Copyright: Illustration by Iva Kujundžić
A BATTLE FOR COFFEE-POTS
ALMA QUATTRO ARCHIVES
SERIAL: OOH DEVELOPMENT IN SERBIA - PART 8
Created: Sep 18, 2019
With the opening of a new market, the imperative of brands is to take the biggest piece of the cake we call the market. After many decades of the monopoly of “C kafa” brand (which became a synonym for the product, just like Gillette was for the safety razor), the coffee market was open for new players.
Before 5th October 2000, the elating smell of coffee from little kiosks-coffee shops with onsite roasteries was spreading along the streets and the entire centre of Belgrade smelled like a Turkish mahallah.
Eh, what products we had in these little kiosks: coffee, Esmeralda album stickers, PEZ bonbons, fake Barbie dolls (shiny like real ones), Ninja Turtles chewing-gum (with temporary tattoos within the wrapping), Tofita, Topi-Top loly-pops (with chewing-gum like a toffee), and cigarettes. Parents used to send their kids to buy cigarettes (“Daddy said ‘one red Marlboro’, please”). You could find everything in those kiosks except petrol. Local guys were selling petrol from two-litre Coca-Cola bottles and metal canisters and the entire rolling stock of Belgrade depended on those “providers”.
The only “legal” coffee was “C kafa”, which had the absolute monopoly.
I remember that at that time you would go the city centre and you could smell coffee everywhere, as if we had been in Turkey. There were many small kiosks with onsite roasteries along the pavements. Coffee, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes - the business was flourishing. You could buy imported coffee only at flea markets or in duty-free shops. That’s why some people still buy coffee and chocolate at open-air markets.
Sandra Dejanović, AQ chief sales manager
Nescafe was a luxury affordable by few customers and Nescafe red mug was a status symbol.
For some time other producers had also used red mugs in their ads until Nescafe sent a warning that the red mug was their trademark. From that moment nobody wanted to play with such things any more.
When the foreign capital entered the country and the dinar became stable, the entire economy and all existing companies underwent a restructuring process.
There were two players on the market that stood out with their large investments - Doncafe and Grand kafa. They both invested substantial amounts in the quality of their products and, more importantly, in brand development, and particularly in OOH campaign. For those who don’t remember, it seemed like a madness even to think to erase the equals sign between coffee and “C kafa”. The producers of new brands were both aware of that main obstacle and they knew that they would be able to overcome it by long-term investment in marketing. It was the beginning of the so-called war for market shares.”
Sandra Dejanović, AQ chief sales manager
One of the advertisements that marked that period was an ad with Seka Sablić, a famous actress. Before watching it, do you remember what coffee brand she advertised?
One of the earliest innovative or “innovate” ad was made by Bonito with a bag pasted onto a billboard. It’s interesting that they have kept the visual consistence in respect of the brand and campaign up to the present day.
Sandra Dejanović, AQ chief sales manager
Having chosen Dragan Nikolić and Milena Dravić for their ads and commercials, Grand kafa made a real hit. They became recognizable with a catchy slogan: “The taste and the smell, Grand kafa.”
Sandra Dejanović, AQ chief sales manager
When we talk about ground Turkish coffee, Doncafe and Grand kafa stood out with their campaigns and advertising. There are also other producers in the domain of instant coffee. This distribution is relevant only for Belgrade. What we as the medium with national coverage have noticed is the presence of a large number of local brands in small towns. For instance, in Vojvodina “Dobro jutro kafa” is a very popular brand, while “Café kafica” is popular in Western Serbia. A good example of innovative campaigns is a recent campaign for Jacobs Turkish coffee.
Sandra Dejanović, AQ chief sales manager
One more campaign which was exceptionally noticed, awarded, and successful was Doncafe’s campaign “Good morning, Jazzvers.”
Kiosk-coffee shops with onsite roasteries were in time replaced by the chains of kiosks with standardised dimensions and range of products. Also the new retail chains were opened offering a wide range of our favourite morning drink brands.
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