Coffee Chat With Lavazza
By Kritika Nagam
For its second public event, Marketing Minds recently organized an interactive session with Mr. Carlo Colpo, Marketing Communication and Brand Director at Lavazza. The webinar was organized to facilitate interaction between students and Mr. Colpo, with students getting the opportunity to ask their questions and guide the conversation. In case you missed the session, we have compiled the most interesting and relevant points of the discussion in this article for you. So go ahead, grab a steaming cup of coffee, and read on!
The Changing Role of Digital in Marketing
The recent pandemic has been an accelerator of changes. In terms of digital, the digital space can be perceived in 2 ways. First, as a medium which acts as a customer touchpoint. It has the benefit of being a more dynamic, flexible communication channel which isn’t passive and top-down like the other mediums. However, it is not just a channel. It used to be earlier, but in the recent years it is much more than that- it is an ‘experience enabler’, which is the second aspect of digital. Overall, we are in an experience era. People these days are more interested in experiences, not just brands and products. This has led marketers to the natural next step where digital is a strong enabler that is able to connect the different dots.
The Market Conundrum- How Brands Customize Their Targeting Strategy According to The Region
Coffee habits are different all around the world. For instance, in the middle-east region, instant coffees and cold coffees are very popular. This is quite different from the espresso heritage which is intertwined with Lavazza’s brand identity.
To enter different markets, such as China or the Middle-East, Lavazza started by leveraging their ‘roots’- the espresso. The existing demand in these regions was for premium espresso and espresso-based products, which worked in Lavazza’s favour. This helped them enter from Lavazza’s roots and declaring what they stand for. Rather than immediately adapting to the local culture, they decided to establish their brand in a way that was coherent with the company’s philosophy.
Sustainability- Not Just a Bi-Product
Lavazza is committed to making sustainability a key aspect of their company. This will be done by integrating better practices into their existing mechanisms in a way that benefits all stakeholders. Their roadmap is wide and intricate. They wish to be carbon neutral by 2030, work with renewable energy in their plants and have all recyclable packaging by 2025. Lavazza does not own coffee production plants, it sources their coffee from external plantations and hence it cannot directly impact the emissions made by them. To counter the effect, they work with external agencies that calculate their total impact and for the part they cannot compensate for due to lack of authority, they buy carbon credits.
The Future at A Glance
Innovation is slowly becoming a key aspect at Lavazza. They created a department last year called “Lavazza On Life Experience’. They are working to rethink the marketing boundaries of the future- from new-gen vending machines that work with mobiles or use face-recognition tech, to coffee shops within shoe shops- their team is experimenting to find new and innovative coffee experiences.
