Challenge

Nabob, a heritage, high-recognition coffee brand in the growing and fiercely contested caffeine beverage market, was looking for a way to invigorate the brand to increase market share at the grocery store. They decided to go to  consumers to uncover appealing ways to differentiate their offering.

Method

We used in-depth upfront qualitative research in the form of ethnographic sessions to observe and interview coffee consumers in homes and coffee shops, focus groups populated with consumers who had switched away from Nabob, and workshops to explore the texture and feel of the brand and ideate on how to best position it to win back its former followers and entice new ones.

Discovery

Our research revealed there would be a desirable market for Nabob-branded fair-trade organic premium coffee at the grocery store.

Outcome

Nabob repositioned and reformulated the brand to bring it into the realm of fair trade and sustainability: “Better Beans, Better Coffee, Better Planet.”

Follow-up focus group research helped refine messaging and informed the packaging materials and design used to signify their new direction.

The end result was a strong business success, and Dine Discoveries won both a Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) award (Best Integration) and an Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) award (David Ogilvy Gold).