Starbucks Coffee Co. is getting into the Valentine?s Day spirit via a new campaign that encourages coffee lovers to download the company?s augmented reality app and engage with its new limited-edition hot cups.

Users can download the Starbucks Cup Magic app and scan the Valentine targets which are see on the limited edition hot cups. Then, consumers can watch as their Valentines magically come to life through augmented reality on their mobile device.

?Utilizing an app that allows an action for Starbucks is a great way to engage the consumers in a Starbucks location to download an app and gain traction within that specific app for testing purposes within the market,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

?Given that there are quite a few app choices within the app store for iPhone that a user can download, it would probably make sense if they were to consolidate these into one app that would allow the augmented reality piece to be added to the menu of items within the main app for a one time download, with new features,? she said.

Ms. Troutman is not affiliated with Starbucks. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Starbucks did not respond to press inquiries.

Augmented magic
Last year, Starbucks released its Starbucks Cup Magic app which is available in Apple?s App Store for free download.

Consumers were encouraged to discover Starbucks holiday characters, which were found on the red cups, coffee bags and signage.

For this particular initiative, consumers can use the same mobile application, which has since been updated for Valentine?s Day.

In addition to bring the hot coffee cups to life via augmented reality, users can also use the app to send their friends and family virtual Valentines and Starbucks Card egifts.

Consumers can scan the Valentine?s Day cups ? which feature hearts and arrows ? by holding their device approximately 12 inches away from the item they are scanning.

There, users can peel back the heart featured on the cup and release some love.

Consumers can also send a personalized virtual valentine to friends via either Facebook or email. 

Past efforts
Starbucks has been ramping up its mobile strategy and proving that it is a force to reckon with in the mobile space.

Earlier last year, Starbucks unveiled a new application that featured gift card capabilities.

The app included the company?s eGift feature and combined the features of its iPhone my Starbucks and Starbucks Card mobile apps (see story).

In addition, last year Starbucks exceeded 26 million mobile transactions since the launch of its mobile payment program in January 2011.

According to the company, in the first nine weeks of the program there were 3 million transactions. In comparison, for the nine-week period starting in October there were 6 million transactions. The data shows that there has been a significant jump in customer adoption and use (see story).

Most recently, Starbucks let coffee lovers find their favorite roast via a campaign that incorporated mobile bar codes.

The company is promoted its coffee roast such as Blonde, Medium and Dark in its in-store locations. Starbucks also handed out bookmark fliers to consumers that not only include a coupon, but also featured a QR code (see story).

?Also, creating this app environment for the mobile Web would allow direct marketing to be available within a location through QR codes and text to a specific section of the mobile Web site, this would be beneficial to the starbucks customer allowing the functions within the app to be reached by any phone and not tied to a specific OS which would require an update for newer versions that may only work on the latest phone locking the users of the last version of an iPhone out because they can?t get the update,? Ms. Troutman said.

Final Take
Here is a demo of the Starbucks Cup Magic app