B+ for Atticus’ Recession Coffee
The economy is tough. This coffee is tougher- supposedly.
Atticus Bookstore and Cafe in downtown New Haven is offering up “recession-proof” coffee- for a grand (including tax) total of $1. The cafe planned on running the special for a month but ended up extending it- till the recession ends. This caught my eye and I did some digging to see how Atticus matches up to Ripple standards. Here’s the high points:
- Authentic: the cafe extended the deal till the recession ends, only time will tell here if they stick to it but so far: They did good. However, watch out for the costs of other foods (like sandwiches) although they do offer up some other “recession deals”.
- Inclusive: local artists and growers are supported as part of Atticus’ “Sustainability” commitment (10 Commitment’s total). As great as their higher-level stuff goes, some of the small stuff gets me. Their tables are “table service only” and I’ve felt serviced right out the door before- what’s the rush?
- Constructive: community-oriented and supporting the locals, they even have a green initiative spelled out. The deal is constructive but the cafe could become over crowded with dollar-drinkers if the deal becomes too popular.
- Mutually Rewarding: Costs down = Clients up. The Cafe has been able to bring in some new customers with the deal (according to a New Haven Independent article) and their existing customers haven’t had to relinquish their morning brew.
What’s your take on Atticus? Are they “ripple ready”?
Categories: Amy, Brand Studies, Metro100
I love this Amy! It gives readers a great perspective on the cafe. You did note their pros, but also pointed out the cons in being a customer there. You were honest and I appreciate that in an article. I know that your blog will do well, thank you for sharing with me!
Ah, Atticus. An old town institution so ingrained in local cafe culture that it seems to pre-date Starbucks (I don’t know for sure), yet has an enduring hipness to it.
Just to chime in on Amy’s 4-way test. The key question is: how does a local, old-time brand like Atticus strengthen its consumer relationships? The easy answer is social media - but how?
Let’s look at inclusive-ity. 1$ coffee is a promotional campaign - it’s marketing. As with most marketing campaigns, Atticus’ $1 coffee is still a one-way pitch, from company to consumer. It’s less compelling and it doesn’t have to be. There are social media tools that can make $1 coffee a peer-to-peer campaign, where Atticus stands right alongside its consumers in pitching $1 coffee to other consumers. Is this necessary? For 3 reasons, yes absolutely! First, it’s so easy to do. Second, Starbucks doesn’t need another leg-up on local cafes; if Atticus isn’t using social media, their competitors (some of whom like already have countless advantages) are, and by default they’re further disadvantaged. Which leads to the third reason: relationships are important when consumers have so much power and so many options. Social media really isn’t about technology. It’s fundamentally about the most powerful kind of marketing any company can have: word of mouth. Word of mouth is inclusive, and now with social media it’s easy for companies to start and manage. That’s what we’re cooking up at Ripple100: social media software for word of mouth campaigns that are so easy everyone and their mother will be doing/rippling it.
I didn’t really answer the how, more of the why. The how you’ll see when we unveil the Ripple100 software app:D Soon!