The Brief

Our objective was to make one small, French café in Sydney famous. We wanted to ensure the café stood out as unique, and became legendary far and wide across Sydney and the rest of the world. We achieved this by promoting a unique currency that charmed the world. Playing on the French nature of the café, we wanted this currency to feel romantic. So we let customers pay for their coffee by kissing their partners. To bring attention to this promo, we created a viral video on YouTube that explained the concept and generated half a million views in the first 2 weeks.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

To make Metro St James famous, we played on the French reputation for romance and made a unique ‘currency’ for our promotion. The nature of the transaction was that couples could kiss each other and receive a coffee each in return. To promote this concept, we created a viral video with the objective of generating conversation around the world, and more curiosity and footfall locally. Our projected desired outcomes were to: inspire at least 3 local PR articles or references on coffee blogs, generate 10,000 views on YouTube and raise the café’s footfall by 40%. What we achieved was far more sensational.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In the middle of a global financial crisis, the sentiment towards ‘Pay with a Kiss’ was hugely enthusiastic. And the café went from a faceless stopover point to being a destination thousands sought out and Googled throughout June. It was so popular that the café even decided to extend the campaign indefinitely. Quantifiable: - A 150% increase in the café’s footfall - Over 500,000 YouTube views in the first fortnight - Published in more than 140 major news sites in 29 countries including: US, Canada, England, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Brazil, Vietnam and China. - Estimated AUD$2.41 million in earned media - 120 to 1 return on media investment - Bistro fully booked for the next 2 months

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Metro St James is a small French café, so romance and a promotion that feels humble and ‘human’ are our natural allies. We also wanted a promo idea where redemption happens immediately and in person, to stand out from the many digital promotions on the market, and to again emphasise the French character of the brand. Coffee is an indulgent, sensory purchase, so a sensuous and flirtatious method of promotion was key to the brand, the product and the café’s notoriety.