After the heir to the British throne, Prince William, gave birth to his third child, Swiss coffee maker Black & Blaze sent his tired father a strong premium coffee. Thanks to the response from the English royal family, the message received a huge media response, became popular on social media and, as a result, brought the company record turnover.
Do you think that you, as a small or medium-sized business, have no chance to compete with the big players in the market with your small budget? Then this case will convince you otherwise.
David against Goliath !
The coffee market in Switzerland is very saturated. Local small entrepreneurs are trying to establish themselves next to such bright concerns as, for example, Nestle, and they manage to do this with a small budget, which is insignificant compared to the annual advertising expenses spent by large entrepreneurs. A typical case of David and Goliath. One of such Davids is the coffee company «Black & Blaze» from Zurich, which has been trying to establish itself in the market since 2010. The company produces very good premium quality coffee with a strong brand and aroma. This is well known to loyal customers, but due to low awareness, the information hardly reaches the ears of new potential customers. «Black & Blaze» spends the main part of its budget on coffee production, so there is not enough money left to talk to customers about the high-class advantages of its coffee. A situation that you are probably familiar with as a representative of a small or medium-sized business.
How to increase awareness?
Of course, an idea that will attract attention and set us apart from our competitors is necessary.
Famous coffee commercials mostly emphasize the moment of pleasure. To stand out in the massive advertising space, however, something distinctive is needed: pleasure that wakes us up. This is precisely the advantage that no one would refuse in such difficult and tiring situations as the birth of a child, when parents have to stay up all night. A non-standard, different idea is needed, with which the greatest possible advertising effect will be achieved. Large coffee magnates use famous faces here, such as George Clooney, and focus on what these people say about their product.
Will a small business like Black & Blaze be able to handle this? Maybe it will…
Brilliant idea
Not long after Prince William, the heir to the British throne, became a father of three, he fell asleep during a public church service.
The incident, which was covered by the world media, was turned into an opportunity by Black & Blaze, who immediately sent a package of premium coffee (worth about $25) to the exhausted father at Kensington Palace to help him stay awake despite the short nights.
The message was successful! Just a few days later, a letter of thanks arrived from the palace.
Unbelievable result
The royal family's response, published on the Black & Blaze Facebook page, was not only picked up by Black & Blaze, but also by the Swiss press, which informed the entire country about it. Other social media channels also responded to the news, and suddenly everyone was talking about Black & Blaze. The successful PR campaign was carried out at the expense of just one packet of coffee. Compared to the previous year, turnover increased by 45.3% with an incredible return on advertising spend (ROAS) of 204,000.
ROAS calculation: incremental revenue/advertising spend * 100, i.e. (51'000 USD / 25 USD) * 100 = 204'000
As for traffic to their website, it has tripled.
Are you a small or medium-sized business owner and are you wondering how to increase your company's awareness with your small advertising budget? Do you want to know what you can do to increase your sales?
Are you interested in other practical and interesting marketing examples from the everyday lives of European SMEs?
Then you have come to the right place!
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Source: Effie Awards Switzerland 2020
