Case Assignment - Williams Coffee Pub

The Williams Coffee Pub is coming to Kingston. You are a marketing consultancy company that has been hired to determine an appropriate location for the pub and to develop an introductory advertising campaign for the company.

Williams – Background

Williams’ first pub opened in Stratford, Ontario in 1993. Williams’ goal was to be different than any other retail coffee establishment. The owners envisioned a shop where customers would not have to wait in line for their order. Instead, they would order, pay for the order and then be seated. Their order would be brought directly to their table. This “fast casual” approach offers a more relaxing atmosphere without sacrificing speed of service. A “drive-thru” option is also available in some of the larger locations.

The owners decided on the “coffee pub” name because it suggested both food and a gathering place. Their coffee is made from the finest beans available and the coffee menu includes regular coffee in a multitude of flavours, espresso, cappuccino, lattes, and flavoured steamers.

Williams’ positions itself as a “meeting place” offering the finest coffee beverages, gourmet teas, juices, and other lifestyle beverages. These are complemented by a broad range of light, tantalizing meals, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Refer to the Williams’ website for more details (www.williamscoffeepub.com).

At Williams, guests can escape their fast-paced lifestyles and simply relax or perhaps have an informal get together with friends or have a meeting with business associates. The pubs are popular with two distinct target markets: college and university students (for meetings and some studying) and business people (for meetings with clients while on the go).

Williams is now a 40-store chain with average per unit sales ranging from $600,000 to $1,700,000. The new shop in your city (town) is forecast to be in the $800, 000 to $1,000,000 range in its first year.

The Challenge

The challenge is to develop a marketing communications strategy to introduce Williams Coffee Pub to your market. The company’s goal is to open the new store April 1, 2014.

Williams’ basic marketing objectives for the year are to create awareness for the William’s name in the local market and to achieve the sales revenue objective mentioned earlier.

You must start by establishing marketing communications objectives for the launch campaign. Then develop a promotion, place, product and pricing strategy for the local pub.

Budget

The owners are willing to spend $30,000 on the launch campaign. If additional funds are required proper and adequate justification must be included in your case study. It is your responsibility to spend the funds wisely.

Target Market

Essentially, anyone over the age of 16 is a potential customer. As indicated earlier Williams’ is popular with students and a wide cross-section of working adults in other markets. For the purpose of developing the introductory marketing campaign the precise description of the target market is left to your discretion.

Assignment

This assignment is done in pairs. The case will be continuously added to for the next few weeks so please ensure access to your materials for each class. The final case is worth 10% of your final mark. Research is expected and must be cited. Utilizing the library and the writing centre are highly recommended. 

Your printed, hard copy case response is due at the end of class April 24^th – no exceptions!

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