Table of Contents

Objective:..............................................................................................................................................2
Historical significance of Cafe:...............................................................................................................2
Costa Coffee:.........................................................................................................................................2
First Impression:................................................................................................................................2
Little thing makes a big difference:....................................................................................................2
Responsibility:...................................................................................................................................3
Handmade is Qualitative:..................................................................................................................3
Mocha Italia Blend:............................................................................................................................3
Coffee Beans:.....................................................................................................................................3
Trained Baristas:................................................................................................................................3
Quality:..............................................................................................................................................3
Best and Awarded Baristas:...............................................................................................................4
Costa Card:........................................................................................................................................4
Starbucks:..............................................................................................................................................4
Quality:..............................................................................................................................................4
Worked in Friendly Environment:......................................................................................................4
Customers:........................................................................................................................................4
In UK:.................................................................................................................................................4
Cafe Nero:..............................................................................................................................................5
The Market opportunity:...................................................................................................................5
Atmosphere:......................................................................................................................................6
Coffee and food:................................................................................................................................6
Service:..............................................................................................................................................6
Training:.............................................................................................................................................6
Site Selection:....................................................................................................................................6
Starbucks Formula for Social media success:.........................................................................................6
Starbucks on Twitter:.........................................................................................................................6
Starbucks on Face Book:....................................................................................................................7
 Starbuck on you tube:.......................................................................................................................7
My Starbucks Idea:............................................................................................................................7
Idea in Action:....................................................................................................................................7
3rd party views:..................................................................................................................................7
Starbucks v Costa Coffee v Cafe Nero:...................................................................................................7
Public Relation Approaches and Future Suggestions:............................................................................8
Conclusion:............................................................................................................................................8

Objective:
At the end of this course work we will be able to understand the Public Relation approaches of the
Starbucks, Costa and Cafe Nero. We will discuss the Marketing plans and the execution of those
plans of all three major Coffee Shops. By discussing their marketing plans we will be able to know
the best marketing plans and the best execution. We will compare them in context of their PR
approaches and see their strengths and weaknesses and will try to find out the reason behind one’s
success and one’s failure. In the end we will try to suggest them different approaches.

Costa Coffee:
Sergio and Bruno Costa opened coffee house with the name of Costa Coffee at 9 Newport street
London in 1971. Just metres away from their first coffee house the same unique Mocha Italia blend
is been producing now a days by Costa Roastery.

Mission Statement:
The mission statement of Costa Coffee is to be the most successful coffee business anywhere in the
world as measured by customer preference and return on investment.

Vision:
The vision of Costa coffee is to delight more than 1 million customers every day.

Costa’s heritage is firmly rooted in serving coffee the Italian way from bean to cup and beyond.

Although Costa is market leader but according to them at heart they are a small Italian family
business and are as passionate about the welcoming environment they offer their customers as they
are about making great coffee. The interaction between the bean and their customer is what
differentiates them.

First Impression:
As we all know that first impression is last impression Costa coffee is acting according to this saying.
When you enter into the Costa coffee you will notice very pleasant different things which other
coffee shops are not doing. Person will be welcomed warmly when he will enter in the Costa coffee.
You can find Ferrari of coffee machines and large range of authentic coffee drinks. In the end the
baristas working in the Costa coffee they are well trained and passionate. This is the impression you
will get when you will enter into the Costa coffee.

Little thing makes a big difference:

As we said before that the baristas are well trained. Hand make coffee takes time and skill to perfect
and they are expert in this art and present in every Costa coffee shop. This is little thing but makes a
big difference.

Responsibility:
Costa coffee claims that they are doing their business with responsibility. According to them they are
taking all the necessary steps to provide perfect coffee to the customers. They do all this by ensuring
the 100% of unique Mocha Italia blend from the Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and the coffee
growers have been supported through Costa Foundation. The most of the milk which is been used by
Costa coffee is been produced by themselves on the British farms and the quality is assured.

Handmade is Qualitative:
An independent study has been conducted by the Helen Carnac that the people like the handmade
things or the things which are made by the machines. It was an online survey and the question was
asked from the 3000 people.

 Machine made product have been like by the 10% only.

 Handmade product preferred on Machine by 46% people
 It is been believed that the quality of handmade products are very good by 60% people.
 According to 47% percent respondents the taste of the handmade coffee is much better
than the machine one.
 51% people believe that in the past the quality of the products were better than now a days.

Handmade coffee is speciality of Costa coffee which differentiates this from other competitors who
use the machine for the whole process. According to the independent research took place last year
Costa cappuccino was preferred by seven out of ten coffee lovers.

Mocha Italia Blend:

Sergio and Bruno Costa gave a unique name to their coffee a Mocha Italia coffee 37 years ago. This is
very nice combination of sweetness and bitterness. Normally people don’t take a coffee in hurry so
they can also wait for the good taste. That’s why handmade coffee takes time but people have no
problem to wait for the coffee.

One more facility that is been offered by the Costa coffee to the customer can customise their coffee
for no extra charge. You can have coffee using any flavour. Costa also offer Wide range alternative as
well like hot chocolate, teas and infusions, ice coffee and frescato.

Coffee Beans:
It is the only coffee house which roasts the beans very slowly. They are not ready to compromise on
this because they believe in quality. They take care of the smell and sound while roasting. They roast
the beans for at least 18 minutes. They stop roasting the beans when the oil is still in the beans and
ready to be released it creates a wonderful taste of coffee.
Trained Baristas:
As we discussed before that the baristas are very well trained. They are expert in making any coffee
and are present at every shop of Costa. Coffee machines have been checked every day to ensure
that the grind and coffee doses are right.

Quality:
To ensure the quality of their coffee all the process involved in the coffee done by them. They
source, store, blend, roast, grind and pour all their coffee.

Best and Awarded Baristas:

Costa coffee believes that their baristas are their speciality they are proud of it. There is barista
competition every year and all the baristas in the Costa stores all over the world take a part in it. The
barista of the year is been judged on its skills, presentation, personality and passion for the coffee.

Costa Card:
The customer also can get the Costa card and become a member of Costa coffee club. If you have
the card just pop in to the shop and start collecting points on the things you buy.

Targeted Segment:
The targeted consumers of the Costa coffee in the market are two; one is upper middle class and
second is privileged class. If we talk about the age demographics the students, youngsters,
professionals, families and mature consumers have been targeted by the Costa coffee. Ethnic and
Religious background was given minimal or no effect on the choices concerning coffee made by
consumers and their patronage of coffee houses.

Starbucks:
Starbucks was first established at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in 1971. The name Starbucks
came from classic American Novel Herman Melville’s Moby Dick about the 19 th century Whaling
industry.

In 1990 Starbucks was expanded initially in America and then to the other parts because of the
demand of coffee. It offer stock option to the part time employees. In the short time it becomes very
much popular. This phenomenon continues and now Starbuck had more than 15000 branches all
over the world.

Mission and Vision Statement:

Concise vision and mission statement ensures that a leader will stick to the core business and helps
to share this vision with others. Their mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit-one person
one cup and one neighbourhood at a time.

The mission statement of Starbucks is based on six principles and by following these principles
Starbucks wanted to be the finest coffee house in the world. The first and foremost principle is to
work to gather with respect and dignity in a great environment. The second principle is doing the
business with diversity. The third one is that the standard should be maintained while purchasing,
roasting and fresh delivery of their coffee. Satisfaction of the customers and contribution to the
environment and community are also the core principles of the Starbucks. In the end the recognition
of the profitability is also very important.

The Vision statement of Starbucks is “to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected
brand in the world and become national company with values and guiding principles that employee
could be proud of”.

So according to the mission statement of the company Starbuck is really willing to be the world’s
most successful coffee house which is highly rated and appreciated by the public. In their mission
statement they have taken account of the employees which is a motivation for the employees which
will help them to work hard for the company which is really taking care of them. Starbucks also
offers good benefits and compensation to the employees and they can feel that they can act like an
owner of the company.

Analysis of mission statement:

If we analyse the mission statement of the Starbucks we came to know that it is very much
composed mission statement but still it has to be improved in some areas. One area is technology its
mean they are not involving technological measures in the mission statement. Points concerning the
employees must have to be included in the mission statement.

Quality:
According to Starbucks they believe in quality that’s why they passionate about sourcing the fines
coffee beans and roast them with due care.

Worked in Friendly Environment:

Workers at Starbucks worked in very friendly environment where they feel everyone a partner.
Because it is not only job for them it is passion for the worker at Starbucks. Every body works there
with respect and dignity.

Customers:
Customers are very important for the Starbucks. Staff is always busy in making the customer happy
and uplifting their live. Human connection is very important for Starbucks. Starbucks store are
available everywhere for the convenience of the customers. Starbucks create a sense of belonging in
the customers and provide a place like heaven to them where they can forget all the worries of their
life. This is a place where you can meet your friends.

By ensuring the quality of our product giving importance to the customers working in friendly
environment any organisation can deliver which benefits the shareholders. Everybody is accountable
for his work at Starbucks.

In UK:
Starbucks is equally popular in UK as in other parts of the world. Starbucks enter in the European
market through the acquisition of 65 Seattle Coffee Companies in UK in 1998. The both companies
worked with commitment, shared a common culture, similar company values and mutual respect for
the people and environment.
Starbucks in UK gave a new look to the stores with sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, bars and stools
and meeting rooms for their customers. So there is something for everyone there. It provides so
many options to its customers that if the customer wants to spend some time out of their house and
office they can relax at Starbucks. Friends can meet and chat with the cup of coffee and relax at
Starbucks as they are sitting at their home. Light music and soft lighting creates the environment you
can’t find anywhere else.

In the end the most important thing is that the Starbucks Business Alliance is working with the food
service provider, Hotel, Restaurants, Corporate cafeterias and other businesses for the availability of
their coffee everywhere. They offer coffee related biscuits and confectionery which is supported
with the premium tea brand and add flavoured syrup. Starbucks provide full range and variety for
the customers which are very important to attract the customers.

Segmentation:
The targeted ages by the Starbucks are young and adults. Another targeted segment is providing
nice and relax place to the customers where they can have chat and enjoy chilli music and having
coffee which present their life style. For the middle age people it provides a place where you can
relax, have a chat and read a book with small healthy snacks and great coffee. For the coffee lovers it
provides trendy, fresh new developed coffee with high quality. For the atmosphere lovers it provides
a great third place.

Cafe Nero:
Cafe Nero was established in 1997 and it is fourth largest branded coffee bar in the UK at the
moment. It is an Italian style coffee provider and one of the leading and rapidly expanding coffee bar
in the UK gourmet. In the start they acquired five sites and started their work and were headed by
the Gerry Ford. In the short time this brand achieved widespread recognition. According to the
Allegra Report consumers named Cafe Nero as the best of coffee bars in UK. The “best espresso this
side of Milan” and “The traditional Italian Cafe” who acclaim of Cafe Nero are also rated the best
coffee houses in London. There are almost 58 branches of Cafe Nero in UK and very well positioned
to take advantage of the Market.

The Market opportunity:

According to the Allegra 2 Report the consumption of the raw coffee was 2.4kg per capita per annum
in UK which was the lowest consumption as compared to Germany (6.7kg), Holland (9.0kg), and
Sweden (11.5kg). But after 1997 market of gourmet coffee grown rapidly. According to the same
report the cups of espresso based coffee served in branded chain rise from 3.9 million in 2000 to 7.2
million cups in December 2003 at the growth rate of 23 percent per annum. The gourmet coffee is
looked like a affordable luxury now because lot of people are converting from tea and instant coffee
to gourmet coffee. Because of this change and the people’s interest in the coffee, coffee bars are
serving as alternative to the pubs and bars as places of the meeting and socializing. As revealed by
the Allegra 2 that in 1999 there were 577 branded coffee focussed bars out of total 6028 and this
figure was expected to grow to 1737 by 2003. When we talk about the market share not the entire
brand focused bar are capturing the share of the market. Cafe Nero is not only the leading brand but
also one of the two brands which capture the biggest market share in the last 12 months. This
growth may be because of its taste which differentiates the Cafe Nero from other coffee houses.
There are four main strengths of the Cafe Nero Brand which are as follows:

 Premium espresso based coffees;

 High quality and varied Italian based food menu that changes throughout the day;
 Continental style atmosphere and gathering point rather than fast food experience; And
 High level of personal services;
 Site selection judgement;
 Experienced management;

Atmosphere:
Quality of the food and atmosphere are the two things which attract the customers. So the
continent atmosphere which serves as a meeting place rather than food place. The customers feel
relax while having coffee there. According to the Allegra 1 survey Cafe Nero was rated one of the
best group for the atmosphere. This is also one of the reasons for its success. It provides atmosphere
according to the area where it is situated. For example in the residential areas it provide with the
sofas, armchairs, newspaper and books for the customer to create gathering point. The timings are
also set according to the area. For example Cafe in the Frith street in London’s Soho area shut at
4am at the weekends.

Coffee and food:

Cafe Nero offers different style of coffee with high quality and uses Italian blend. Because of its taste
and quality it is known to be the leading operator in the premium coffee market. At Cafe Nero the
typical Italian food is also been offered like sandwiches, pastas and cakes. Food increases the overall
sales and also gave customer options which is very good practise.

Service:
Service for any coffee house is very important with the taste if the taste is good and service is not
good the customer will not come back that is sure. So the aim of the company is to provide good
service to the customers. At Cafe Nero the customers are served by one barista throughout the
transaction which creates a relaxed environment. Talking to the customers is also very important
and staffs also try to remember the order of the regular customer.

Training:
Training is very important on which the company is so much focused it provide training to the staff
on the regular basis. Managers are not allowed to take over the unit until they sit in the seven weeks
training.

Site Selection:
Site selection also matters for the good sales. The most of the coffee houses of Cafe Nero are located
in the high traffic, high visibility locations to achieve high level of foot flow.

Starbucks Formula for Social media success:

Starbucks is very active over the social media as well there are more 705000 followers of Starbucks
on Twitter and more than 5428000 fans on Face book. So this strategy of the Starbucks makes it
more successful.
Starbucks on Twitter:
Starbucks is very active over Twitter. On Twitter experts answer the questions from the public and
receive the comments of public which help them improving their services.

Starbucks on Face Book:

Starbucks invite the people for the events on the face book. They also upload the pictures, videos
and blogs on the face book page. On the face book fans can find open place for discussion and fans
can comment on the services as well.

Starbuck on you tube:

On you tube Starbucks upload so many informative videos their services and origin of the coffee
blends. Starbucks you tube channel is so much popular and subscribed by more than 5000 people.
The people are allowed to embed the video from anywhere while most of the companies don’t do
that.

My Starbucks Idea:
This is own version of Starbucks social network where the customers are allowed to share their ideas
about anything which is related to Starbucks. This site is playing very important role in the strategy
of the Starbucks because through this they are aware of what people think about specific product.
By sharing their views people feel them a part of Starbucks.

Idea in Action:
Idea in Action is blog which is written by the employees of Starbucks which reveals that what the
Starbucks is going to do with the ideas of the customers. So in this way the customers are updated
all the time and it increases the sense of loyalty in them to the brand.

The Social Media plan of Starbucks is working very well which includes so many elements. In result
of this so many fans for the brands keep them involved in brand’s doings. Starbucks gives value to its
customers by saying-“hey, we care about what you have to say.”

3rd party views:

Jonathan Barnes says that when i was studying in the university i came to know about the social
media activity of Starbucks while studying their corporate and social responsibility strategy. So the
Starbucks using their social media well particular use of Twitter, You tube and Face book. It also
created a micro sites but it is a part of their social media activities and play very important role.

Starbucks v Costa Coffee v Cafe Nero:

To compare these three big names i would like to mention the Article of Sunday times which was
published on 24th January 2008 with the name of “Best Coffee on the high Street? Not Starbucks.”
This article was based on the survey according to which as compared to the other two big Coffee
houses in the high street the Starbucks is selling its Coffee on very high prices with no taste. As this
survey was did on the three big names and Starbucks was rated at the bottom of all three with
regards to its taste and price. Starbucks was considered the worst offender as they put too much
water in the Americano and surfeit of froth on a cappuccino. But it is a fact that Starbucks is biggest
Coffee house chain all over the world with 15000 stores in 44 countries.
Cafe Nero was rated no.1 among the three because of the taste, quality and low price. The
difference between the two was the taste and price. Cafe Nero is independent UK chain proved
cheaper than Starbucks and Costa coffee for the cappuccino and pastry. Costa and Starbucks using
single shot of espresso and more water as opposed to the double shot in Nero coffees.

The calorie content has also been examined across the big three. In black Americano 17 calories
were found and whole milk from Starbucks comes with 628 calories.

Price Comparison:
Starbucks:
Medium cappuccino £2.29; single espresso £1.40

Costa coffee:
Medium cappuccino £2.27; single espresso £1.33

Cafe Nero:
Medium cappuccino £1.80; single espresso £1.25

Brand Comparison:
Anyone who loves coffee will know that there is a coffee and then there is gourmet coffee. There are
many brands and three of the most popular are Miscela D’Oro, Milestone and Lavazza. Each has its
Pros and Cons as to what makes it the brew of choice for some and not for others. The two main
areas of comparison are price and taste.

Miscela D’Oro is known as one of the best brews of Italian coffee on the market. The product can be
purchased pre-ground, as whole beans or espresso pods. Espresso pods are created especially for
the use in ESE espresso makers.

Like Lavazza most types of Miscela D’Oro are a blen of Arabica and Robusta beans. Of course, the
company also has its 100 percent Arabica coffee as well for those who don’t favour the Arabica-
Robusta blends. Arabica provide milder flavour and less caffeine than Robusta blends. The beans
used are acquired from number of regions such as Africa, Asia and south and Central America.

The ever popular Millstone coffee comes in a number of varieties, namely organic, flavoured,
roasted and decaffeinated. This ensures that there is some for every type of gourmet coffee lover.
Millstone also prides itself on being able to suite just about every taste. The company uses a
particular species of Arabica beans grown in the locations like Indonesia, Hawaii, the Caribbean and
south and Central America. The seeds are specially selected and the plants are well cared for year
round. Only a small portion of large number of Arabica beans grown around the world meets
Millstone’s high standards.

Public Relation Approaches and Future Suggestions:

We have seen the public relation approaches of the all three big Coffee houses. They are all doing
there level best in respect of public relations. Starbucks is having interaction with the customers on
the web. They interacting with the public over Twitter, Face book and you tube. As we discussed
Starbucks they have different style to communicate with their customers. In that way the customer
feel their importance for the Starbucks. I was reading the views of the people on the internet about
the best Coffee house and I found mixed views from the public. Most of the people like Starbucks,
some like Costa and Nero.

We are discussing the public relation approaches we can measure this by looking at the article we
have discussed before that Starbucks is rated number three because of low taste and high price.
Then what is the reason that Starbucks is a largest chain of coffee house and earning so much profit
every year. It is because they have interaction with the public through many ways like Twitter, Face
book, you tube and they also get the feedback of the customer through the web site. The customers
feel their importance and they like to go to Starbucks. What Starbucks needs to do is that they
should maintain their quality.

Costa coffee also offers same standard as Starbucks is offering. In the context of the public relation
Costa is also using web like Twitter, Face book and you tube to stay in touch with the customers. It is
also very important to get their feedback. This is the reason that Starbucks and Costa coffee are
equally popular in the public instead of any other coffee house. If we do survey regarding which
coffee house is the best we will find the mixed views from the public. The reason behind this is both
are very popular in the public because they involve the customers even in their planning. They get
the suggestions from them and try to implement them. This is the reason that they are expensive
coffee houses than any other coffee house even then they are making good money.

Cafe Nero is also one these top three coffee houses which offers very good quality of the coffee
blend at the lower price. Cafe Nero have edge in the sense that they are very much economical and
providing a very good quality of coffee. But it is little bit weaker in communicating with the
customers as compare to other two. In my point of view Cafe Nero only need to interact with the
customer and need to give customer more importance in that way they can become the number one
coffee house.

Conclusion:
To conclude I will say that all three are the top class coffee houses and people love to go there. Costa
coffee is popular for their handmade coffee which no other coffee house does. Starbucks is also very
old coffee house and provides very good customer service. Cafe Nero provides quality with
economy. But customer service is very important for every business. So they need to arrange
training session on regular basis for the staff in relation to the customer service and manager should
be fully trained before taking the charge of store.

References:
Markman Ellis, The Coffee House: a cultural history, 2005.

The Times online, 24 January 2008

www.timesonline.co.uk

www.costa.co.uk
www.branrepublic.com