Google is offering free donuts and Home Minis to people in select cities

By Eric Brackett Published October 14, 2017

Google recently announced its latest digital assistant, the Google Home Mini. The device was announced at Google’s Pixel event earlier this month and serves as a competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot. Of course, with Amazon having a bit of a head start in the smart speaker wars, Google will need a way to get people interested in the Home Mini and what better way than donuts?

Generally speaking, new tech and breakfast pastries don’t normally go hand-in-hand, but the small size of the Home Mini has inspired a unique marketing strategy in the form of the Google Home Mini Donut Shop.

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Business Insider has reported that in order to market its upcoming smart speaker, the tech giant will be setting up donut shops at various locations across the country. Once you’ve entered the shop, you simply ring a bell, ask the Home Mini a question and then take your box. The box will either contain a Home Mini or two donuts. We’d imagine that the odds are stacked in favor of the donuts, but it’s still a fun marketing gimmick that highlights the small size of Home Mini.

In addition to the main attraction, there’s also the “Sprinkle Booth,” where customers can dance around in a shower of confetti. The last bit is kind of strange, but it also captures the somewhat fun brand that Google has managed to build for itself over the years.

In terms of the actual smart speaker itself, the Home Mini appears to function like most smart speakers and serves as a way for users to order groceries, find the answers to basic questions, and control various aspects of their homes simply via speaking. Our review found some of its functionality, like the voice recognition, to be particularly impressive. We also noted that certain areas, such as voice calling, lagged behind the competition, though.

The Google Home Mini Donut Shops are currently scheduled to appear in 11 cities across the country. The full list can be seen below:

Brooklyn: Oct. 20-22
Austin: Oct. 21-22
Oklahoma City: Oct. 28-29
Madison, Wis.: Nov. 2
Chicago: Nov. 4-5
Indianapolis: Nov. 4-5
St. Louis: Nov. 9

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