We found the perfect format in Camera Café, the internationally renowned French comedy. We spent months adapting the show for Chinese audiences, creating new, aspirational characters as well as writing scripts that reflected modern Chinese office life. Rather than airing it on TV, we shot the 5 minute episodes exclusively for online broadcast, the perfect accompaniment for a coffee break. We launched Camera Café on Youku.com, China’s leading video sharing site with a special minisite and channel. 60 total episodes aired over 3 months, all of them featuring a permanent office coffee station piled high with NESCAFÉ, while 15 episodes had plots inspired by different NESCAFÉ products. Strategic media placements drove traffic to the videos, while funny polls about common office complaints and gossip provided interactivity. Viewers could get even more involved by becoming fans on SNS site Kaixin001 and participate in chats with the cast and read their blogs.

The scope of this original online show was unprecedented in China and white collars loved the show for how well it related to them:•10,000,000 video views •115,000 SNS fans •Hundreds of conversations on BBS forums that earned 200,000+ page viewsThe show also achieved significant impact on consumer habits among target groups, building loyalty among frequent drinkers and recruiting new users with positive sales impact.•Brand favorability plus-12% (frequent drinkers)•Purchase intention plus-8% (light drinkers)•Frequency was also highly effective, with purchase intent jumping 300% among netizens who watched 4 or more episodes.