Sandwich chain Panera Bread has kicked off a new campaign to promote its coffee subscription plan that is the antithesis of specialty coffee roasters.
Panera promises not to hold people up with nitro brews, cold brew or pour over artisanal brews that have been popularized by brands like Nestle-owned Blue Bottle or Peet’s Coffee & Tea-owned Stumptown and Intelligentsia brands. Panera promises consumers quick all-you-can-drink coffee for a subscription fee of $8.99 a month.
“The MyPanera+ Coffee Subscription came out early in 2020 and was in our pipeline for a while,” said Ezra Martin, Panera’s VP of Brand Building. “Subscription services are often seen across many industries today, and coffee was a product we saw fitting into that model to create a more convenient and cost-effective option — making it easier than ever for consumers to access.”
Panera launched its monthly coffee subscription, MyPanera+ Coffee, back in February, just before the pandemic hit. This was unfortunate timing as the effort was designed to increase customer visits and the shutdowns led to people avoiding eating out. In June, the brand revived the program with a promotional offer to help boost sales. The latest effort comes as the brand looks to breathe new life into the program and boost holiday sales at a time when the brand is offering new menu items including pizza.
“This spot was dropped to support end of year sales,” said Martin. “We have also announced the option to gift our MyPanera+ Coffee Subscription to family and friends this holiday season.”
The “Goodbye Extra, Hello Unlimited.” spot contrasts Panera’s coffee by promoting its simple and uncomplicated beverage, playing up the affordability of the product, which price per month costs less than two cups from one of the specialty roasters.
The Panera spot, created by Conscious Minds Studio, features Bachelor Nation’s Wells Adams as a barista who takes his job way too seriously, impeding a smooth customer experience. The humorous video shows Adams using a chemistry set and milking a miniature unicorn just to make one cup of coffee.
“We kept our work focused on one consumer truth: that getting a cup of premium coffee should be easy, but it isn’t, and oftentimes can be more time intensive than necessary and super expensive with add-ons,” Martin explained. “At Panera we win with premium, unlimited coffee at a great price, without the upsell. We partnered with Conscious Minds on creative development and production.”
The campaign targets “anyone wanting a cup of premium coffee who has suffered through the agony of spending a small fortune, enduring crazy add-ons and time wasted in line,” Martin adds.
The new effort comes after the October exit of former Panera CMO Chris Hollander, who the brand does not plan to replace.
Panera was recently rated No 2. in offering advanced digital capabilities among US-based QSRs, behind Starbucks and ahead of McDonalds, according to The Limited Service Restaurant Digital Maturity Benchmark, as reported by Restaurant Business. The report noted that Panera was strong in customer engagement and digital execution and offers services such as curbside pickup, delivery and catering.
As the company heads into the new New Year, the QSR brand plans to keep the momentum up on these innovations.
“2021 will continue to be a time of innovation for us as a brand,” Martin said. “We’ve done a lot of work to meet our customers where they are, give them more options than ever before and bringing value to their everyday routines with services like our MyPanera+ coffee subscription, or new product offerings like our Flatbread pizzas.”
