• by Pat Doody , June 6, 2006

Media Category: "Anything Goes"
Agency: WongDoody
Client: Tully's Coffee Corporation
Campaign Title: "3:21 Wake-Up Call"

Marketing Challenge: Tully's Coffee, a regional coffee chain based in Seattle, came to WongDoody for a promotional campaign that would boost awareness and sales of their blended summer drinks - "Spin," "Shake" and "Tango" - among non-users. This meant we could not use the stores or current customers as the first line of attack.

Tully's wanted a conventional promotion using radio, outdoor and transit that would last 12 weeks. But their budget only supported about four weeks of such a campaign in Seattle and San Francisco, the targeted markets.

Creative Solution: WongDoody came up with the idea of positioning Tully's summer blended beverages as a once-a-day answer to the post-lunch energy lull we all experience. Our solution: the Tully's "3:21 Wake-Up Call" -- a cool blended summer beverage from your local Tully's Coffee to get you over the afternoon slump.

By virtually "owning" the exact time of 3:21 p.m. -- the precise minute that myriad tactical elements launched on a daily basis -- the campaign was impossible to ignore and stimulated incremental business by repeating the "ritual" day after day.

Media Solution: We needed to motivate trial among non-users through a sense of urgency and create repeat business through a behavioral switch. Rather than mass media, we launched the campaign with pinpoint media and a barrage arresting street tactics, including:

* Live bands playing "Reveille" for 1 minute in public spaces at exactly 3:21 p.m.
* On "3:21"-branded buses, the first-ever onboard bus drink sampling in the history of Seattle transit that started at 3:21 p.m.
* Street teams passing out samples and coupons valid for only 30 minutes
* Vespa scooters towing "3:21"-branded trucks and mobile billboards
* Opt-in email blasts at 3:21 p.m., with printable coupons and links to a dedicated 3:21 Wake-Up Call Website
* Public relations push that resulted in substantial media coverage
* Ten-second buys on radio stations that aired at 3:21 p.m.
* Quarter-page newspaper ads announcing the 3:21 Wake-Up Call

To encourage repeat trial and reduce sampling costs, free 12 oz. drink coupons (distributed the first four weeks of the campaign) changed to 50-percent-off coupons during weeks 5 through 8, then buy-one-get-one-free coupons during weeks 9 through 12.

Results: Our objective was to achieve a 5 percent sales gain versus the previous year for a product line that was trending downward. During the 12-week promotional period, sales saw a 14.2 percent increase over the same period the prior year, far exceeding our initial 5 percent goal.

Pat Doody is founder and president of WongDoody

Winners of all 2006 winners will be presented June 7 during the 2006 EFFIE Awards gala in New York.