Valentine's Day is coming, and that means marketers are looking for ways to reach consumers through online dating sites.
Match users looking for a date will be able to now suggest that dates meet at Starbucks. The "Meet at Starbucks" feature is the first branded-product feature that allows Match users to directly send an invitation to set up a coffee date. Using the "Meet at Starbucks" feature, members can can also find a location for their Starbucks date using the Starbucks store locator.
According to the press release, more than one in three singles said that having coffee together is a favorite activity for a first date. Starbucks also said that in the past few months, "hundreds of thousands of [Match] members have added a Starbucks badge to show their love for the brand on their profiles."
"We're a place where people come together to share important life moments -- big and small," said Starbucks global Chief Marketing Officer Sharon Rothstein. "We've been witness to first dates, marriage proposals, job interviews, friends and families reunited, communities gathering, and so much more in our stores around the world."
The "Meet at Starbucks" feature plays on the theme in Starbucks' first branding campaign "Meet me at Starbucks," which the company launched in September. The campaign is designed to show the ways consumers use Starbucks to connect with other people.
Starbucks and Match will also be staging what they're calling the world's largest Starbucks date on Friday, Feb. 13. Starbucks will be offering coffee and snack promotions, as well as photo props so customers can take photos and share online with the #StarbucksDate hashtag.
The move comes as companies are increasingly tapping dating apps and websites to reach consumers. Last Year for Valentine's Day, Domino's used OKCupid to promote itself and a contest to give a lifetime of pizza to a customer.
In January, the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks and dating app Tindr hosted a "Swipe Right Night" for fans of the team and Tindr users.