Advertising in Coffee Shops

A coffee shop or café primarily serves hot coffee and related coffee beverages, tea and other hot as well as cold beverages, light snacks, muffins and pastries.  Coffee shops largely serve as centres of social interaction. They provides patrons with a place to congregate, talk, read, write, entertain one another and pass time, whether individually or in small groups. Ever since coffee shops have started offering Wi-Fi, they have seen an upsurge of patrons spending a good amount of time in their premises accessing the Internet on their laptops and mobiles. A coffee shop can serve as an informal club for its regular members. Some coffee shops have established a solid reputation, attracting large volumes of highly loyal, sometimes even daily patrons.

Advertising at coffee shops can be a very lucrative option due to these key features-

(i)   Average dwell time at café: 45 minutes

(ii)   Meeting place for 15-35 year olds

(iiii)   The place most frequented after “home and workplace/college hours”

(iv)   A place patrons meet friends and colleagues, in groups of 3 or more

(v)   A place where patrons rejuvenate and are free to be themselves rather than a place to be “seen at”.                                                                                 (Source: Café Coffee Day)

Any brand looking for a strong alternative to conventional media can choose to advertise in coffee shops – right from FMCG and telecom to education and films. Advantages of advertising in coffee shops are –

(i)   Uncluttered and non-intrusive brand communication

(ii)   Long uninterrupted dwell time

(iii)   Relaxed, unhurried frame of mind

(iv)   Easy access to the ‘young’ age group

(v)   Low cost per contact for a filtered TG

(vi)   Innovative advertising is possible

(vii)   Experiential marketing and activation possibilities

There are plenty of ways to design some of the best ambient advertising possibilities in coffee shops. Brand message can be communicated in non-intrusive yet effective methods in coffee shops such as-

(i)   Window vinyls

(ii)   Table-wraps / table mats

(iii)   Table stickers

(iv)   Tray mats

(v)   Tent cards

(vi)   Coffee cups and saucers