We are STAD UP: Welcome to our Uni-verse
Welcome to our Uni-verse!
We are STAD UP, an advertising agency formed by a group of creative GenZ minds with ideas that are… out of this world!
We are a Uni Project, part of the “ADandPRLAB” in the Communication, Media, and Culture Department at Panteion University.
On our “space trip” this semester, we landed on different planets, taking up numerous roles and exploring areas that seemed “alien” to us: UX Heuristics, Mobile UX/UI Design and Advertising Campaign Proposal.
🚀First land in UX HEURISTICS
Our first landing in the world of UX!
Mission: Become UX Heuristics Reviewers!
On November 23rd, the second module of the “Market Research, Digital Media and Apps” Lab started. Our guests were Mr. Antonis Birmpas, UX Research & Designer, and Dr. Panagiotis Zacharias, Founder | Lead UX Researcher of @theUXProdigy for a micro-module on UX/ Usability/UX Research.
They brought us into the world of heuristics and helped us understand how heuristics work. After the presentation, we were asked to choose an app or a website and do a heuristic evaluation. Having done a lot of research, we finally chose the website e-shop.gr, being the first-ever e-shop in Greece. We came across the paradox that despite the “bugs”, the site has a lot of traffic, especially due to the Crazy Sundays deals.
The key findings of our work were the following:
During the sign-up process, there were many inconsistencies and standard errors. For example, the sign-up buttons were not in the proper position according to the e-commerce standards. After completing the registration, while searching for a smartphone in the Crazy Sundays category, we encountered mistakes in flexibility and efficiency of use, e.g., the Crazy Sundays section was placed at the bottom of the page, despite being the most popular one.
Last but not least, the payment was not an easy task either. There was no indication of the “shopping cart”, so once again, we have a consistency problem. Also, in the payment section, the button “Next” appeared twice, thus, confusing the visitor. There were two other flexibility and efficiency of use issues we noticed: limited choices for payment methods and unclear locations for pick-up points.
Having done our first heuristics evaluation, we must admit that we fully understood the significance of heuristics not only when reviewing a website but also while setting up our own. Everything we gained from this module is undoubtedly necessary for our future projects.
🚀First land in MOBILE APP CREATION
And then we became Mobile App Creators!
On January 11th and 18th of 2023, the “Market Research, Digital Media, and Apps” Lab was completed. The theme of the 4th and final module was ‘’Mobile UX/UI’’ and our guest was Magy Kontou, Co-Founder — Lead Product & UI/UX Designer, SimpleApps | Trainer at Grow with Google | Ambassador at Women Techmakers | Fortune 40Under40 | TEDx Speaker | Co-Organizer at GDG Athens | #IamRemarkable Facilitator.
Magy Kontou introduced us to the UX/UI environment, by referring to the basics used in the design of an App, from scratch to finish, from the brainstorming process to the final product!
In order for us to understand this process in a more practical way, Magy Kontou used Proto.io, a platform designed to build mobile applications. In Proto.io, you can simply make your own app from the beginning, not only the aesthetic design part (UI) but also the interaction design (UX), the buttons, and the icons that the user can use to navigate the app.
After a hands-on tutorial on how to use Proto.io, we were asked to create our own Quiz Game App, as an exercise to apply the knowledge that we gained, with a minimum of 3 questions.
We had the chance to experiment with the platform, its tools, our creativity, and our ideas!
Each of our team members chose a different category based on their interests. The themes we chose were Greek food, Harry Potter, Minions and pets. Meanwhile, we had Magy’s guidance and feedback to help us get the perfect result.
In this module, we got helpful feedback regarding the UX/UI field, which helped us to understand the technical part of the app-making process. We experimented with our ideas and with the useful tools of the platform, which created a complete approach to this field of interest!
🚀First land in CAMPAIGN PROPOSAL
And our term as a marketing and advertising agency has just begun!
For our final project in the “Digital/Mobile Marketing” Lab of #ADandPRLAB, we had the opportunity to create a Campaign Proposal for Costa Coffee! Our team, STAD UP, following the directions and brief given by Despina Pappa (Senior Brand Manager Coffee, CEE at the Coca-Cola Company), developed a holistic marketing plan for Costa Coffee, aimed at raising brand awareness among Gen Z.
For our campaign proposal, we got to experience every part of the marketing and advertising process: from conducting consumer research and practicing our strategical thinking… to testing our creativity at every step of the way, till we reached our Big Idea.
But let’s take things from the beginning!
Quantitative Online Survey
Firstly, we had to get to know our customer’s brand, Costa Coffee, and the main characteristics of the coffee industry in Greece, in order to plan a targeted campaign proposal.
Thus, we conducted quantitative research using an online questionnaire. 100 people took part in our survey, 2/3 of whom were women aged 18–25.
The main results of our survey were the following:
- 81% chooses coffee brand based on the flavor
- 62% drinks coffee for energy,
- 5 out of 10 drink coffee at social gatherings,
- 25% drinks coffee at home, and
- 25% at work.
Regarding Costa coffee, our survey showed that:
- 55% of the participants know the brand,
- only 4 out of 10 have tried Costa coffee before,
- and more than 62% have not seen any advertisement for Costa Coffee.
Competitor Analysis
In our secondary research, we analyzed the main competitors in the coffee industry: Lavazza, Illy, and Jacobs.
Starting with Lavazza, it’s a coffee brand specifically known for embracing the Italian coffee culture and maintaining a wide range of products. Its communication strategy revolves around Italy and it showcases the Italian culture through storytelling advertising.
On the other hand, Illy is known for setting high standards for its coffee quality which consists of a unique 100% Arabica blend. In terms of communication strategy, Illy often uses experiential marketing, offering consumers a fun experience.
Jacobs has had a consistent presence in the coffee industry for over 125 years and its communication strategy focuses on connecting the Jacobs coffee-drinking experience with the senses and dreams of its consumers.
Two-Dimensional Map & SWOT Analysis
Continuing our secondary research, after our competitor analysis, we created a two-dimensional map with two main elements on its axes: Brand Awareness and Storytelling-based advertising.
We found that brands that scored high on the brand awareness axis were also known for using storytelling techniques in their campaigns. However, while Costa Coffee has done some storytelling advertising, it is not yet classified as a well-known brand within the coffee industry.
With this in mind, we carried out a SWOT analysis of Costa Coffee before starting to develop our own campaign proposal. Among the strengths, we noted the high-quality coffee it offers, while on the weaknesses we considered the low brand awareness of Costa Coffee, as well as, the lack of physical stores in Greece.
Researching Costa Coffee’s opportunities in Greece, we found that coffee consumption at home has increased in recent years. At the same time, Costa’s new trendy image can appeal to a younger audience and it opens up the opportunity for Costa Coffee to become active on social media.
Nevertheless, the long and consistent presence of its competitors in the Greek coffee industry could certainly be seen as a threat.
Suggested P’s
As requested, we analyzed our suggested P’s for Costa Coffee, the key factors of its marketing strategy. We decided to focus on 2 of them, the product and the promotion.
For the product analysis, the brand had the chance to expand its consumer base to a younger generation, GenZ, with the rebranding of its products, and its colorful, trendy packaging. As for promotion, in the previous campaign, Costa Coffee used a series of advertisements with the well-known Nikos Moutsinas, to approach the Greek audience and market, with the main principles of this campaign being optimism and positivity. However, we noticed that Costa Coffee doesn’t have a constant flow of content on its social media accounts.
Communication Strategy
Based on the information above, we structured our recommended communication strategy. We suggest using the power of social media which can be described as the meeting point of the younger generation.
For the Instagram account, we propose an interactive and dynamic profile, with minimalistic and aesthetic content, which will use challenges and consistent content, to build an impactful storytelling universe. We also suggest the use of the TikTok platform, which the brand has not yet expanded, with the creation of a Greek account highlighting the brand’s fun personality. This profile will use viral sounds, and challenges, create original content and fully interact with other accounts and users in the comment sections.
Last but not least, we find it important to Redefine the brand’s slogan “Μια Γεύση Αισιοδοξίας” and strengthen its association with optimism.
Target Audience & Persona
Regarding the Target Audience of our campaign proposal, they are GenZ and Millennials, who live in urban Greece, and like making coffee at home daily. They belong to the middle class and are recently financially responsible.
More specifically, the Campaign’s Persona is Tonia, a 23-year-old postgraduate student, who lives in Athens, and her hobbies are Yoga and drawing. As a personality, she is creative, yet an anxious introvert. She is trying to adopt a positive mindset and she scrolls through Instagram & TikTok for inspiration.
Creative Rational and the BIG IDEA
With our target audience in mind, we started brainstorming and gathering more information about this younger generation. We tried to figure out how a coffee brand could resonate with them and have enough of an impact on their daily lives that it could become recognizable without advertising solely the product, but selling them an idea!
Through our research (and a bit of our own psychological analysis as GenZ students), we discovered a generation with intense feelings. Specifically, our generation feels overwhelmed by our fast-paced lifestyle and a fear of missing out on all these moments and life experiences that are considered appropriate for our age. We also feel frustrated that Covid has put a pause in our lives, as well as, fed up with the political and economic scene. One thing is for sure though, we are a young generation that feels constantly uncertain about the future.
Yet, everyone around us expects us to make things better and create a brighter future for ourselves. But how? How can we create a better version of our world when everything around us feels… UPSIDE DOWN!
That’s where we thought Costa Coffee could help! We could build the image of a coffee brand that shows young people how to be optimistic in the simple moments of their daily lives.
We tried to “condense” our idea into a single, yet powerful, key message that could carry our optimism throughout the campaign: “Όταν όλα πάνε ανάποδα, eσύ δες το από την άλλη” (When everything seems “upside-down”, try to see it from a different perspective).
Once we have decided on our big idea we tried to visualize it and experiment with different ways to communicate our message to our audience, gradually building our communication strategy.
Media Strategy
Therefore, we developed our idea around the word #ανάποδα (upside-down) and its different meanings. Based on this, we created digital content for Costa Coffee’s social media, Instagram & Tiktok, as well as out-of-home advertising.
Specifically, starting with Instagram, we used carousel posts to encourage our audience to swipe left on their negative thoughts and adopt a different perspective, a positive outlook on every situation.
For example, when exams feel like a nightmare and you are studying at 2 in the morning, you need to look at it from a positive perspective, because sooner or later you’ll see the impact of your efforts and hear your name at the long-awaited graduation ceremony.
We experimented with our key message in different designs and we tried to apply our main theme of positivity to different everyday situations, aiming to create content that our audience could relate to.
Taking our idea a step further, we started thinking about all those moments in life when it’s worth seeing things upside down: before getting up from your bed in the morning, during a yoga class, or when you’re striving to gain those abs.
Additionally, since we wanted to connect our campaign with a younger generation of consumers, we could not pass up the advertising opportunities that derive from the world of memes! We used both, famous and new, meme formats with messages that are relatable to our young audience (the old Harold, POV, etc.).
There is no doubt that our generation has been scrolling through TikTok more and more in the last few years, so we wanted to create funny content on TikTok that would resonate with our audience. We put our idea into practice and created some examples of short-form videos with the hashtag #δεςτοαλλιώς, making fun of everyday situations.
Most importantly, we want Costa Coffee to build its own unique character! What better way to achieve this than by collaborating with well-known comedians/influencers. Each in their personal style and way could present and spread our main idea through their platform.
For example, Atzarakis (a famous Greek comedian) could create comedic sketches with funny twists around the idea of upside-down. On the other hand, Nikos Moutsinas (well-known actor and comedic TV persona), during the segment of his show called “solving your love problems”, he could give unpredictable advice saying #δεςτοαλλιώς. Another great opportunity for influencer marketing is the young stand-up comedian Spilios Floros, who could create a funny video commenting on the top 10 «ανάποδους» (weird) people that you can meet in your everyday life.
As mentioned before, aside from digital marketing, we decided that out-of-home advertising could be helpful for our campaign: an optimistic message printed on bus stops could cheer up every student, either going to university in the morning or returning home at night after an exhausting day.
Metrics
Last but not least, we could not help but refer to the campaign’s metrics as a means of evaluation.
We aim to increase the number of Instagram followers by 4.000 and the number of uses of the hashtag #δεςτοαλλιως by 2.000. As for influencer marketing, we have also set some goals: for the YouTubers Spilios Floros and Dionisis Atzarakis, we want to reach 70.000 and 200.000 views respectively. For the Costa Coffee Greece account, the first step is to reach 1.000 followers.
When the campaign is over, we will conduct research on net sentiment using AI programs and another on brand recall, brand recognition, and brand favorability.
Conclusion
Having all these projects in mind, we could say this has been a challenging, yet insightful, semester for STAD Up, as a team, and for each of us individually, as future professionals in the field of Advertising and Public Relations.
Through these projects, we have challenged our creativity, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. We still have much more to learn, but one thing is certain: We had a powerful and inspiring “launch” of our uni(verse) projects in the #ADandPRLAB!
We would like to thank our mentors Markos Aris, Lina Bakalexi & Diana Birba for their guidance, and for being generous in sharing their knowledge throughout the sessions. We would also like to thank Betty Tsakarestou and Stavros Kaperonis for organizing such an amazing experience for us this semester.
3…2…1…Get ready for our next takeoff!
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Let’s get social: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and of course on TikTok
You can find out more about our work on our Website
Professor: Betty Tsakarestou
Team Members: Paraskevi Aloimenou, Leonidas Archontakis, Evelyn Kalyva, Theodora Kostadima, Marialenapaschali
