Marketing Mavens

Wide Awake & Still Smelling the Coffee

CCDs marketing head keeps tweaking his offerings to stay relevant in an evolving mkt
RAHUL SACHITANAND MUMBAI (ET:21-8-2012)

As marketing chief of a coffee joint synonymous as a youth hangout, K Ramakrishnan of Caf Coffee Day (CCD) has never had a day off. Started off as a premium provider of broadband internet over a cup of coffee, CCD has evolved over the past two decades, ditched roadband, expanded its beverage list beyond coffee, overhauled its food menu and is now in the process of re-inventing its easily recognized bright-purple-and red identity. Simultaneously, Ramakrishnan is expanding CCDs formats to include lounges and squares (for consumers who want something hip, yet muted) and creating subdivisions for everything from highways to hospitals. CCD is letting the young, hypernetworked caf goer decide where the brand goes and what it does next. With some 2.7 million Facebook fans (65% of whom visit and interact with the firm on the social networking site), CCD has a ready audience to act as food taster, dcor critic and pastry chef. So Ramakrishnan, who previously marketed everything from two-wheelers to pressure cookers and personal computers, hangs out where his consumers do, besides CCD outlets, to connect with them. To expand its food menu, CCDs Facebook fans were happy to help. For instance, they wanted smaller snacky offerings (like cheese toast) and new options (like smoked chicken); when it got critical feedback on a stores upholstery, the marketing team pulled out all stops to fix it overnight; and when it wanted to expand its dessert selection it devised dessert shots, a suggestion from the fans. Social networking is not a campaign, it is a commitment, says Ramakrishnan. If you dont want to hear bad news, dont be on social media.

As global brands such as Starbucks and Dunkin Doughnuts look to crash CCDs party, Ramakrishan, a chemical engineer and MBA, has been constantly been brewing fresh formulations to keep the brand relevant. Initially positioned only as a high street caf, he has been pushing CCD far and wide across urban India, tweaking formats to dot highways and has even signed up with Apollo and Fortis hospitals to give caregivers a place for a quiet coffee. The arrival of international competition and consolidation are realities of an industry that you cannot escape, says Ramakrishnan. We clearly wish to navigate by our consumers rather than competition. Despite an economy downturn of significant proportions, cafes such as CCD seem to have escaped even as consumers have snapped their wallets shut on other purchases. When I joined CCD, we had around 800 outlets. Today we have 1,350 outlets, says Ramakrishnan. However, he can already see the competition in the rear view mirror as the likes of Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme, Di Bella and Coffee Republic add some 500 new cafes in India in the next three years. CCD, which plans to have 2,000 cafes by end of 2014, is a market leader. Success in this business hinges on identifying a good location for a caf, zeroing in on a large enough audience and building the store around them. According to people who know Ramakrishnan well, his strength is his ability to take the emotion out of marketing and use cold business logic to drive CCD forward. What I admire about him is his ability to not get swayed by every opportunity to expand, especially in the lucrative youth-centric market, says Raj Kurup, chairman of Creative Land Asia, an independent advertising agency. As CCD looks to stave off rivals, observers think Ramakrishnans ability to see the big picture and keep abreast of the latest trends like of instance, smart tables, which allow consumers to order with the touch of a screen and are also an opportunity to earn via advertisingwill help.

He always has data at hand, which is itself a big differentiator, says Jessie Paul, founder of Paul Writer, a marketing advisory and former marketing chief of Wipro. Unlike many indigenous brands that confuse marketing communications with marketing, CCD's leadership is a combination of product innovation, distribution, customer experience and branding that has worked to create a standardised experience for the customer. CCDs sheer size may prove to be its biggest challenge yet. Keeping food and other service standards uniformand marketing this homogeneityis what will keep Ramakrishnan busy. K Ramakrishnan, 41President,Caf Coffee Day SELLS: Coffee and other beverages and snacks in youth hangouts SOLD IN THE PAST: Pressure cookers, Two-wheelers, PCs LIKELY TO BE SEEN AT: A CCD store, observing what youth consume and desire SUCCESS: Serving up a combo of product innovation, distribution, customer experience and branding to create a standardised experience CHALLENGE: Keep food and service standards uniform as it keeps expanding