Business, Marketing & IMC

Indian Coffee House

Indian Coffee House

Presented by:

Vishakha Pithwal

Product Category

Coffee shop with a speciality in south Indian Coffee

Indian Coffee House stands for

Authenticity and Aromatic South

Indian filter coffee

Indian Coffee house • It is chain of South Indian Coffee Restaurant which is famous for its filter coffee

• Indian Coffee House is the biggest coffee cum restaurant chain in Kerala

• The society now has a chain with over 51 outlets and associate canteens

operating in all major towns from Thrissur to Thiruvananthapuram

• And now they are spreading their franchises all over India

• The Indian coffee house is completely owned and managed by its employees. The society is governed by an eleven member managing committee elected from the employees.

• The society also sells pure coffee powder known for its rich aroma and strong flavour at reasonable prices to the public

• Indian Coffee House is famous for its simplicity and authenticity, and its famous white cups in which they serve their aromatic delicious south indian filter coffee.

Segmentation

• India has always been a chai or tea drinking nation. Coffee was popular only in a few states of South India. Initially it was the rich Brahman families who consumed coffee. However with the growing Indian economy and the middle class ready to spend more and adopt global lifestyle and culture, coffee shops have become more and more popular.

• As ICH was established in 1958 it has a set up of that era and appealed more to the age group of 40-60. But the recent trend shows that the ICH is being filled with college going students and recent studies have shown that roughly 50% of the Indian population are 25 or younger and is expected to increase to 55% by 2015

• The main reason for this explosive growth is the growing youth segment of India. • For the youth coffee shops are social hubs to enjoy some quality time with friends or

simply go for a cup of coffee.

• Its franchises are all over India, currently there are around 54 outlets in India.

Targeting

• ICH targets varied segments from college going teenager to the retired grandfather who once visited ICH as a teenager

• People who fall under this category:

Students Journalist bureaucrats Advertisers Doctors Lawyers Senior Officials • It has a very cost effective menu which attracts more of student groups.

• It is targeted towards people who love the taste of Filter Coffee and love to be rooted to

the culture of it.

Positioning • It is positioned as a place with a traditional ambience

• Affordable place for food and coffee

• Place to get authentic south indian filter coffee

• Very courteous service

• Healthy food

• A place to meet your friends, have a reunion (people

aged 45-50 come here to have their school reunions)

(Text in orange is the new change in the STP model of ICH)

Promotion for ICH

Promotion helps in reaching your target consumer effectively by reminding them

about your product or service with a certain message in order to achieve specific

organizational objectives

Current state of ICH

• They don’t have any promotion strategy as such • The only communication they work on currently is Word of

Mouth

Proposed promotion strategy for ICH

• As they are not into advertising their brand , we need to have a proper strategy to make the brand known but at the same time maintain its authenticity and rootedness.

• Mainstream advertising and promotion strategy would help the brand get more known but will eventually make it a commercial place like any other, so the suggested promotion strategy would be to focus on events (for fund raisers), PR activities, Blogs, and work more on the WOM.

Target Group

• As mentioned earlier their TG is a mix of people.

• Its for the following TG for the mentioned reasons:

~ Students: ICH being cheap when it comes to the rates

~ Artists: As it gives them a place to find varied culture under

one roof

~ Advertisers: For observation and to get some alone time

(evidence available)

~ Senior officials: To relive their old days

~ Young Crowd: for get together and reunions

~ Wage earners: Because of the cheap prices

Role of Marketing Communications

• The strategy of The Indian Coffee House till now has been solely dependent on word-of-mouth. It has been hugely successful because its patrons either blog about it and spread the word or suggest it to their friends. There are a number of blogs relating to it and hordes of college students visiting it based on recommendations.

• The role of marketing communications in this case would be to thus remind the consumer of the rich heritage of TICH by extending their word-of mouth strategy through tools such as PR, social media and goodwill of the patrons.

How does Marketing Communications work?

How marketing communications works does not have a strictly defined model and depends on the business objectives of the brand.

The components of marketing communication are

Sales

Advertising

Promotions

Public Relations

Customer Service

Marketing communications will work for TICH the overall goal of the business by developing strategic campaigns and

• helping TICH to increase sales

• retain existing customers with their quality service

• help the brand gain credibility solely through word-of-mouth

• Maintain the traditional heritage of the brand through promotions

Major steps in developing effective communications

• Tieing up with the famous artists, photographers, displaying local artists work. This will help promote TICH on the artists’ blogs, create an aspirational value for the youth to visit it, and lend TICH a traditional yet cool feel.

• Having context based in-film placements. This will further strengthen the stories behind TICH and help the customer visualize the ambience.

• Engaging the patrons on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Zomato, Burrp. This will use digital media in spreading the word and posts related to TICH will be put up building a story about the brand.

• It is an employee-run co-operative society , there is high loyalty among them and the best customer service. However, the prices in the menu are quite low. Instead of increasing the prices, there will be promotions which will double up as fund-raisers.

• PR articles in lifestyle magazines and newspapers and publishing artists’ recommendations. This will help build the already existing word-of-mouth.

• Not promoting through advertisements in print, TV or digital because it decreases the credibility of TICH and its authenticity.

• Providing the customers with different post-cards of the history of TICH on purchase of grounded coffee.

• Including coasters in the merchandise.

• Video testimonials on Youtube.

Communications Mix

Events and Experiences

Advertising: Will be used only for in-film placements. No direct advertisements on TV, print or digital Sales Promotions: Employee fund-raisers, selling coasters, post-cards with grounded coffee Public Relations: Artists’ and photographers blogs, displaying local artists’ work, articles in lifestyle magazines, video testimonials on Youtube. Personal Selling & Direct Marketing: Not applicable Events & Experiences: Engaging the customers on social media through Facebook, twitter, and foursquare. Encouraging customers to post about their stories and experiences with TICH. Great customer service and friendly waiters.

Key message of the campaign

Authenticity with a touch

of friendliness

Places of Promotion

Outlets of The Indian Coffee House Traditional and digital media like lifestyle magazines, newspapers, social media, blogs. Events will be held at different large outlets with entry fees Can use the artists’ collaboration for branding at their exhibitions

Some pictures of Indian Coffee house Bangalore