Despite pioneering to-go coffee 60 years ago, 7-Eleven lags far behind competitors like Starbucks and Dunkin who together claim nearly half of market share and outspend our brand 7-to-1 in advertising media.

A pre-campaign survey told us that while 3 out of 4 Americans claimed positive perception of 7-Eleven coffee, only half of them considered themselves “very open” to drinking it – creating an intent gap we needed to close. Knowing that 7-Eleven couldn’t catch up to competitors’ media budgets, we decided to employ a challenger approach.

The brief was to create a disruptive activation that would place 7-Eleven coffee within consumers’ consideration set, by highlighting one thing the brand offers that the competitors cannot: great coffee 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This would all be launched on the 60th anniversary of 7-Eleven pioneering to-go coffee in 1964.

Before other coffee shops open, 7-Eleven is open for them. Through the activation Roasts For Rivals, 7-Eleven offered free coffee to rival coffee shop baristas who came in wearing their uniforms before other coffee shops opened. After all, 7-Eleven is the only coffee spot consistently open for America’s early workers.

While the activation was experienced by competitors, the message was seen by millions. The campaign lived on busy commuter routes and rival baristas became walking billboards with 7-Eleven cups in-hand. This helped spread the message that 7-Eleven is the only place for great coffee 24 hours a day.

The promotion ran from 4AM to 7:11AM between April 7th through 11th in the place that 7-Eleven pioneered to-go coffee 60 years ago – Long Island, New York. This kicked off the brand’s 60 years of to-go coffee campaign, which will run nationally through to the end of the year.

When it comes to coffee 7-Eleven holds less than 2.5% of the market despite having pioneered to-go coffee 60 years ago. This, and the fact that the brand is often outspent in media 7-to-1, invited a challenger strategy. Where we couldn’t outspend, we would outsmart. Therefore, we targeted a very niche group – rival baristas.

To maximize our targeting, the brand capitalized on a message that sets 7-Eleven apart: While most other coffee shops close, 7-Eleven serves great coffee 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It all came down to a simple activation and engagement strategy: we invited rival baristas in uniform to get a free coffee from 7-Eleven before their shifts, between 4am and 7:11am.

Ultimately, the campaign ensured that servers in Starbucks, Dunkin and McDonalds uniforms were seen drinking 7-Eleven coffee – communicating the brand’s 24/7 high-quality coffee credentials for all to see.

On April 1, 2024, we flooded the market with news that 7-Eleven would be offering free coffee to rival coffee shop employees during the early morning commute. Radio featuring baristas admitting to drinking 7-Eleven coffee played during morning drives. Out-of-home ads ran across the Long Island Railroad – one of the busiest commuter lines in the country.

All of this led to the promotion’s launch, which saw 277 7-Eleven stores on Long Island offer free coffee to rival baristas in uniform who came in between 4AM and 7:11AM from April 7th through 11th.

We captured film of the rival baristas making and enjoying cups of 7-Eleven coffee. These competitors became walking billboards for our coffee. And in May, the campaign rolls out nationally, including a 60th anniversary cup, as well as film and social ads.

While 7-Eleven pioneered to-go coffee, our sales and perception did not match this legacy.

We successfully set out to drive home a message that closed this intention gap. Before the campaign was seen, only 73% of people reported a favorable perception of 7-Eleven coffee. However, after campaign exposure, 88% had positive perceptions of 7-Eleven coffee – a 15% lift in sentiment. The best part? Purchase intent followed. A staggering 96% who saw the campaign said they would be more likely to buy 7-Eleven coffee. This was amplified by earning 565 million impressions during the campaign week.

All told, we learned that standing up for a niche group can help you stand out with a larger customer base. Proven by customer feedback from Long Islanders who saw our message: “Seeing what they’re doing for the community – for baristas – it makes me want to drink coffee there.”