Jacobs Coffee launched a new product in Germany this year. It is an instant coffee with the option of milk and sugar already added. The target audience is young coffee drinkers who would benefit from the convenience of just having to add boiling water to their drink.
"We have tried giving out samples of coffee in supermarkets and to people as they travel home, but you can never guarantee they will actually use the sample," says Marco Gottschalk, marketing manager for coffee at Jacobs.
The coffee brand decided it needed to reach consumers at home where they had instant access to a kettle. It wanted to make sure it was giving the sample only to people who would be receptive, and not those simply picking up a freebie without realising what it was.
STRATEGY
Direct response mobile marketing was the solution to starting a dialogue with young consumers and encouraging them to request a sample. "This way it was less likely that the sample would end up in the bin," Gottschalk says.
TV ads with teletext links, press ads and internet marketing were all used to promote the text campaign. The company chose channels and websites popular with the target age group.
EXECUTION
When a consumer texted in a response to an ad, they were asked to include a given keyword. This enabled Jacobs to trace the request back to the ad that provoked it. A response would be sent instantly, asking for the recipient's mailing address.
"We used a method that only required the first three digits of a street name and the second two digits of a postcode to automatically find a full address," says Tom Laband, director of mobile marketing at mobile service company YOC. "This meant prospects were not put off by having to enter their full mailing address."
There was also the option of using a mobile web page to enter a mailing address. This was provided as a link for those who were used to using the internet on their mobile handset and might prefer this route to a text message.
The recipient was also asked if they would like to opt in for future campaigns. All data was captured, providing the brand with a large database of prospects.
RESULTS
All of the marketing channels used worked well to support the campaign. The response rates exceeded expectations, with 500,000 people responding and asking for a coffee sample. Of these, 80,000 opted in to further communication with the brand.
Gottschalk says: "We expected the TV ads to have the biggest response, but all channels were comparable. We will be using mobile marketing in the future as it has worked better than imagined."
Brand: Jacobs Coffee
Client: Kraft Foods Europe
Brief: To encourage consumers to try a sample of Jacobs' new coffee
product
Target audience: Coffee drinkers aged between 25 and 45
Budget: Undisclosed
Agency: YOC Group
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POWER POINTS
- Coffee brand Jacobs was concerned that simply handing out samples of its new product would not guarantee trial
- To reach consumers at home, Jacobs used direct response mobile marketing, where recipients were encouraged to request a sample
- The text campaign was promoted by TV ads. Keywords enabled the brand to trace a request to a specific ad.