CHALLENGE: Don't Say Goodbye

When JFG Coffee's billboard – a beloved part of the Charlotte, N.C., skyline for decades – was removed in November 2009, it sparked an outcry among area residents, for whom the sign had achieved icon status. JFG saw this as an opportunity to become an advocate for something the company's customers considered important: cultural preservation.

STRATEGY: Save the Old with the New

Peter Mayer Advertising, the agency of record for JFG's parent company Reily Foods, suggested a partnership with Historic Charlotte, Inc. and the formation of Save Our Signs Charlotte, an initiative to preserve the area’s most popular and historic signs.

The Interactive team knew this grassroots effort was tailor-made for social media, so we developed an integrated marketing plan that relied on a JFG Coffee/SOS Charlotte Facebook Fan Page as its hub. Our Media department's online ad buy, as well as the extensive editorial coverage earned by our PR department, focused on driving visitation to the page, where people could find information about the preservation efforts. We also initiated fundraising by using cafepress.com to create and sell T-shirts and coffee mugs.

RESULTS: Full-bodied Success

The campaign has been a resounding success. Our social media and PR efforts resulted in significant attention, including 34,500 impressions on Twitter the week the campaign launched, more than 31.4 million impressions in traditional media and online, as well as a high level of engagement on the Facebook page. Furthermore, these tactics, coupled with advertising placed in traditional media channels, sampling and in-store collateral, led to a 14% increase in sales of JFG Coffee in the Charlotte market vs the same period last year.

At present The famous sign has undergone a full restoration, and JFG currently is scouting locations, using recommendations solicited on Facebook, for the sign's new, permanent home. The campaign was so well received by Charlotte-area residents that JFG's final contribution of a percentage of its coffee sales through area restaurants and retailers to the SOS fund amounted to over $13,000.