Starbucks Coffee has partnered with Lady Gaga on a digital scavenger hunt that takes the retailer and the entertainer's fans on a search for clues online and across other digital properties.

Consumers can activate the ?SRCH by Starbucks featuring Lady Gaga? scavenger hunt by scanning a QR code posted in participating Starbucks stores nationwide or online at http://www.frappuccino.com.

Once in the game, participants can solve puzzles for a chance to win Starbucks and Lady Gaga-themed prizes. There is an experiential grand prize for the first to complete the final round of the hunt.

The effort coincides with a limited-time in-store promotion kicking off today with Starbucks offering a special edition of Lady Gaga?s new CD, ?Born this Way.?

Consumers will also be able to stream the entire album today from the in-store Starbucks Digital Network.

So what are the exact mechanics of this joint promotion?

Why go with the QR code?
The QR code serves as the trailhead to the SRCH experience. Starbucks thought it offered a good way to build anticipation and lead people into the scavenger hunt. 

With many of Starbucks customers using mobile devices in their daily routines and to connect with each other via mobile social media, the retailer wanted to offer a new way for them to engage in an unexpected experience created by the coffee giant.  

Subsequent game play does not require a QR code reader. All rounds start at http://frappuccino.com/srch.

How does this QR code effort work?
Consumers begin by scanning the QR code displayed in their local participating Starbucks store.

Participants in ?SRCH? have to follow a series of clues to locate and claim prizes that have been scattered across the digital universe.

With each round of completion, participants have the chance to win Starbucks online gift cards that vary in value, along with many other prizes. 

There are a total of six rounds of the game, with the final round being the grand prize-level awarding one winner an exclusive, experiential prize.

What's so unique about this effort versus previous Starbucks efforts?
Starbucks claims that this is a chance to bring together two cultural icons ? Starbucks and Lady Gaga ? in a way that is meaningful for its customers.

What does Starbucks want to achieve with this effort?
Starbucks claims Lady Gaga is an authentic Starbucks fan and customer, and speaks to a demographic of customers, partners and creative class that is important to the retailer.

The singer is said to engage an extensive and diverse fan base which represents many of Starbucks? target customers: young adults, its core coffee-house customers and key niche groups.