The challenge was to achieve editorial media coverage that highlights research which found 7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa Coffee’s cappuccino to Starbucks.We had to change the current perception that all coffee is equal, deliver the message that 7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa through editorial, and encourage Starbucks and Nero drinkers in particular to switch to CostaOur strategy was to make this commercial message newsworthy and create a story highlighting Costa’s quality and great tasting productsWe insured the tongue of the man responsible for the quality and taste of every single cup of Costa’s coffee for £10 million through Lloyds of London, and ran a thorough media relations campaign to generate as much media coverage which communicates the '7 out of 10' message as possible.The outcome was widespread coverage across the UK which incorporated the '7 out of 10' preference message; a combined circulation of over 130 million with 40 international markets covering the story and sales rose by 9.2% on the day of the campaign launch.

1. Media relations campaign – Delivery of 300 media kits containing research findings, advertising and pre-paid Costa cards to build relationships and awareness. Meetings at Costa’s roastery offered.2. Advertising launch – Master of Coffee Gennaro Pelliccia’s tongue was insured for £10million.Coverage communicated the importance Costa places on taste and quality and showed the brand’s commitment to protecting Britain’s favourite coffee following the research.

Photography of Gennaro at Costa’s roastery and media information was distributed to national media picture desks. The story was embargoed and appeared extensively on the day of the advertising launch.3. Regional store events - One-to-one meetings between key regional media in 10 UK cities and local Costa baristas demonstrated Costa’s expertise and engaged stores and baristas with the campaign. Prominent feature coverage was secured in media across the UK.4. Media partnership exploitation – Our agency worked with a media service agency to maximise editorial opportunities.

Key Results:Media coverage with a combined circulation of over 130 million was achievedCoverage across 40 international markets Sales rose by 9.2% (year-on-year like-for-like comparison) on launch dayCosta’s KPI’s (customer satisfaction, recommend and re-visit) increased by up to 6% during the campaign. Starbucks score decreased Highlights:BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 news, BBC news 24, CNN, Five News, Sky News radio, BBC Radio Four.National newspapers on launch day: The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, Metro, The Daily Mail, The Sun and Daily Sport.Online coverage on BBC.co.uk – third ‘most shared’ story, Twitter.com – Jon Snow ‘tweet’ about the story before his interview with Gennaro. A Facebook fan page for Gennaro was generated independently. The story was discussed online in the days following the launch both on discussion boards and in feedback to online articles.