The challenge was to achieve editorial media coverage that highlights research which found 7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa Coffee’s cappuccino to Starbucks.We had to change the current perception that all coffee is equal, deliver the message that 7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa through editorial, and encourage Starbucks and Nero drinkers in particular to switch to CostaOur strategy was to make this commercial message newsworthy and create a story highlighting Costa’s quality and great tasting productsWe insured the tongue of the man responsible for the quality and taste of every single cup of Costa’s coffee for £10 million through Lloyds of London, and ran a thorough media relations campaign to generate as much media coverage which communicates the '7 out of 10' message as possible.The outcome was widespread coverage across the UK which incorporated the '7 out of 10' preference message; a combined circulation of over 130 million with 40 international markets covering the story and sales rose by 9.2% on the day of the campaign launch.

Objectives:1. Launch Costa’s advertising, driving editorial coverage of Costa’s preference messaging and ‘7 out of 10 statistic’ across consumer broadcast, print and online 2. Sustain and give longevity to Costa’s coffee leadership messages through creative tacticsGoals:Generate news of the ‘7 out of 10’ campaign, driving brand awareness Generate discussion around coffee preference through broadcastRegional coverage encouraging customers to visit local storesSpark debate online/ social media pick-upInspire Costa baristas and franchiseesIntegrate with other planned marketing activityTarget:ABC1 18-35 British Urban Commuters and their media

1. Media relations campaign – Delivery of 300 media kits containing research findings, advertising and pre-paid Costa cards to build relationships and awareness. Meetings at Costa’s roastery offered.2. Advertising launch – Master of Coffee Gennaro Pelliccia’s tongue was insured for £10million.Coverage communicated the importance Costa places on taste and quality and showed the brand’s commitment to protecting Britain’s favourite coffee following the research.

Photography of Gennaro at Costa’s roastery and media information was distributed to national media picture desks. The story was embargoed and appeared extensively on the day of the advertising launch.3. Regional store events - One-to-one meetings between key regional media in 10 UK cities and local Costa baristas demonstrated Costa’s expertise and engaged stores and baristas with the campaign. Prominent feature coverage was secured in media across the UK.4. Media partnership exploitation – Our agency worked with a media service agency to maximise editorial opportunities.

Key Results:Media coverage with a combined circulation of over 130 million was achievedCoverage across 40 international markets Sales rose by 9.2% (year-on-year like-for-like comparison) on launch dayCosta’s KPI’s (customer satisfaction, recommend and re-visit) increased by up to 6% during the campaign. Starbucks score decreased Highlights:BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 news, BBC news 24, CNN, Five News, Sky News radio, BBC Radio Four.National newspapers on launch day: The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, Metro, The Daily Mail, The Sun and Daily Sport.Online coverage on BBC.co.uk – third ‘most shared’ story, Twitter.com – Jon Snow ‘tweet’ about the story before his interview with Gennaro. A Facebook fan page for Gennaro was generated independently. The story was discussed online in the days following the launch both on discussion boards and in feedback to online articles.

Our strategy was to develop an impactful national and regional media relations campaign that would create widespread awareness of Costa’s ‘7 out of 10 Coffee Lovers Prefer Costa’ messaging.From the start it was important to counteract barriers such as:- Media resistance to commercially-driven research/ stories - Limited editorial ‘space’ for straight-forward stories about coffee, coffee shops and quality alone We created PR-able properties to personify and bring to life the research findings, presenting Costa’s coffee leadership to media in a compelling and newsworthy way.

Four main elements comprised the plan: -Media relations-Advertising launch activity-Regional store events-Media partnership exploitation.

Born out of frustration that many consumers mistakenly believe that all coffee is the same, Costa issued a brief for a PR campaign to be part of an integrated marketing initiative to communicate the findings of independent research that proved 7 out of 10 British coffee lovers prefer Costa Cappuccino to that of its rivals Starbucks and Caffé Nero.

The campaign featuring Advertising, PR and in-store experiences aimed to change current consumer perceptions that all coffee is equal and to convert Starbucks and Cafe Nero drinkers into Costa customers using the ‘7 out of 10’ statistic.