Rediffusion has bagged the Barista outdoors advertising contract. The contract was earlier handled by Mumbai-based Aloknanda & Co.
Barista's indoor campaigns, such as posters, menus and collaterals, would continue to be with Aloknanda & Co.
Brotin Banerjee, head, marketing and strategic planning, Barista Coffee Company said, "We wanted a fresher perspective to our outdoor campaigns. There is a need to grow the market. We need to make our brand relevant to a wider section of society."
Barista has earmarked close to Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) for advertising, up by nearly
25 per cent over last year. Among the various aspects of Barista's campaign, Rediffusion will also look at customisation of stores, customer communications, promotions and highlighting of certain products. Six advertising agencies had placed bids to grab the Barista account.
"We zeroed in on Rediffusion as the agency has a better understanding of retail dynamics and our brand requirements," says Banerjee.
Rediffusion would also suggest ways to better utilise lean periods and handle media for the coffee company.
Banerjee clarified that there will be no radical change to Barista's aspirational image. "We want to tweak our image a bit. The perception in consumer mind should be that though Barista is a premium brand, it is also affordable." A few months back the company had slashed its product prices by 15-30 per cent.
Though Barista officials are not willing to disclose the company's turnover, they say that it has grown by about 70 per cent. Currently, it has 130 outlets across the country.
In its bid to expand its customer base, Barista has tied up with music store Planet M, bookstore Crossword, ABN Amro and the Taj Group of Hotels to have cafes within their premises.