The power of *that* Tiffany Blue and an espresso
It's more than just another brand. And this is how to make 'swag' with swagger.
This post was inspired by Billie, who responded to my WhatsApp about this with “Tiffany’s marketing team are smashing it”. Subconsciously I thought it, but I didn’t register it as something to think about further. Thank you Billie!
What you will get from this post:
An honest look at brand value versus exposure
How to take customers from transactions to raving fans
Some tips on how to make your brand stand out in a world full of noise
Saturday 28 September, 2024.
A gloriously sunny day in what felt like the start of our Autumn.
I was en route to speak at an event in Edinburgh on Sunday, and had to stop in London to change trains. With lots of time to spare.
Thankfully, I enjoy a bit of window shopping. And this time, some actual shopping! The latest Travis Scott x Air Jordan collaboration had released, and I was able to buy a pair from the good people at Offspring, who have an outlet in Selfridges. This one is going to be the topic of a future post about brand…!
On the way in, I clocked a cart selling Tiffany & Co coffee.
Well, more accurately, I saw a queue of people, and as someone who is an absolute sucker for anything in demand I made a mental note to have a look afterwards and see what was at the end of the queue.
Why were all these people taking pictures?
Anyway, trainers bought, mates caught up with, and I decided to go and get a coffee at this mysterious blue cart.
I sent Billie (you know, the inspiration for this post) a picture of the cart, and we had a little WhatsApp chat about how much I was going to be ripped off for. My guess was a tenner. But, I hadn’t had coffee, had time to burn, and Instagram stories to fill with inane nonsense.
And Billie made a comment that she’d be the awkward customer who asked for a cup with just hot water so that she could keep the cup.
It was free of charge.
So of course I asked for an espresso, and a cup of hot water. They must’ve thought I was mad, and it was likely the cheapest souvenir I’ve ever obtained.
I had a brief chat with the guy and he mentioned that it was part of a campaign that Selfridges and Tiffany were doing, to promote the store display that Tiffany will have soon. I’ve got to be honest, I was craving coffee sooooo much that I didn’t really think of asking any follow up questions, let alone actually ask them.
But, when I took a few minutes to drink the coffee, some thoughts raced through my mind.
The coffee was ‘meh’ to be honest, but actually, that’s completely irrelevant. And doesn’t impact the power of what Tiffany’s marketing team had done.
Let’s take a step back and think about what brands are looking to achieve with these kinds of initiatives.
Firstly, they want to promote to those who are outside of their current audience. Who doesn’t like a free cuppa? Now, it’s unlikely that many of those who are within steps of Selfridges are unaware of Tiffany, and I’d be absolutely certain that if it was “Carl & Co” promoting coffee, there’d be no-one there to take pictures - anybody queueing would just be exploiting the offer of free coffee, with no emotional attachment whatsoever.
I’d like to think that my view that this isn’t focused on a new audience is reinforced by data. According to statista.com, brand recognition of Tiffany in the UK in 2022 was 89% amongst jewellery owners.
So that wouldn’t be the main driver for this (although, with the number of pictures taken, it’s possible that some people would’ve been introduced to the brand through social media shares).
It gets more interesting as you dig through the stats within the aforementioned site. Tiffany has 42% popularity, 23% usage, and a measly 16% and 15% for loyalty and buzz respectively.
And therein lies the second objective for brands that offer ‘swag’.
Buzz.
Loyalty.
‘Brand ambassadorship’.
They want to take their own audience - the 89% of people with brand recognition - on a journey from being transactional customers to raving fans of the brand.
But there was a magic ingredient, in my opinion, which really made this work. And so many businesses miss this point completely when working on these initiatives.
Now, I’m not a marketer by any stretch of the imagination. As someone who is basically a ‘business builder’, I get marketing, I love marketing, but I’m not academically trained in this stuff. Nor have I achieved any qualifications in marketing. I play on the outskirts and could best be described as a curious observer. So, feel free to act on the below, but don’t say “Carl told me…” if it goes tits up.
It’s called ‘thoughts from Carl’, not ‘advice specifically for you from Carl’, for a reason!
Why is this different from other ‘big brand’ initiatives?
I’d like to compare this to a very similar campaign that I saw from Samsung.
In fact, Samsung’s campaign was better set up for success (in theory).
They were offering personalised espresso shots in their Oxford Street store, probably about a year or so ago. You went in, had your picture taken with a webcam, and two minutes later they served you an espresso with your face on it.
It had all the hallmarks of a successful viral campaign. Personalisation, a unique experience, and something that is quite clearly shareable on the ‘gram.
But, it didn’t have that ‘x’ factor. And I put that down to a rookie mistake, and an issue totally out of their control.
Now, Samsung are no slouches in the branding world. Again, they have immense brand exposure. Whilst they could hardly be considered as a ‘luxury’ brand in the same way as Tiffany & Co, it can’t be argued that they are unknown or considered cheap and cheerful. Indeed, on the same statista.com website their recognition is 95%.
But, they were playing against an ever so slightly less recognised beast.
Here’s my musings on where the differences were:
Tiffany & Co displayed their luxury brand on a luxury cart outside a luxury shop, almost designed for that perfectly instagrammable picture. Samsung served it at the back of their shop.
Taking a moment for a coffee ties in perfectly with the luxury lifestyle that Tiffany & Co would like to portray. Whilst ‘pushing boundaries’ is arguably Samsung’s tech ethos, I have to ask - why coffee?
The cups were big and blue. Samsungs were grey, espresso sized, and if I remember correctly, didn’t even have Samsung written on them!
I’m no brand consultant, but I’m sure that someone, somewhere, could’ve charged a lofty six figure sum telling Samsung that what they actually wanted to do was to offer something that ties into the wants, needs and desires of their target audience. Maybe some kind of promo item that clips the stylus to your phone (if they still do those phones with them), a personalised theme for your phone that can be snapped and shared - heck, even a branded holster for your TV’s remote control so you’re never left lacking!
Basically, a bit of plastic or digital genius, that is aligned with what you do and who your market are. Why coffee?!
These thoughts are all well and good, what should I do if I want to do the same for my business?
Let’s face it. You’re (likely) not Tiffany & Co. And you don’t have that blue.
But, you can learn from the lessons of both Tiffany and Samsung (plus, some peppered thoughts around what I’ve observed over the years).
Don’t expect customers to want to wear or promote your brand. You may love your brand. In fact, you should love your brand. But you will care about it far more than anyone else. Who gives a monkeys if you are xyz’s biggest seller of whatever? So, just the brand won’t help.
The setting can help frame your brand. If you are looking to use ‘swag’ to help build your brand, then this is likely the most important thing to think about. The coffee was ‘meh’ but the beautiful cart outside Selfridges was instagrammable. No one really cares about the thread count in a t shirt that’s ruined by a company’s logo plastered over the front.
Make sure that you are absolutely clear on the alignment of what you are offering and your intentions from the campaign. Is it to build brand, to deepen advocacy, or something else? Do you want it seen in person or online?
Weigh up whether something more expensive in lower volume could achieve better results. You can get a private dinner in London for around £60 a head in a lovely iconic restaurant. If your customers are worth thousands, and you know who your prospects are, surely it’s worth considering the option of something that isn’t a dodgy pen sent to all and sundry (and likely ignored in favour of the Mont Blanc, and then nicked by someone who doesn’t make the purchasing decision)
Don’t ask people to share it on social media. Don’t presume they will share on social media. Work your socks off to make sure that it’s so compelling to share, that they don’t see any option not to.
These kind of campaigns can and do work.
Tiffany, you get my full admiration for smashing it out the park. And Billie, you are now the proud new owner of a cardboard cup with the iconic blue sleeve.
Carl Reader is a WH Smith Bestselling Author and international keynote speaker with a real passion for helping people do better. There are two ways to learn more about Carl! You can either follow him on Social Media if you’re just curious (@carlreader on most platforms), or if you’d like to learn a little more about what he does on stage, through content and in the media from a commercial perspective, you can visit his website.
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