MEDIA-I: Nescafe gains steam with virtual opening

HONG KONG: Nescafe has launched a virtual coffee shop online for Hong Kong coffee drinkers as it takes aim at competitors like Starbucks. With only a product store in Hong Kong, Nescafe realised it needed to mount a more aggressive campaign to compete against Starbucks and other coffee chains. The US chain plans to open 22 branches in Hong Kong by year end, while home-grown operator Pacific Coffee has more than 20 outlets in the city. Interactive Dentsu Hong Kong created the virtual cafe campaign for Nescafe. The agency's director, Agnes Chan, said: "Unlike Starbucks or Pacific Coffee, you won't find any Nescafe coffee shop in Hong Kong. Teens make up most of Nescafe's consumer base so the coffee brand decided the ideal way to reach young consumers would be through the internet. The web really gives the company a chance to effectively brand itself." She said that Hong Kong was developing a dynamic coffee culture because young people were attracted to the trendy lifestyle associated with coffee drinking. Coffee, she added, was a small part of the coffee culture experience. "Selling coffee today is not only about the cup of coffee, but also about surrounding factors, such as the spiritual and fun element of drinking coffee - which ties in with the new proposition slogan for Nescafe - One thing leads to another." Nescafe has also launched an online campaign to attract users to the site. The objective of the campaign is to drive traffic to the new website. "We're using everything but banners, including floating icons, extendible icons, threads and so on," Chan said. The website offers information on coffee and its production, a chat room, a magazine and newspaper reading room, as well as an e-conversation section which lets Nescafe interact with customers on a first-name basis. "There's also a games section, a music room, featuring the latest music from selected music networks, and even a what's hot section where people can check out trends and events," Chan added. Nescafe proprietor and Nestle Hong Kong director, Ernst Portmann, said the move was an effort to build on a real cafe culture. "We believe in giving the people of Hong Kong the real cafe culture, no matter where they are, with our good quality coffees, our Quarry Bay Cafe Nescafe and now our virtual Cafe Nescafe in every internet home or office," Portmann added. Starbucks Coffee, which has a comprehensive US site, has registered the starbucks.com.hk URL. The website is presently under construction. A spokeswoman for Pacific Coffee said the company was in the process of designing its website. "We're working on the plan of our website at the moment, but there is a lot of information to deal with. Also we have been rather busy with the opening of new outlets."

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