Kendall Ross Helps Tully's Coffee Embark on an Educational Expedition at Every Turn

The Coffee Harvest sub-brand re-educates coffee connoisseurs about what makes Tully's different.

Tully's Coffee has been a pioneer in the specialty gourmet coffee category for more than ten years. In order to make a big splash with a new retail offering for its own chain of stores, Tully's approached Kendall Ross, a strategic brand development and design firm based in Seattle. The resulting Tully's Coffee Harvest is a comprehensive integrated program of branded packaging, point-of-sale consumer communication, retention marketing, and employee product knowledge aimed specifically at boosting the brand's recognition as a premium coffee leader.

"This project is as much about education as it is about design and marketing," says Tim Ross, principal at Kendall Ross. "We knew we had to communicate a sense of authenticity in all of the materials, differentiate the new products, and speak to Tully's coffee pedigree and expertise." As the new Coffee Harvest sub-brand was created specifically to offer products not available in supermarkets, the program had to encourage and increase traffic in Tully's stores. After a visual audit of Tully's and its competitors' store interiors, the firm created a distinct, branded communication strategy and collateral program around the concept of a coffee expedition.

The design and education effort is strategic in that by entertaining and educating consumers with this special sub-brand, Tully's is also re-educating its consumers about what makes all of Tully's coffee special and worth the premium price. Tully's stores compete with Starbucks stores on Starbucks' home turf, the Pacific Northwest. Tully's wants to remind its loyal customers that they are actively searching out unique varietals all the time, that their "hand-crafted" coffee is roasted in smaller batches, and that is why they are in their store.

In this way, the strategy is similar to approaches that wine makers use to appeal to wine connoisseurs. "Tully's wanted to educate their consumers about the nuances of coffee," says David Kendall, principal and creative director at Kendall Ross. After all, coffee plants are agricultural plants, so "What really gives Sumatran coffee the qualities it has?" There are many factors that contribute to each coffee's unique taste-altitude, soil, weather, and location-and the beans are harvested as Spring moves across the globe from the Far East (Pacific and Indonesia) to the Americas.

Reminiscent of historic journeys, the Coffee Harvest sub-brand design and collateral material communicate the products' global sources and seasonal harvests graphically and textually. The copy highlights tasting notes and intriguing bits of distinctive information on the countries and their coffee culture and reinforces the romance of the expedition. The materials also create anticipation of the two upcoming harvest "seasons" - with Africa, Arabian, and Indian regions next, followed by Central America and Caribbean regions. Each season has three varietal blends - Spirited, Balanced, and Grand. In addition, with seasons there is a compelling deadline time period in which to try - or store up on - a novel or favorite blend.

"We truly wanted to design an experience," adds Kendall. "Our goal was to educate customers without overwhelming them, then create a point of sale campaign that is smart, entertaining, user-friendly, and takes the customer along for the adventure." In order to draw them in the experience, the graphic elements had to be dramatically different from recent special promotions or blends that Tully's has offered. "You can have a great concept, but the challenge is making it come to life in a store environment. Many brands struggle with translating brand messaging at the store level," says Kendall.