DALLAS – 7-Eleven Inc., which sells at least a million cups of coffee a day, is launching a multi-million-dollar "freshness guaranteed" advertising blitz in February.
Through taglines such as "Our coffee's fresher than your average joe" and "Guaranteed fresh or we'll brew it new," 7-Eleven said it intends to educate coffee drinkers about the chain's commitment to quality.
The new campaign includes radio advertising, billboards, messages on the side of buses and posters at Long Island railroad stations. Signs inside and outside the more than 5,500 U.S. 7-Eleven stores will let [image-nocss] customers know they can ask a 7-Eleven employee to brew a fresh pot on the spot. Local promotions will be a part of the marketing mix.
"We want to communicate quality along with convenience," said Kerry Burson, 7-Eleven's senior director of beverages. "7-Eleven and convenience are synonymous, but not everyone may know that each time we brew a pot of our top-selling coffees, we first grind beans just for those pots. Not all major coffee retailers can claim that. The most popular flavors are our Exclusive Blend and Dark Mountain Roast for the majority of 7-Eleven stores, and the Exclusive Blend and Columbian varieties for our stores in the upper Midwest."
7-Eleven has been grinding coffee beans in stores since the mid-1980s. Packages of 100% Arabica whole beans are delivered to the stores, where they are ground fresh just before being brewed, one pot at a time (in some 60 California 7-Eleven stores, coffee is made in larger urns).
Coffee is the convenience retailer's No. 1-selling proprietary beverage, and more than half of its customers purchase a beverage when they visit the stores, 7-Eleven said.
"We're selling more than a convenient cup of coffee," Burson said. "We offer quality, fresh-ground, fresh-brewed coffee for people on the go. Our customers want a great-tasting cup of coffee, fast and at a good value. Ounce for ounce, 7-Eleven offers one of the best coffee deals around."
Prices for a cup of 7-Eleven coffee range from a little over $1 for a 12-oz. cup to $1.49 for a 24-oz. size. 7-Eleven customers can customize their coffee and other hot beverages to suit themselves, adding as many flavored creamers, syrups, spices and condiments as they like at no extra charge. The per-cup price is the same no matter which hot beverage is chosen.
Burson, added, "And, when you think about it, the smallest cup at 7-Eleven, a 12-oz. size, averages about 9-cents an ounce. 7-Eleven's 24-oz. size cup costs only 7 cents per ounce, complete with any and all coffee condiments. This is still a-hard-to-beat value, especially as a tougher economy causes consumers to carefully consider where to spend their money."
7-Eleven also is continuing its January Supreme Breakfast Bite and coffee "meal deal" offer with additional radio advertising. The company said it will create a separate radio spot for February promoting the new sausage, egg, cheese, peppers and onions roller grill product that is ready to eat and easy to consume along with any size cup of coffee for $1.99.
Click the Download Now button below for 7-Eleven's coffee backgrounder.
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