1. Curt’s Cafe
Media Kit
Brought to you by

2. Yellow Submarine
✤ Kathryn Shear
✤ AJ Phommalee
✤ Candice Johnson
✤ Angela Ranieri

3. Table of Contents
✤ Category/ Industry Analysis: 1
✤ Brand Analysis: 2
✤ SWOT: 3-6
✤ Primary Competitive Analysis: 7-9
✤ Secondary Competitive Analysis: 10
✤ Brand Equity Statement: 11-15
✤ Research Analysis: 16
✤ Consumer Analysis: 17-19
✤ Target Selection and Rationale: 20
✤ Objectives: 21-23
✤ Big Idea: 24
i
✤ Social Media Platform 25
✤ Twitter 26 - 29
✤ Social Media (Picture & Video) 30
✤ Youtube 31
✤ Vlog Series 32
✤ Instagram 33
✤ Vine 34
✤ Facebook 35
✤ Foursqaure 36
✤ Check ins 37
✤ Print
✤ Loyalty Cards 39
✤ Print ads 39-40
✤ Flyers 41
✤ Button 42
✤ Coasters/Business Card 43
✤ Stickers 44
✤ Online
✤ Online Ads 45-46
✤ Survey 47
✤ Email Blasts 48
✤ Farmer’s Markets 49
✤ Flash Mob 50

4. Category & Industry Analysis
✤ Coffee Trends
✤ Most popular drink in the world
✤ 400 million cups consumed by Americans per day
✤ 40 % of drinkers are 18-24
✤ 54% of drinkers are 25-39
✤ Cafe Trends
✤ Casual atmosphere
✤ Limited menu - more emphasis on socially responsible menu items and
ingredients
✤ Trendy words: Organic, Shade grown, Sustainable, Fair-trade certified
1

5. Brand Analysis
✤ Opened April 20, 2012
✤ Curt’s: Cultivating Unique Restaurant Training
✤ “Dining with a purpose”
✤ Helps at risk youth by teaching them basic life skills and work training
✤ Simple & competitive menu - local, fresh and quality ingredients
✤ L.I.F.E Strategy
✤ L : Basic Life Skills, I : Intellectual Skills, F : Food Service Skills &E : Experiential
Skills with mentors
2

6. SWOT: Strengths
✤ Friendly Staff
✤ Relaxing, cozy and homey atmosphere
✤ Competitive prices
✤ Good quality ingredients - Local & Fresh
✤ Focused on neighborhood improvements
✤ Healthy options
✤ Positive mission
✤ Good meeting place
✤ Appeals to all ages
3

7. SWOT: Weaknesses
✤ Friendly staff, however, service needs improvement
✤ Limited and generic menu
✤ Small kitchen (temporarily)
✤ Disjointed area - cafe and “living room”
✤ Revolving door of new employees
✤ Low awareness
✤ Cafe closes too early (Just 8)
4

8. SWOT: Opportunities
✤ Extend customer loyalty benefits to the local realtors and general Evanston
community
✤ Have a permanent staff along with the kids at risk
✤ Extend store hours into the evening
✤ Ability to offer more events in “living room”
✤ Expand catering - more options along with gourmet look and taste
✤ Highlight one signature item
5

9. SWOT: Threats
✤ Local coffee shops near Northwestern University and surrounding areas
✤ Too far from NU campus and purple line
✤ Economy - customers are not buying as often
✤ Employment issues - not a professional/traditional staff
✤ Losing federal grants
✤ Need to focus on one view point such as social mission or menu (slow down on
all the side projects)
6

10. Primary Competitive Analysis
✤ Starbucks
✤ Strengths
✤ One of the most popular coffee chains in the U.S.
✤ Known for high quality coffee
✤ Convenient
✤ Weaknesses
✤ Expensive
✤ Inability to have a “mom and pop” feeling
✤ Markets coffee more than other items on menu
7

11. Primary Competitive Analysis
✤ 7- Eleven
✤ Strengths
✤ Offers variety of soft drink and food options - One stop shop
✤ Strategically placed on every corner for convenience
✤ Better prices
✤ Weakness
✤ Offer hot meals with no nutritional balance
✤ Lacks healthy food options
✤ Coffee is just okay
8

12. Primary Competitive Analysis
✤ Old Neighborhood Grill
✤ Strengths
✤ Offers fast service with competitive prices
✤ A variety of options (American & Mediterranean cuisine)
✤ Hip restaurant for younger customers
✤ Weakness
✤ Not well known in Evanston Area
✤ Just a fast food joint
✤ No waiters & waitresses
9

13. Secondary Competitive
Analysis
✤ Secondary Competitors: Northwestern University Cafes
✤ Norbucks
✤ Unicorn
✤ Peets
✤ Kafein
✤ Coffee Lab
10

14. Brand Equity Statement
✤ Brand Essence
✤ “Inspiration you can taste”
✤ Quality, Warm Beginnings
✤ Creative Community with Homemade products
✤ Purpose driven and inspirational
✤ Motivated, giving and welcoming environment
11

15. Brand Equity Statement
✤ Core Identity
✤ Great coffee
✤ Wide selection of quality coffee
✤ Mission Driven
✤ Curt’s is a glass half full kind of people who give anyone who comes in an
equal opportunity to succeed
✤ Homey Atmosphere
✤ A great place to unwind and be productive in a loving environment.
12

16. Brand Equity Statement
✤ Extended identity
✤ Friendly Staff
✤ The staff is full of great personalities who make you feel part of the
community
✤ Embracing
✤ Supportive of all people from different background, creeds and
lifestyles
✤ Quality Food
✤ The menu is full of fresh, local ingredients at competitive prices
13

17. Brand Equity Statement
✤ Value Propositions
✤ Functional Benefits
✤ Curt’s Cafe offers a wide variety of house brewed coffee, homemade
pastries, and a fresh menu
✤ Emotional Benefits
✤ Improve the community by staying true
✤ A great cafe to get to know your neighbors
✤ The atmosphere offers a comforting environment for all
14

18. Brand Equity Statement
✤ Relationship
✤ Be the cafe in the community you can count on. A place where
neighbors and employees are invited to learn, relax and enjoy
coffee.
15

19. Research Analysis
✤ Qualitative: One-on-one Interviews
✤ At Curt’s (Staff & customers) and other local cafes (Starbucks, Caribou)
✤ Coffee drinkers value atmosphere over most else. Product/coffee and
service are the “bait”, atmosphere drives retention.
✤ Typical drinkers visit twice a week and becomes a part of daily routine
✤ Insight: Atmosphere and “FEELING” drive retention.
16

20. Research Analysis
✤ Quantitative: Survey Monkey
✤ Online research conducted lead to the following insights:
✤ Consumers tried Curt’s based off of social mission and friend’s
recommendation (another example of community factor)
✤ Consumers said it’s “very important” or a “driving factor” about giving
business to a brand with a social mission
✤ Insight: Consumers care strongly about COMMUNITY.
16

21. Consumer Analysis
✤ Demographics
✤ Evanston is the primary consumers of Curt’s
✤ Racial Demographics:
✤ 66% White/Caucasian
✤ 18% Black/African-American
✤ Primary groups that visit Curt’s:
✤ Mothers with children
✤ Women’s outings
✤ Fathers with Children
✤ Senior Citizens, Young Adults (18-25) 17

22. Consumer Analysis
✤ Key Insights
✤ Coffee drinkers visit favorite cafe at least twice a week
✤ Consumers find coffee and food quality important but atmosphere
is much more important
✤ Word of mouth is the primary source of recommendations for small
cafes
✤ 78% of respondents live one mile away from Curt’s
✤ 100% of respondents knew of the social mission
✤ Social mission was the main reason they come to Curt’s
18

23. Consumer Analysis
✤ Key Benefits
✤ Emotional
✤ The brand becomes a welcoming coffee shop for patrons
✤ Rational
✤ Caffeine is the main energy source of people’s daily routine
✤ Cafes are a great spot to study or hold business meetings
19

24. Target Selection & Rationale
✤ Primary
✤ Evanston realtors on Central St.
✤ Realtors are a major part of Curt’s current business
✤ Make Curt’s as a place to sit in for lunch and stay for the atmosphere
✤ Offer the dining room as a place for realtors to meet with current or
potential clients
✤ Secondary
✤ Young Evanston families
✤ Family friendly atmosphere and menu
20

25. Marketing Objectives
✤ Increase awareness of Curt’s Cafe by 30-50% for local realtors on Central St. and
young families in the Evanston community.
21

26. Advertising Objective
✤ Solidify Curt’s Cafe as Evanston’s welcoming neighborhood coffee shop.
22

27. Message Objective
✤ Creatively communicate that the customers come for the coffee and stay for the
homey feeling.
23

28. Big Idea & Main Focus
✤ A meeting place for individuals, so people can get involved in to community
and give other new beginnings.
✤ Tagline: COME TOGETHER
24

29. Social Media Platforms
✤ Utilize social media for a simple and large medium
✤ Vital for the success of any type of business
✤ Use mediums such as
✤ Twitter
✤ Facebook
✤ Foursquare
✤ Vine
25

30. Twitter
✤ What It Does
✤ Acts as a “hub” for all social media channels
✤ Quick-response channel
✤ Speaks directly to consumers
✤ Brings excitement through spontaneous promotions
26

31. Current Curt’s Cafe Twitter
27

32. New Curt’s Cafe Twitter
28

33. Simple Twitter Ideas
✤ Create awareness of upcoming events in store and daily specials by using
✤ Inspiration quotes: If it weren’t for coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality
whatsoever.” -David Letterman #coffeeinspiration
✤ Jokes: What do you call a cake that goes real fast? Vrooom! Scone.
#sconejokes
✤ Daily Specials: Hey Curt’s lovers! For the next hour, swing by and get 25% off
our fresh-baked brownies! #brownielove!
29

34. Social Media (Pictures &
Video)
✤ Words get old. Pictures and video will increase interest instantly
✤ Use social media tools
✤ Youtube: Upload videos instantly to show customers the “vibe”, “aura”
and “neighborhood feel” Curt’s has to offers
✤ Instagram: Show customers the artist side of Curt’s by customizing photos
✤ Vine: Offer 6-second video to show off the shop’s delicious treats and
homey atmosphere
30

35. Youtube Ideas
✤ Commercial 1:
✤ Photo collage of students at Curt’s
✤ Students will have the opportunity to tell their story, hopes, dreams and
plans after they leave Curt’s
✤ Acoustic version of “Come Together” playing in the background
✤ Commercial 2:
✤ Fictional narrative/storyline with random happenings throughout the
cafe.
✤ The video will progress to the “living room” where an acoustic
performance of “Come Together” is playing
31

36. Vlog Series
✤ Highlight employees and active members of Curt’s Community
✤ Tell their OWN story about
✤ Their life
✤ The impact Curt’s has had on them
✤ How the cafe makes the community “Come Together”
32

37. Instagram Ideas
✤ Photos of daily specials, menu items, consumers and employees
✤ Photo Contest with customized hashtags
✤ #InstaCurts, #CurtsEvanston, #CurtsContest
✤ Best photo/most retweets wins.
✤ Winner receives a free lunch
33

38. Vine Ideas
✤ 6 second videos of:
✤ Stacking scones to be sold
✤ Taking freshly make cookies out of
the oven
✤ An in-store event happening in the
living room or main cafe
✤ More food making!
34

39. Facebook
✤ Remain an outlet for interacting with consumers through posts, photos, and
check-ins
✤ Increase the post frequency of Curt’s Café’s Facebook page
✤ Check-in specials and frequency discounts
✤ Consumer can tell all their friends they are enjoying the food and atmosphere
of Curt’s
✤ Make post more exciting and engaging
✤ Post questions or trivia to increase consumer engagement
35

40. Foursquare
✤ A social network that allows people to check into their current location
✤ Offers tips & reviews
✤ Shows the consumers current within a certain mile radius to restaurants and
businesses
✤ Consumer can check-in and connect through Facebook
✤ Offers coupons to increase frequency
✤ Use this as an outlet for frequent customer cards
36

41. What’s A Check In?
✤ People are able to geographically tag themselves at a specific location
✤ Allows customers to share their location with friends and social networks
✤ Create check in specials or frequency offers when people share that they’re at
Curt’s
37

42. Print - Loyalty Card
✤ Pass out loyalty cards to frequent
customers
✤ Relators
✤ Young Families
✤ Students
✤ After seven coffees the customer will
receive a free cup of coffee
✤ Reoccurring customers will increase
38

43. Print
✤ Print will focus on social mission
✤ Print will run in local newspapers
and magazines
✤ Evanston Roundtable
✤ The Daily Northwestern
✤ Evanston Life
✤ Make It Better Magazine
39

44. Print
40

45. Flyers
✤
Hand out at summer festive - local concerts, art shows or sporting events
✤
Volunteers will hand out flyers
✤
Flyers literally comes together to say many messages
✤
‘Come Together and Bring A Friend Everyday’
✤
‘Come In And You Can Help Everyday’
41

46. Button
✤ Buttons can be placed at the
counter
✤ Passed out at events
✤ Given away with gift baskets
✤ Placed at open houses for
relators
✤ Customers can take one and
where it around Evanston
42

47. Coasters/Business Card
✤ Coasters used at
✤ Customers to use at the cafe
✤ Local relators to use at the
office
✤ At home
✤ 4th of July Parade
✤ Tailgating at NU football games
43

48. Stickers
✤ Stickers can be an outlet to show Curt’s is part of the neighborhood
✤ Place on trash cans, Train and bus stations, Stop signs
✤ Coffee cups
✤ An inexpensive way to get Curt’s logo on the to-go-cups
44

49. Online Ads
45
✤ Connects to survey
✤ Places to post Ad
✤ EvanstonNow.com
✤ City of Evanston Website
✤ McGraw YMCA Website
✤ Evanston Community
Development Corporation
Website
✤ Northwestern University
Website

50. Online Ads
46

51. Survey
✤ Survey will conduct a personality
test
✤ Figure out what type of beverage
you are
✤ Coffee, Tea, Green Drink, etc.
✤ Tell the customer about the social
mission and make them become a
part of something special
47

52. Email Blasts
✤ Utilize current emails and aim to capture 50% more emails from new
customers
✤ Cashier can ask for emails or just have a jar for business cards on counter
✤ Offer a birthday club
✤ Offers free lunch or a $5 credit for any menu item during a customer’sbirthday week
✤ Let consumers know that you cater events
✤ Email a a brief letter every month
✤ For summer events and parties
✤ Special promotions (NU games, new menu items)
✤ Upcoming events (book clubs, open mics)
48

53. Farmer’s Market
✤ Booth at Evanston Farmer’s Market
✤ Sell baked goods, coffee and merchandise (coffee mugs, t-shirts, stickers)
✤ Direct consumers back to Curt’s for lunch
✤ Direct consumers back to rest after shopping
✤ Create awareness and exposure by giving customer the opportunity to sample
the amazing variety of food
49

54. 4th of July/ Flash Mob
✤ Register to be a part of Evanston’s 4th
of July Parade
✤ Get a group of volunteers
✤ Create a flash mob near Curt’s café
✤ Ryan Field or Rocky Miller Park at end of parade (off Ashland)
✤ An energetic way to get attention & direct customers to the cafe
50

55. Thank You