With an annual market exceeding NT$70 billion (US$23 billion), Taiwan has been put on the map as a major coffee-consuming country especially in roasted coffee. But the coffee market in Taiwan is still dominated by nice Café and convenience stores selling roasted coffee.

Besides, Taiwanese people don’t perceive McCafé as a coffee brand, they only see it as a side drink that comes with the meal (like coke). To increase market share, McDonald’s need to build up an iconic brand image for McCafé.

Idea: Make McCafé a real coffee shop

In fact, McCafé has everything a coffee shop has, so the key point is to make customer perceive McCafé as a real coffee shop. Taking into account Taiwanese people’s obsession with mini-series, we decided to create COFFEE TALK, a McCafé mini-series that help the brand connect with customers.

When consumers step into McDonald’s, they are in the mood for food, not for coffee. Strengthening the image of McCafé as a coffee brand can help change the perception. We utilize restaurant’s environment and things people will do in coffee shops to make this happens.

We found out when people meet up for coffee, they usually have something to talk about, so we create a mini-series – COFFEE TALK. Each episode unfolds a story happened in McCafé, a coffee shop that was perceived as a restaurant instead of a cafe in the past.

This mini-series premiered on KKTV, one of the largest online streaming platforms in Taiwan, and was performed by movie director and a line-up, attracting many movie fans to watch. With the power of words of mouth, people get to know McCafé is a real coffee brand.

It’s McDonald’s Taiwan’s first time to launch a mini-series on KKTV. The show ranked No.1 in Taiwanese Drama section on the premier day, and soon a wide discussion about the stories started in social media. Film critics, relationship experts, columnists wrote reviews about COFFEE TALK. Estimated US $ 74,984,122 was earned during the period.

Sales of McCafé had been increased by 38% this year during non-meal periods. It created buzzes successfully and make people believe McCafé is a real coffee shop.