Cafe O cooks up new social strategy

Leslie Fok, general manager of marketing at local coffee shop brand Cafe O, speaks to Marketing about the brand's strategy and diversifying its offering to include go-to stores while retaining existing customers.Going DigitalLast year, online took up 70% of Cafe O's marketing mix, with the rest encompassing print and in-store advertising. Digital marketing now accounts for 80% of the brand's marketing and advertising mix."Cafe O’s overall marketing strategy has done a strong shift to digital over the past year," Fok said."We used to advertise in local newspapers and magazines but this simply does not drive sales for a cafe brand like ours, which targets consistent passers-by rather than those looking for destination dining."Instead, the brand has found that re-marketing to existing customers through social media and eDMs to be much more cost-effective.Cafe O created its first Facebook page in 2010, and then re-allocated all its fans to a new one two years later.  Last year, the brand began using Pinterest and Twitter for marketing purposes.  The number of the brand's social media fans have doubled over the past year.The brand sends out newsletters to Cafe O customers in Hong Kong as well as to over 200,000 people who receive monthly newsletters from Ovolo Hotels globally.For the website, the brand has made it mobile-friendly and developed a more active menu and display special offers. In the mobile marketing arena, Cafe O has also worked with e-coupon sites and online food ordering platforms to attract more customers engaging through mobile.The website's traffic increased by 150% over the past year."We have also seen a lot more non-regular customers coming to Café O, especially on the weekend," Fok said.Another digital shift has happened in-store, where the brand has set up LED display menus that have the coffee shop's promotions on loop.Latest Go-to Store in AdmiraltyIf you have ever passed through Admiralty MTR station, you will have noticed a Cafe O store in the station, a rare sight since its stores are mostly located in the Mid-Levels and its kiosks in Western-style supermarkets.Opened since July, the Admiralty go-to store targets local professionals working in Admiralty and tourists heading back and forth from Ocean Park, whereas the other Cafe O stores mainly serve expatriates and Westerners, according to Fok.To market the store, Cafe O updated their marketing materials with Chinese wordings and customised different combos of their existing products to cater to the preferences of local customers. The company sent direct mail to offices near Admiralty MTR, sent e-newsletters to its database of customers and announced the store opening on social media."Considering that there is a lot of traffic during peak office and rush hours, all promotional materials have to be very clear and visible as passers-by may only have a few seconds to glance at it as they pass by the store," Fok said.As for whether Cafe O is looking to open up more go-to stores in the future, Fok says they are looking for locations similar to Admiralty MTR which experiences a high amount of dynamic foot traffic and the right target customers for its products.Delivery trucks, vans and scooters also double as out-of-home advertising for the brand as it expands outside Central, Fok says.Loyalty MarketingMost of Cafe O customers live in the Mid-Levels, Central and Sheung Wan neighbourhoods surrounding the stores. Around 70% of the brand's customer base are regulars.To keep the regular customers coming, Cafe O has launched an IOU Card membership scheme where cardholders can get discounts and do cashless purchases.  It also serves as a source of data to be collected about the most active Cafe O customers and their preferences, information that is in turn used to tailor special offers on social media to these customers.