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April 7, 2003 - Strategy Media Archive
Best Media Plan

Best use of multiple media: Winner
Mainway's morning assault

Agency
Target Marketing & Communications

Client
Irving Mainway Convenience Stores

Brand
World of Taste Coffee

Budget
Less than $1 million

Media used
Radio
Newspaper
Direct mail
Point-of-purchase

Timing
November to December 2002

Media team
Jacqueline Morrissey, media director, Target Marketing & Communications
Jennifer Gorman, media planner, Target Marketing & Communications

The background

The phrase "Any fresher and you'd be sucking on a bean" is not typically equated with convenience store coffee. Neither is premium quality, exceptional taste, a bold new flavour selection, nor a freshness guarantee.

And in a culture filled with a bewildering array of couture coffee shops, the convenience store is not a typical destination for ritualistic coffee lovers.

But when Irving Mainway - a chain of 350 convenience stores and gasoline service stations in Canada and the United States - launched its new World of Taste premium quality coffee, this would all change.

The message had to reach consumers when and where coffee purchase decisions were being made, and persuade them to try the new World of Taste coffee.

Once consumers tried it, the challenge was to get them coming back for more. The bar was set high. The goal was a 30% sales increase during the campaign period, and a 15% increase in sales post-launch.

Working within a limited budget, the campaign had to reach consumers in 12 major markets in Atlantic Canada and New England who frequently purchase coffee outside of the home in the mornings: a target that research showed consisted mostly of motorists, and skewed male.

The plan

Using a recency strategy, the fully integrated multi-media campaign aimed to strike consumers at the time when two-thirds of daily coffee purchase decisions are made: in the morning.

Delivering the "fresh or its free" guarantee to wherever consumers were in the mornings - running out the door, driving to work, or in the office - the campaign persuaded consumers to try the new World of Taste coffee again and again.

The innovative media mix combined a radio spot buy with on-air promotions, newspaper, direct mail, and point-of-purchase.

Radio

Radio provided the frequency for the campaign, allowing the message to reach consumers at home in the mornings and in their cars on the way to work.

Against traditional ROS rotation, the radio spots only ran on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., with a reach goal of 40%, but an average weekly frequency of eight to10 times per market.

The mix of 30- and 60-second spots featured caffeine-addicted personalities like the fast-talking Anna Pungalunga, who hangs out at her local Mainway all day drinking cup after cup of Irving's new World of Taste coffee. Another spot listed the warning signs for those who loved the new coffee a little too much, and cautioned consumers to "Please drink responsibly."

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