLE FOODS BECAME THE LUXURY BRAND OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

Does a bag full of organic produce say more about you than designer labels? For a new generation, does Whole Foods define the highest level of consumerism?

America’s definition of luxury is changing. Quiet, exclusive, and socially pedigreed extravagance is giving way to a new generation of affluent consumers (read: Millennials) who have grown up with a new definition of luxury that will forever change the way we market upscale goods.

As the founder of Pavone, an integrated ad agency that specializes in food and beverage marketing, I’ve had the chance to observe these changes up close and personally. The trend is especially relevant to me because it seems to have become most distinctive in the food and beverage industries. As a Baby Boomer, luxury is about designer labels and rarefied retail temples like Neiman Marcus. These outlets are full of lithe, headless mannequins, invisible cash registers, and generically attractive retail associates who all adopt the same quiet and impossibly dignified manner.

Click Image To Enlarge

Whole Foods’ retail model has turned this blueprint on its head by reinventing the way well-heeled consumers think about upscale goods. They’ve taken the old cues for austerity, economy, and frugality and applied them in new ways to spread their message of eco-friendly capitalism to the world (or at least to some of the better zip codes in America).

 

Instead of cold, intimidating retail vaults awash in tastefully, restrained colors, Whole Foods provides a hip, eclectic sort of vibe that feels like a Berkeley revival with no credit limit. Funky music blares, dreadlocked associates staff checkout aisles and shoppers are a mix of artsy-looking moms, retirees in pricey but well-cushioned running shoes, and a constant stream of suits taking a quick break from corporate America while awaiting a $15 turkey sub and some curried sweet potato couscous.

 

The rise of Whole Foods is important because it is emblematic of a larger shift in affluent marketing. Here’s how:

• Provenance: Premium pricing is rationalized in part by ensuring consumers’ awareness that real people are touching (or “curating”) the things they buy. Next to those beautiful $10 containers of fruit in the produce department, Whole Foods posts signs announcing that these goods are not only natural or organic, but were cut up by hand by real people named Miranda, Steve, or Bethina. To drive this personal touch home, Whole Foods features store employees’ names and sketches throughout the store on well-placed chalkboards.
• Inclusion: Despite Whole Foods’ locations in pricey neighborhoods, its personnel is diverse. Each location I’ve visited seems to feature a dynamic employee mix of various ages, genders, ethnicities, and funkiness.
• Egalitarian: Whole Foods’ employees seem to be united in their casual willingness to greet you (but not in a perfunctory way), to talk to you and with you (but not bog you down with chitchat), and to smile at you as you walk by. It’s as if they really like you. Like they’re happy to be there. Like you’re one of them.
• Informational: Whole Foods can’t stop talking about where they got the food they sell, how it was made, who made it, where it’s going, or what’s going to happen to it when you throw out the leftovers. This kind of information is on the pack, on electronic displays, on chalkboards throughout the store, in brochures around the store, on websites, and in press releases. They give new meaning to the word “transparent.”
• Authenticity: Whole Foods’ consumers want a reason to believe, and they love a credible, authentic voice that delivers on its promise.

Whole Foods has been able to create value (which justifies high prices) not just by providing hard-to-find organic or all-natural products and labels. They’ve also created a high-touch, overtly humanized experience that is designed to make you, the shopper, feel smarter, healthier, cooler, and wealthier than you do in any other food shopping experience.

 

Yes, in a world filled with slick iPhones, sleek cars, and perfectly constructed dress pants, locally grown, small-batch food touched by human hands has become the new luxury. Whole Foods tapped into this need, and has attracted formerly closeted affluents into its aisles, piled high with cheese wheels and homemade marshmallows, to explore new, previously unknown ways to spend their disposable income.

COMMENTARY:    Whole Foods is as much a lifestyle as it is about organic foods and eating healthy.  It's also a cool place to shop for groceries.  Definitely different than Kroger's or Safeway. The fresh organic produce beautifully piled high, the aromatic aromas, the great food selection from all over the world.  The food court is fantastic if you enjoy restaurant-quality healthy takeout food and tired from a rough day and not in the mood to cook.  The meat counter is my favorite, reminds me of oldtime butcher shops from the 50's, the wide shopping aisles.  You know what you are buying, and the butcher will cut it the way you want it.  Love the coffee, pastries and free WIFI. Women in particular, younger professionals, the Millennials this article talks about, make good money, tend to be more health concsience than men, and you will find them in abundance at Whole Foods.  Many of them show up in their yoga outfits.  This is a great draw for single guys.  Really, I am not kidding about this.     

Whole Foods really hit the nail on the head.  The organic food chain knows that its not just about the food, selection or prices, but about the whole consumer experience.  This is something that I have been talking about for quite a while.   If you are going to reach Generation-Y a.k.a. Millennials, you must use both a Sensory Approach and Social Approach in your marketing. You can read about it in my blog post dated September 30, 2012.  In that one blog post, I truly believe that I have handed you the key to how-to market to the Millennial Generation, so its a worthwhile read wheather you are starting a retail business or digital business.  

Courtesy of an article dated February 21, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Co-Exist 

WHY PASTA AND BREAD, NOT BACON OR SAUSAGE, MAKES YOU FAT. BUT HOW CAN THAT BE?

AN INFOGRAPHIC LAYING OUT THE SURPRISING SCIENCE BEHIND WHY CARBS MAKE YOU FAT, WHILE FAT DOESN'T

One of the most utterly surprising scientific findings of recent decades has got to be that fat isn’t so bad for you after all. (Apart from, you know, potentially bringing on serious heart conditions.) In fact, if you’re looking for a reason for America’s ballooning girth, you’ve got to lay the blame on carbohydrates--in other words, bread and pasta, the very things that the government once advertised as the foundation of a healthy diet in the food pyramids we all grew up with.

The funny thing is, though, that those low-carb diets, at this point, probably feel like another fad. The Atkins rage came and passed, after all. So it’s worth recounting the science behind how carbs make you fat, and it’s all laid out in this infographic created by Column Five for Massive Health, and based on Why We Get Fat by noted science writer Gary Taubes.

The first panel illustrates some basic food science that I’ll bet you didn’t know in much detail. Namely, the long chain of events that leads to you porking up:

Click Image To Enlarge

The biggest culprits seem to be carbs. But does reining in carbs actually make you skinnier? Yes: Even compared with traditional calorie restriction diets, low-carb regimes like the Atkins diet make you lose far more weightwhile keeping calories the same. Decreasing fat, meanwhile, does nothing to lower your weight:

Click Image To Enlarge

But what’s so wrong with carbs themselves? In short, they cause our insulin levels to go haywire, and that, in turn, causes our cells to pull in more fat:

Click Image To Enlarge

It’s crazy enough that carbs, long thought to be pure and wholesome for so many years, turn out to be the devil--especially since it just seemed to make so much sense that eating fat would make you fat. With that in mind, you’ve got to wonder how many surprises science still holds for us when it comes to food.

Click here for our coverage of Massive Health’s new food app, which uses crowdsourcing to help you make better food decisions.

COMMENTARY:   Suddently I don't feel as guilty about eating eggs and sausage anymore.  Great information, don't you think?

Courtesy of an article dated January 30, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

 

HOW TO MAKE FRESHLY BAKED PITA BREAD IN AN ULTRA STYLISH TOASTER MADE OF CINDER BLOCK AND REBAR

Simple toaster uses just a few elements common to contemporary construction.

Adi Zaffran’s toaster has five components: rebar rods, a cinder block, wood, a wire, and some fasteners. Looking at its compact aesthetic, I can’t help but think of Thomas Thwaites.

A couple years ago, Thwaites set out to build a toaster from scratch. The result apparently worked, but it sure was ugly. The plastic casing in particular seems to have given him a lot of trouble.

Click Image To Enlarge

Thwaites’ project was intended to raise awareness of the massive network of materials and production required to make simple household objects in an industrial economy--a contemporary reinterpretation of I, Pencil. It was intentionally absurd, but watching him struggle through the quixotic process, I kept thinking:

"Dude, just use different materials!"

Zaffran’s toaster is itself a reinterpretation of an elementary technology--the brick oven--using the common materials of contemporary construction. Zaffran says.

"The pita bread as a staple food led me to the use of simple and basic building materials.  It is very easy to make out of ready-made cement block."

Click Image To Enlarge

Zaffran’s toaster would still require some struggle if you put it to the Thwaites test, but with its economy of parts, it would be far easier to build. It bypasses the plastic problem entirely. Besides, if the industrial economy does collapse, there will be plenty of rebar and cement blocks lying around to provide the raw materials. This attitude of making clever use of available materials, rather than futilely trying to create an impossible copy, strikes me as being closer to the heart of good design.

Click Image To Enlarge

COMMENTARY:  What a great idea for a weekend project for the do-it-yourselfer who loves rustic baking like they still bake pita bread in Greece, Iran and Middle East.   In the mood for some freshly baked pita bread, checkout this receipe.

Click Image To Enlarge

In Greek: πίτα, pronounced PEE-tah

Many recipes for pita bread require cooking at very hight heat, and home ovens don't always do the best job. This recipe makes soft, white pita rounds that should be brushed with olive oil and grilled, heated in a skillet, or toasted in the oven before using and serving. Serve wedges of this soft bread with dips, as a wrap for sandwiches, and in other creative ways.

Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 21 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 4 cups of bread flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Preparation:

Dissolve in the yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water and set aside, covered, for 15 minutes. Dissolve salt in the remaining 1 cup of warm water.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour and make a well in the center. Add yeast mixure and salt water. Knead with hands for 10 minutes in the bowl. Add olive oil and continue to knead until all oil is absorbed. Shape into a ball in the bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead for 5 minutes more.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C), and lightly oil baking sheets.

Take pieces of dough slightly larger than an egg and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 3/8 to 1/4 inch. (For larger or smaller pita bread pieces, take more or less dough). Prick the bread with a fork in several places.

Place on baking sheets and bake at 350°F (175°C) on the lowest oven rack for 2-3 minutes, then turn the pitas over and bake for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a tray covered with a clean dishtowel, with another clean towel on top. When thoroughly cooled, pitas can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or frozen.

Before using, brown in a lightly oiled frying pan for a few minutes until browned on both sides.

Courtesy of an article dated January 11, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design and an a great Greek pita bread receipt appearing in About.com

 

HOW PETER HERMAN HAS RADICALLY REINVENTED THE DISPOSABLE COFFEE CUP, ELIMINATING PLASTIC LIDS

Called Compleat, the all-paper design has a built-in lid with sipping spout.

I buy many cups of coffee and habitually cringe when reaching for a plastic lid. It’s pretty hypocritical to make a point of avoiding Styrofoam, only to slap a petroleum disc on a paper cup. (And yes, I know that carrying a travel mug would obviate the issue.) Fortunately for me (and my eco karma), a designer named Peter Herman has come up with a greener, all-paper disposable cup that folds closed like a takeout container to form a sipping spout.

Herman spent two years of his spare time--he’s an architect at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm Ellenzweig--and made close to a hundred prototypes in the process of refining the folding design he calls Compleat. The construction is simple: The body and two integrated flaps are composed of a single piece of paper; the body is glued to the circular base. Like similar cups on the market, the paper would be waterproofed, though ideally with cellulose-based plastic, so that it could be composted. Herman partnered with Daren Bascome, of graphic-design firm Proverb, to make use of all three surfaces for branding messages.  Herman tells Co.Design. 

“Since the average customer has a paper cup in their hands for 16 minutes, the additional surfaces give retailers considerably more opportunity to reach their customers in a meaningful manner.”

Plus, Herman estimates that Compleat could ultimately save retailers money, since it’s just one piece (instead of the usual two) and can be sourced through a single supplier. But he adds that figuring out the “hard-cost implication of the cup” will require “direct collaboration with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.” Regardless of the cost benefits, Herman thinks that the iconic shape will perform priceless PR, conveying the retailer’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

The launch date for the cup is still unclear, says Herman, who is in talks with manufacturers and retailers.

“There are important variables ranging from the required modifications of existing cup-making machinery to long-term contractual arrangements between manufacturers, distributors, and retailers that will all influence the rollout timetable.”

Let’s hope that he sorts it all out soon. Compleat is the type of overhaul to an everyday product that could have a huge impact.

COMMENTARY:   That's what I call a unique and novel idea that I have a feeling will become the new standard for paper and styrofoam coffee cups. Some of the simplest things in life are the most beautiful and practical.  I can see a whole like of recycled paper packaging products for hot food and snacks.  The sky is the limit.

Courtesy of an article dated December 9, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

RUMOR: STARBUCKS TO OPEN NEW STORE LOCATIONS USING USED OCEAN FREIGHT CONTAINERS

Rumor has it that Starbucks cafes of the future might be rectangular and metal just like shipping containers.  Starbucks, which is about to launch juice business soon, also cares about environment and intends to re-use real shipping containers as new drive-thrus.

Earlier this week, a construction crew on East Marginal Way in Tukwila was assembling several cargo-style containers stacked on top of each other. The containers are painted shades of brown and feature a drive-thru window on one side, says Seattle Pi.

How do we know the containers belong to the coffee company? There are words ‘Regenerate, Reuse, Recycle, Renew, Reclaim’ written in a font familiar to Starbucks the side of one container. According to the construction crew they were building an eco-friendly drive-thru for Starbucks.

"Shipping containers is the latest trend in the green building movement—there is a lot of them at American ports and are in need of recycling made a splash on the sustainable design scene lately."

Starbucks have not commented on the containers topic yet but the city of Tukwila issued a building permit to the Seattle company with the intended development purpose:

“A new drive thru/walk-up building for Starbucks Coffee Company.”

In addition, the company seeks for a shift supervisor on its site, obviously to work at the new drive-thru. On the backdrop of Starbucks’ aim to go greener and make greener buildings, the idea of recycling shipping containers sounds good. It’s not clear if other shipping-container Starbucks have debuted quietly in other locations, or if the company plans to replicate the design.

The Starbucks spokesperson Alan Hilowitz said in an interview to New York Times that this store would be rare among the 17,000 Starbucks stores globally in that it will be drive-up and walk-up only with no space to lounge inside.

And it will be portable, he said, easy to break it down and transport somewhere else. He said.

“We see a lot of opportunities here.  We can put a store like this on a lot that will be developed someday but is free for two or three years, and then we can move it.”

COMMENTARY:    Using ocean shipping containers for Starbucks is quite a novel approach to foodservice that I have not seen before. Just park one of those puppies just about anywhere, and voila, an instant coffee retail location, which you can cartoff if the first location doesn't workout.

Courtesy of an article dated December 13, 2011 appearing in Popsop 

BURGER KING'S LATEST RESTAURANT ABROAD SPORTS MODERN, 'GARDEN GRILL' THEME APPEALING TO MORE FAMILIES

With natural, rustic materials and a communal vibe, this restaurant looks more like a vegetarian cafe than the home of the Whopper.

Fast-food joints are embracing high design--especially abroad, where fast food is younger to the market and sometimes carries a premium halo. Consider that McDonald’s recently enlisted Patrick Noguet to trot out a new family restaurant concept in France. And now Burger King is getting in on the act, with a garden-patio theme intended to appeal to both families and teens alike. The design team OutofStock writes. 

 “We noticed that one word that kept popping up was ‘flame grilled,’ and we used this clue as a starting point.  From collective experiences, our mental picture of flame grilling is closely associated with garden barbecues and camping cook-outs.”

So OutofStock brought the outside in, furnishing the restaurant with lounge-y seating upholstered in weatherproof fabrics and set against a collage wall of materials and textures, including everything from raw concrete and clay bricks to cork and copper. Traditional stick-backed chairs surround wooden metal-framed tabletops reminiscent of folding camping furniture. And a roof trellis serves to hide air-conditioning and heating ducts, while anchoring pendant lamps made from clay gardening pots. Other homey touches: wooden shelving for holding framed BK posters and potted plants along the window ledges. The overall atmosphere is more evocative of a college-town café serving heirloom-tomato salads than a burger-flipping fast-food chain.

Click Images To Enlarge

BK corporate financed the “Garden Grill” and recently unveiled it to Asian franchisees during an Asian-Pacific conference in Singapore--no doubt as a way to gain a stronger foothold in the growing Asian market. The first concept store is now in full operation in Singapore; the next is set to crop up in Japan.  OutofStock’s Gabriel Tan tells Co.Design,

“Changing the perception of fast food was one of targets, to become a place where people would want to sit for a while to enjoy the experience, rather than just to eat and go quickly.”

Click Images To Enlarge

COMMENTARY:   This makes me hungry.   I think a tripple Whopper would be perfect right about now.

 

Courtesy of an article dated December 5, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design 

OWNER OF LONDON'S WORLD FAMOUS 'MILK & HONEY' RAISES $1.5 MILLION THROUGH CROWDFUNDING SITE CROWDCUBE

The owner of some of London’s best loved bars, The Rushmore Group, satisfies its thirst for expansion with record crowdfunding investment.

The Rushmore Group, owner of three members’ clubs in London, today secured £1 million investment from 143 investors to fund the development of an exciting new venue in the heart of London, early next year. The investment, raised in only four weeks through the equity crowdfunding website Crowdcube, sets a new record for the largest amount of money raised using a crowdfunding website.

The Rushmore Group was founded in 2001 and is the well-established owner and operator of three members’ bars and clubs in London – Milk & Honey and The Player in Soho and Danger of Death on Brick Lane. The Group raised the growth finance through the Crowdcube web-based crowdfunding platform in return for 10 per cent equity.

Milk & Honey, SoHo, London (Click Images To Enlarge)

Jonathan Downey, founder and director of The Rushmore Group said:

“We are delighted to have successfully reached our £1 million target on Crowdcube. Crowdcube is a powerful new way to raise business finance and this investment wouldn’t have been possible without its innovative platform. The Group’s immediate aim is now the acquisition, refurbishment and launch of a new site in Soho, London.”

Jonathan Downey, founder Milk & Honey and The Rushmore Group

The investment sets a new record for the largest amount of money raised using a crowdfunding website anywhere in the World. The previous record set by a project on US-based crowdfunding giant Kickstarter, which raised $942,578, was easily beaten by The Rushmore Group’s £1 million ($1,579,550) raise on Crowdcube.

Crowdcube is the first crowdfunding website to enable the general public to invest and receive shares in UK-based companies that register on the site to raise finance. Instead of competing for limited business angel or venture capital funding or hard to get and expensive bank finance, small businesses use Crowdcube as a platform to connect with a nation of Armchair Dragons’ – ordinary people who provide investment in exchange for equity.

The food menu at Milk & Honey is a very simple affair:

Click Image To Enlarge

You can download their Drink Menu by clicking HERE.

 

Bartender Durham Atkinson of Milk & Honey, SoHo, London mixes a new cocktail drink

Darren Westlake, co-founder and CEO of Crowdcube said: “Raising £1 million for a single business on Crowdcube is a fantastic achievement but not a surprise to us. We firmly believe that raising finance using crowdfunding will transform the way businesses raise capital in the future. With over £1.4 million successfully raised on Crowdcube for British businesses since July 2011, we are bucking the trend and proving that there is now an alternative way to raise business finance in the UK.”

The Rushmore Group becomes the sixth deal to be completed on Crowdcube since July 2011 with successful investments now totalling over £1.4 million. The website has approaching 6,000 registered members who are seeking investment opportunities.

Small businesses and investors can sign up to Crowdcube for free. Entrepreneurs can register their business idea or company at www.crowdcube.com and only pay a fee when they successfully hit their investment target.

COMMENTARY:   1.0 million British pounds at the current rate of exchange is $$1,579,550. Damn impressive.   Jolly good ole chap.  However, surely there could've been far better businesses to invest your money into than a members-only speakeasy.   There were 143 individual investors, which averages $15,196 each.  I won't question the wisdom of those individuals, but I suspect this is a business deduction.

The Crowdcube Pitch

Jonathan Downey's pitch for his new speakeasy was very simple:

"The Rushmore Group is the well-established owner and operator of three members' bars and clubs in London and is seeking £1 million to fund future expansion plans."

His Crowdcube pitch for funding ended November 21, 2011.  His goal was to raise 1 million pounds and offer 10% equity in the new establishment.   There a total of 143 investors and the funding was successful.

The House Rules and Food & Drinks

There are some wishy-washy "house rules" (see below) at Milk & Honey, but the jolly ole English can be very formal (and rowdy at times).   

The food at both Milk & Honey's is unspectacular and English, but they do have oysters at 25 pounds for 12. Prices are low-to-mid range.  Check the menu above.   This is a speakeasy and drinks dominate.  Checkout their Drinks menu (see above link).

How To Become A Member

Full International Membership includes access to all of The Rushmore Groups establishments in London and U.S.:

• Milk & Honey, London
• The Player in Soho
• The East Room (Back Soon)
• The Clubhouse in Chamonix
• The Starland Social Club
• Danger of Death
• Milk & Honey, New York 
• Every new club they open

There are several Rushmore membership plans:

• International Membership (every club) /£400 + £50 Registration Fee
• Joint International Membership (every club / must live at same address) /£700 + £50 Registration Fee
• Five Year Membership (every club) /£1500 + £50 Registration Fee
• Joint Five Year Membership (every club / must live at same address) /£2500 + £50 Registration Fee
• Local Soho Membership (Milk & Honey and The Player only) /£250 + £50 Registration Fee
• Generation Y International Membership (every club)* /£250 + £30 Registration Fee
• Generation Y Local Soho Membership* (Milk & Honey and The Player only) /£150 + £30 Registration Fee

Here are the membership dues to join The Starland Social Club and Danger of Death:

• The Starland Social Club Membership only /£150 + £30 Registration Fee
• Danger of Death Membership only /£100 + £30 Registration Fee

Members may bring up to three guests without a reservation and more if you call ahead and we have space.  Membership is by invitation only. Completion of an application form and payment of the registration fee does not guarantee membership.  

House Rules

1. No name-dropping, no star fucking.
2. No hooting, hollering, shouting or other loud behavior.
3. No fighting, play fighting, no talking about fighting.
4. Gentlemen will remove their hats.  Hooks are provided.
5. Gentlemen will not introduce themselves to ladies.  Ladies, feel free to start a conversation or ask the bartender to introduce you.  If a man you don't know speaks to you, please lift your chin slightly and ignore him.
6. Do not linger outside the front door.
7. Do not bring anyone unless you would leave that person alone in your home.  You are responsible for the behavior of your guests.
8. Exit the bar briskly and silently.  People are trying to sleep across the street.  Please make all your travel plans and say all farewells before leaving the bar.

Milk & Honey is considered one of the Top Bars of the World, the bartenders are considered some of the best, and they have excellent reviews in Timeout and Yelp.

Courtesy of an article dated November 22, 2011 appearing in the Crowdcube blog

STARBUCKS NEW HOLIDAY MARKETING CAMPAIGN USES USES AN AUGMENTED REALITY APP AND ITS HOLIDAY CUPS TO KEEP YOU JOLLY

Starbucks is launching its first major augmented reality app this holiday season that will let customers animate their coffee cups with their smartphones.

Starbucks Cup Magic launches for iPhone and Android devices in the U.S. next Tuesday. (In Canada, just the iPhone version will launch.) As demonstrated in the video above, the app works by pointing your phone’s camera at the company’s red holiday season coffee cups and 47 additional objects, such as bags of coffee, on display at Starbucks retail locations.

 

Doing so will produce animations involving five characters — an ice skater, a squirrel, a boy and a dog sledding and a fox — on your screen. You can also interact with the characters. For instance, if you tap the boy on the sled he does a somersault. Those who activate all five characters can qualify to win an as-yet-unnamed prize.

The app also includes traditional and social sharing capabilities. You can the send ecards as well as holiday offers from Starbucks, among other things.

The object, says Alexandra Wheeler, vp-global digital marketing for Starbucks, is to “surprise and delight” customers during the holiday season.

Although Starbucks experimented with an AR app years ago in an ad, Wheeler says this is the first major AR push by the company. The effort follows some other recent AR programs from marketers including an app from Nivea featuring Rihanna and an Amazon app that lets you point your phone at objects and then buy them.

Cup Magic, created by Blast Radius, caps off a year of successful mobile implementations by Starbucks. The brand launched a mobile payment app in January that has been used in more than 20 million transactions and a QR code program designed, like Starbucks Cup Magic, to enhance the in-store brand experience.

COMMENTARY:   Still confused about augmented reality, and would like to learn more, then check my blog article dated October 25, 2011 to learn what it is, is it a fad or reality, who's using it, what's the ROI, and how to use augmented reality in your digital marketing. 

Courtesy of an article dated November 8, 2011 appearing in Mashable

HARVARD PROFESSOR INVENTS 'AEROSHOT PURE ENERGY' A POCKET-SIZED TUBE THAT DISPENSES CAFFEINE YOU INHALE

Remember David Edwards, the Harvard professor who gets paid to make zany gadgets like smokable chocolate and plant-based air purifiers--stuff that’s both totally cool and completely useless? He’s back, only this time he’s invented something that might actually come in handy, especially among Red Bull-pounding college kids. Introducing caffeine you inhale.

Aeroshot Pure Energy is a slim, pocket-sized tube that works like an asthma inhaler. Puff gently, and the tube releases a light powder that dissolves instantly in your mouth. Each Aeroshot contains 100 milligrams of caffeine, roughly equivalent to a tall mocha at Starbucks. Unlike a Starbucks mocha, it’s calorie-free, and it won’t give you horrid coffee breath. And unlike your average energy drink, it meets TSA regulations. Though personally, a big jolt of caffeine is the last thing I want when I’m boarding an airplane.

AeroShot will be available in Boston and New York in January.

COMMENTARY:   I thought I had heard it all, but a "hit" of caffeine, that according to Aeroshot delivers a quick hit of caffeine anytime, anywhere.  Aeroshot is completely transportable so you can get your caffeine hit everywhere you go regardless of the weather.  It also meets TSA regulations, so you can take it onboard a plane.  Aeroshot is easy to use too:  You simply pull the green end to open. Put the other end in your mouth and gently puff in.  Each Aeroshot will give you 6-8 puffs of caffeine. You are puffing in a fine powder that falls out of the air and dissolves instantly in your mouth.  Then push closed with your hand, and tuck it into your pocket or purse.  Each puff of Aeroshot contains 100 mg of caffeine--about the same as a large cup of coffee.   Starbucks watch out.  You have competition.  Maybe Starbucks will buy the company, and market their own Starbucks Aeroshot. Anything is possible.  Another useless waste of your money, but there will be people who will buy this.

According to the Aeroshot Pure Energy website, the new product hits stores in New York and Boston in 85 days.

Courtesy of an article dated October 20, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design