Coffee machine maker De’Longhi might have taken a leaf out of Nespresso’s book when they announced early this week that the Hollywood actor Brad Pitt will become a brand ambassador for the company.
Many will remember the highly successful campaign Nespresso ran with George Clooney, which enabled their capsules – originally intended for commercial use – to become an aspirational household brand choice.
Now, De’Longhi through their recent campaign, ‘Something Perfetto’ is no doubt hoping they can do the same with Brad Pitt. The campaign is part of the company’s media and marketing plan to grow in the UK market, as well as their wider strategy of connecting their machines and quality beans.
Last year, the coffee machine market in the UK grew by 27%
The ad shows Pitt on his motorbike in Los Angeles — picking up a bag of specially roasted beans and taking a scenic route home, where he brewed a cup of coffee using De’Longhi’s PrimaDonna Soul coffee machine.
Backed by a £4m ($5.5m) budget in the UK, the campaign debuted on September 2nd, and the TV commercial was aired during the World Cup qualifier between England and Hungary. It will also run on various other platforms like PR events, influencer marketing, video-on-demand and social. The company will measure the success of this campaign based on the purchase of intent, appeal, and the growth of the overall UK market.
De’Longhi’s marketing director Alex Pickering stated:
The whole point of us investing in media and a strong brand ambassador like Brad right now is to effectively speed up growth.
Pickering stated that the UK coffee market is “not as mature” as compared to the other European countries, making it the perfect country to grow their brand and specifically in the premium end of the market. Last year, the coffee machine market in the UK grew by 27% alone — twice the growth rate of 2019 — as a result of the lockdowns caused by the pandemic.
Even with restrictions loosening up and people returning to the office, working from home is still prevalent, making hybrid working patterns more appealing to most. This will continue to boost the demand for quality coffee brewed at home.
Pickering commented:
We see the UK as a really high potential market for bean-to-cup coffee machines as the awareness levels have been very low in the UK, as has household penetration.
But the desire for great tasting coffee is greater than ever before, so we felt that now is the right time to accelerate awareness and household penetration. We don’t see the coffee machine market slowing down at all.
The campaign is also part of De’Longhi’s wider company strategy of combining their quality coffee machines with quality beans, so their customers can “navigate different types of coffee beans”. The company has opened an e-commerce store called De’Longhi Coffee Lounge for independent coffee producers to use as a platform. Pickering mentioned:
It’s really about bringing the world of machines and beans together. Ultimately, they both go hand in hand, which is certainly why we are increasing our investment in media for our largest ever campaign.
We think Brad Pitt is an excellent choice for the brand. He’s already shown success with expensive brands like watchmaker Tag Heuer, meaning he has appeal to a wealthy demographic.
