Why Nescafé is using a social-first approach to engage millennials cup by cup
Nescafé is looking to further diversify its social output over the coming year as it establishes its own e-commerce offering, with Snapchat and Periscope firmly in its sights thanks to a string of successful gambles with its social media strategy over the past few months.
The brand is no stranger to pioneering. As well as being the first company to ascend Mount Everest, the instant coffee was the hot drink of choice for the Apollo 11 crew following the moon landings. Its latest expedition has been to conquer digital and create "real connections" with millennials. Earlier this year, it consolidated its global suite of websites and moved them across to Tumblr, declaring the dotcom "dead".
Its recent 360-degree 'Good Morning World' video campaign was the first of its kind to be published on Facebook, in what the Carsten Fredholm, head of Nestlé’s beverage strategic business unit described as a "breakthrough" moment.
Fans were able to watch the film by pointing their smartphone in any direction to view different clips, creating an immersive experience.
The new mobile-first approach is part of the marketer's REDvolution strategy, which Fredholm said is a working initiative to "re-energise" the brand and ensure a consistent look and feel across its products in 180 markets.
Thanks to the popularity of Starbucks and Costa's expansion into retail, instant coffee can be a tough sell in a seemingly endless aisle of cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and more.
Fredholm told the The Drum Nescafé's new digital strategy is designed to give the brand "more relevance in the new world of coffee".
"I think we all know that the coffee market, and coffee consumers around the world, are moving very fast," he asserted.
"You used to say ‘would you like a cup of coffee’ and today you say ‘what kind of coffee would you like?’ So we want to stay relevant to loyal consumers, and also to the next generation who are experimenting with coffee."
It chose Facebook, rather than Twitter or Instagram to unveil its most ambitious digital project to date simply, according to Fredholm, because of the reach it offers. Currently, Facebook is Nescafé's biggest platform with over 30 million fans.
However, going forward he claimed the coffee company would like to diversify its social output into newer platforms such as Snapchat and Periscope.
"Firstly there’s no limit, we want to be where our consumers are and I think our consumers expect us to be more or less on all platforms where we can play a relevant role."
He called the process "a learning journey", but assured The Drum that the firm was "not afraid" to look at new channels and added: "We have always tried to first, and we have always tried to innovate."
Beyond the Tumblr move (described by Fredholm as "a bit of a revolution") and the social push, the brand's mother group Nestlé has turned its attention to refining its e-commerce strategy, having quietly hired Amazon's former director of consumables, Sebastien Szczepaniak, to head up the offering.
On this front, Fredholm claimed the next step is to bring the give online customers the opportunity to get up close with the brand as they would in-store and that when it comes to millennials the online shopping experience will play an essential role.
"I don’t think my kids will queue up the supermarket as I’ve been doing all my life, but of course going to a store provides a real brand experience and I think this is what we need to give people shopping online.
"So it’s true that we’re building upon this theme; we know we need to be there."
While digital reach and engagement are important, he said that for Nescafé the "happy moment" comes when they are able to bring people together through coffee cup by cup.