• by Sarah Mahoney , October 3, 2007

Hoping to get coffee fans guessing, Eight O'Clock coffee is launching a coffee trivia campaign. The four-week contest, which starts this week, uses national radio spots that run just before the 8 a.m. drive-time hour to support the new tagline: "For coffee lovers, it is always Eight O'Clock."

After the 8 o'clock hour, radio DJs read a promo steering listeners to the brand's mysteryofgreatcoffee.com microsite, where they can answer questions and enter the "Win a Mystery Vacation" contest.

The current question is: Eight O'Clock Coffee uses only 100% Arabica beans because ...

A. They are cheaper.

B. They provide a smoother, richer flavor.

C. They are lighter and easier to ship.

D. They grow more quickly.

The company says it wants to communicate a sense of adventure and consistent taste with the new effort, done by S3 Advertising in Boonton, N.J.

We're not sure about coffee mystery, but the brand certainly has a history. Eight O'Clock coffee got its start as the house brand for A&P, introduced in the first Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company store in 1859. A&P introduced it as a trademark in 1919, and spun it off as a stand-alone brand in 2003.

Last year, the Tata Group, an Indian coffee and tea conglomerate, acquired it for $220 million--and says Eight O'Clock continues to be the market leader in branded whole bean sales and the category leader in the value gourmet segment in the U.S. Overall, it says it ranks as the third-largest coffee brand by volume, behind Folgers and Maxwell House.

Radio spots are running in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Tampa, and Washington, DC.