Friday, October 14, 2016

Will the new campaign for Taster's Choice stop sales erosion?



Amid reports that sales for instant coffee in the U.S. have been declining steadily since 2012, Nescafe has decided to redesign their Taster's Choice packaging and launch a campaign reaching out to budget-minded Millennials.  Since company research showed that 40% of consumers are drinking less coffee because it is too expensive to buy outside the home, they believe they have an opportunity to convince then to switch.  (Lukovitz, 2016)

Of course first they have to convince people that their product isn't inferior.  Here's the commercial they hope will do it...



Looking at it I couldn't help but think about a successful campaign (10% sales increase) the brand ran back in the early 90's which took an entirely different approach.  Here's an ad from that campaign...



So, what do you think?  Will the new campaign be successful?  If so, why?  What do you think of the soap style campaign from 1992?  Do you think a similar approach might be more successful than the new campaign?  If so, why?


Lukovitz, K. (2016, October 13)  New Campaign Aims To Reinvigorate Nescafe Taster's Choice.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved October 13, 2016, from

DeWolf, R. (1992, December 2)  Taster's Choice: A Never-ending Saga Sexy Commercials Put Spice In Coffee Sales.  philly.com.  Retrieved October 13, 2016, from
http://articles.philly.com/1992-12-02/business/25994312_1_instant-coffee-coffee-category-sophisticated-coffee

8 comments:

Alexandra Schayes said...

i absolutely LOVE the old ad that they ran in the 90's. I think it's adorable and funny but most importantly it's original. The new advertisement is very commonly used. It reminds me of the cranberry juice commercial recently run where it shows how its made in the fields, but that one works better because it has an older couple giving it the "mom and pop" feel to it. This seems generic. The idea makes sense, there is just nothing special to it. It doesn't speak to me as their target - a budget minded millennial - so i guess they failed! However, being that i am extremely coffee dependent, i do have a nespresso machine in my apartment.

Anonymous said...

I`m not absolutely convinced by the new commercial, about how their instant coffee tastes compare to regular coffee.
There is nothing original or unique in this ad that would even make you remember it. also I can’t help notice the person showed in the ad (at the end) doesn’t have a" typical millennial look."

The ad from the 90`s is different, it has a funny story and catches your attention.
In my opinion the ad from the 90`s was way more effective,
targeting a different demographic.

Adam

Unknown said...

I think the old campaign make sense back in the 90’s because people were heavy into romance and soap opera television at the time. Also most people have had heard of taster’s choice. But to reintroduce Taster’s Choice to reach millennial who probably never heard of the brand the commercial should have been more robust. I think using things like may be some celebrities sitting in a cafĂ© with latest gadgets (iPhone listening to music, etc.) and ordering Taster’s Choice may get their attention. But watching where the coffee is grown doesn’t seem memorable.

stylesprinter said...

I think that the new campaign is a bit too boring for Millennials. Yes, it put an emphasis on environmental sustainability, lower price point, and convenience, but there is nothing in this ad that will touch people’s souls. The ad is not funny, not sad, not inspiring—it doesn’t provoke any feelings at all and thus would be simply lost among other ads.

If they wanted to emphasize sustainability, at least mention that this coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified or that it’s made out of organic coffee. Otherwise, the attempt to become more eco-friendly seems fake to me. It’s like Aveeno ads that simply pick green packaging to convince consumers that they are selling healthy products. Excuse me, but it no longer works. Nowadays consumers are more educated and you can’t convince them by simply stating that the brand is “sourcing beans responsively” and leave it there. Show us how you do it and what change it makes to coffee plantation workers. In other words, the ad is too general to make a point and, in my opinion, it will not work.

When it comes to the ad from the 1990s, it does look very soap opera style and even chauvinistic, but at least it plays on people’s emotions and offers a bit of humor. While it will not convince me to purchase a product, it’s memorable enough to raise people’s awareness about the brand, which is already a positive thing.

Matt Ryan said...

I find the best part of the whole new campaign is the idea of "craft" everyday. The idea of craft beer, craft food, liquor, and now coffee really resonates with Gen Y as they like to buy things branded as non mass produced and cultivated just for them, but is less effective when its Nescafe and not "Tim's Coffee." It is also interesting to see how this goes against the K-cup culture of coffee with individualized packets instead of the massive container.

In theory it can be effective, but the commercial really doesn't resonate with me.

Unknown said...

I find the new campaign is presented in a very clichĂ© kind of way because hundreds of coffee campaigns do the same stuff about high quality and convenience. There’s no novelty inside. Not to mention being persuasive. As it begins with a white-collar millennial drinking the coffee, I thought it would be a story of how the instant coffee puts him through the morning rush-hour before heading to work. That would be more interesting to me if it told a story; while the old campaign did tell a story. Even though it says nothing much about the coffee, it’s memorable and tags into the audience’s emotions. Therefore, the old campaign is more compelling to me.

Unknown said...

I think I old campaign looks really phony and perhaps it is just my millennial eyes but cant believe that increased sales. As for the new ad it looks a big bitter with some good imagery with coffee and coffee grinds. Although, as a big coffee drinker myself I know instant coffee just is not the same and do not believe it will be successful. I just like to add that reading some of the other comments, I agree its a good add as it looks like they did it by the book but just doesn't appeal to me.

Unknown said...

There no amount of commercial that will convince me to start drinking instant coffee. I think this is miserable attempt to convince non coffee drinkers to try their fake product.Instant coffee is nothing but chemical and it's borderline insulting that the used the word "crafted" to insinuate some sort artisan or hipster vibe. This ad is highly misleading and does not make me want to try the product. The use of sexual innuendo does not help either.