The Strategy Story

Nescafe Marketing Strategy:

Lesson in Pull Marketing
Subir Roy 11 months ago

I grew up in a tea-drinking community. Coffee,

for me, was an exotic out-of-home drink meant
for an occasional indulgence. Fast forward to
today; I can’t live without my morning cup of
strong Nescafe Classic. This thought took me
back to the 20th century when ‘It All Started.’

Become a Donor, Receive a

Ring
UNICEF India

Nescafe started in Switzerland in 1938 as a

soluble coffee powder to solve the problem of
excess coffee production in Brazil. As coffee
grew in popularity, Nescafe introduced new
variants like coffee beans, ready-to-drink coffee,
and milk coffee to cater to a wider consumer
base.

Train Nescafé (1981) La Cole…

Valued at $13.9 bn by Interbrand in 2020,

Nescafe is the market leader in instant coffee
and the 4th most valuable beverage brand
globally. It has over 5,000 products and is
available in over 180 countries, with 5,500 cups
consumed every second. Much of its credit goes
to Nescafe’s marketing strategy that includes
inspirational advertising strategy, range of
products, maintaining affordability for cost-
conscious consumers, and utilizing strong
distribution network of Nestle.

Hormone & Antibiotic Free Milk

Full Cream Milk Online
Organic, Nutritious, Untouched Cows Milk.
100% Contactless Delivery.

provilac.com

OPEN

Nescafe in India – How It All Started

Nescafe entered India in 1963 with the promise

of a hot cup of coffee in just 5 seconds. For a tea-
drinking nation like India, instant coffee was a
novel concept. The brand introduced Nescafe
Classic for North, East & West & Nescafe
Sunrise for South, a 70:30 mix of instant coffee
and chicory.

An early memorable Indian ad of Nescafe used

peppy music to create positive associations with
starting the day with Nescafe through the
tagline – Taste that gets you started out.

OLD INDIAN ADs "Nescafe"

Nescafe Marketing Strategy

& Mix (4Ps) in India
According to Nielsen, Nescafe felt the heat from
Bru in 2007 summers when Bru gained around
7% market share from Nescafe in instant coffee
in Apr-Jun Qtr over the previous Qtr. Analysts
attributed the loss to the aggressive launches of
more miniature packs & new cold coffee variants
by Bru during summer in North, East & West. 

Become a Donor,
Receive a Ring
UNICEF India

This story will break down all the 4Ps of the

marketing mix of Nescafe and decode the
marketing strategy that has helped the brand
maintain the leadership for last many decades.

Promotion – campaigns that set it apart

To regain market share, Nescafe launched its

mega campaign ‘Know Your Neighbour’ in 2010
by roping famous Bollywood Actor Deepika
Padukone & TV actor Purab Kohli, with the
tagline – Switch on the best in you.

Deepika Padukone FANTASS…

Research suggested that interactions among

people were declining due to their fast-paced
lifestyles. Neighbors were not engaging in more
extended conversations anymore. Nescafe saw
this as an opportunity to become relevant in
consumer lives through this campaign. It was a
series of ad spots featuring celebrities
highlighting the need for connections over a cup
of Nescafe.

Global Student Accommodation

and Housing |
Universityliving.com

University Living Open

The ads introduced new flavors, pack sizes &

occasions to enjoy coffee with neighbors and
guests. The digital page ‘Know Your Neighbours’
became the most significant fan page for
Nescafe globally, with more than 3.5 lakh fans in
2011. Also, the Nescafe Facebook fan page with
2.2 million fans became the most popular page
for Nescafe in the world in 2012 (source: Annual
report).

NESCAFÉ यांनी पोस्ट केले

Before I mention the campaigns that

followed, let’s look at the evolution of
Nescafe master brand positioning in
India:

1990s: Taste that Gets You Started Out

(Energetic start to the day)

Become a Donor,
Receive a Ring
UNICEF India

2010-2013: Switch on the Best in You (make

connections)

2014-2016: It All Starts with Nescafe (Cup of

resolve in daily struggle)

2017-2019: It All Starts with Nescafe – Badal

Life ki Raftaar (Energy boost for fast-paced life)

2020-2021: It All ReStarts with Nescafe –

Karne Se Hee Hona Hai (Get started again after
lockdown)

Become a Donor,
Receive a Ring
UNICEF India

Let us now deep dive into the campaigns that

helped the brand stay contemporary. Nescafe
was losing its point of differentiation globally
due to the rising competition. Hence, for its
most extensive global repositioning exercise
under the Name ‘Redvolution,’ Nescafe in 2014
created a new Tagline – ‘It All Starts with
Nescafe.’

The new strategy would bring all the brands

under the master brand, Nescafe, with
consistent brand imagery worldwide. The Red
Mug would feature in all communications to
evoke familiarity & brand recall. A master brand
strategy helps increase brand equity, lower the
cost of media & forge longer-lasting customer
relationships.

Cup Of Resolve

In India, the “Redvolution” was introduced with

the ‘Stammering Ad’ launch by a stand-up
comedian. The ad depicts how a stand-up
comedian converted his weakness of
stammering into strength with the help of
Nescafe. The brand was positioned as the ‘Cup
of Resolve’ with the #ItAllStarts campaign.

This was an evolution from the earlier ‘make

connections’ positioning to reflect the changing
values of youth. Social media was extensively
used to generate interest. In the launch year
itself, the ad generated 50,000 Facebook shares
and 2500 consumer-generated stories. The ad
was among the top 10 YouTube ads in India in
2014.

To date, there are a whopping 6 Mn views on the

ad. It was also a clear shift away from a celebrity
to appeal to the digital natives & connect with
their daily struggles.

NEW NESCAFÉ AD 2014 | #It…

For the next two years, Nescafe was positioned

as a brand enabling the youth to fight against all
odds to stay resilient. The cartoonist ad in 2015
won hearts again for Nescafe. It highlighted the
use of social media to drive success in a creative
career, thus striking the right chord with the
young TG.

Nescafe collaborated with MTV for Nescafe Labs

– a platform to bring the untapped creative
talent of India under one roof and help them
learn from industry experts. The team came up
with another advertising marvel in 2016 with
the ‘RJ Rishi’ ad, where a budding RJ rose from
desperation to hope to attain success.

Best Milk Delivery in

Mumbai
Straight from the Dairy Farm
Untouched Milk from Most Advanced Dairy
Farm. Delivered within 12 hours of milking.

provilac.com

OPEN

Nescafe collaborated with Red FM through the

program ‘Nescafe Mornings’ to drive home the
idea of the morning cup of resolve. Slogans were
cleverly used to reflect consumer values. The
suitable usage of taglines & slogans helps create
a higher brand recall. The new slogan #StayPut
stitched together all the three stories of Nescafe
as the ideal ‘Cup of Resolve.’

Badal Life ki Raftaar

2017 was the time for another repositioning

under the #ItAllStarts umbrella. The new slogan
‘Badal Life ki Raftaar’ was targeted at a younger
TG, which is always pressed for time & wants to
achieve a lot in life.

Nescafe placed itself as a companion in the

journeys of hard-working students by giving
them the energy boost required to succeed in
their fast-paced lives & not miss any fun.
Outdoor campaigns around the new theme were
planned tactically based on the places the
younger TG frequently visited.

Karne Se Hee Hona Hai

2020 was the year for yet another positioning

induced by COVID-19 with the ‘Karne Se Hee
Hona Hai’ slogan. It urged people to make a
fresh start after re-opening of the economy post
lockdown. In a twist to its global tagline, it
created ‘It All Re-Starts with Nescafe’ – an
effective way to stay relevant.

The mega campaign was a success, helping

Nescafe gain about 3% market share in the
Coffee market in 5 years. 

Source: Euromonitor

Product – A cup for every need

Nescafe consistently introduced new products to

increase both users and usage in line with its
pull marketing strategy. To emulate the tea
drinking experience in the North, it launched
Nescafe 3 in 1, a premix of coffee, dairy creamer,
and sugar. Nescafe Mild was launched to appeal
to consumers who did not like the strong taste of
coffee.

In 2012, foaming mixes of Cappuccino, Vanilla

Latte & Choco Mocha were introduced to
provide more variety to the youth as part of the
mega campaign. Nescafe Gold was re-launched
in 2017 to serve consumers with evolved tastes.

In the South, Nescafe Sunrise went through

multiple product enhancements to closely
match the taste of filter coffee. Limited edition
Nescafe Sunrise Rich Mountain blend was
launched in 2010 to create excitement. Sunrise
Strong was launched in 2012 with a specific
coffee-chicory blend specifically for the people
in Andhra Pradesh. In 2016, Sunrise Insta-Filter
with dry decoction granules was launched to
offer the authentic South Indian Filter Coffee
Taste.

To maintain coffee leadership, Nescafe

introduced a host of other complementary
products like the Nescafe vending machines for
offices, stalls, and E Nescafe – a smart coffee
maker to prepare instant hot coffee. 

Price – The perfect mix of affordability

and choice

Nescafe has customized and adapted its pricing

strategy to serve the needs of the value-seeking
Indian consumers. It straddles across multiple
price bands starting from the Rs 2 sachet pack.
This helps increase penetration by generating
trials & thus increasing affordability.

Product prices vary based on the variant,

ingredient, flavor, size, and type of packaging
like sachets, cartons, cans & jars. While sachets
help mass user acquisition, Nescafe Gold, priced
at a premium over Classic, serves the discerning
consumer with a more prosperous and smoother
experience. 

Place – The strength of a Wide

Distribution Network

Nestle’s well-oiled distribution network powers

Nescafe. Having popular brands in the portfolio
like Maggi & Kitkat supports the pull marketing
strategy of Nescafe as retailers never want to be
stocked out on products with high demand. 

Out-of-home was always recognized as a critical

alternate trade channel for Nescafe. Availability
& visibility was ensured in educational
institutions, railways, airlines, offices, food
joints, and restaurants throughout the country.

Plenty of Consumption Zones like Café Nescafe,

Coffee Corners, and multi-brand stalls were set
up, and innovative vending machines were
introduced. Product sampling was carried out at
scale to acquire new users.

Conclusion
Both Nescafe & Bru are locked in a fierce battle
for market leadership today, with each