Market Background:

After being hit by Egypt’s drastic devaluation, Nescafé, the generic household name - like most international brands, was being replaced by local competitor; Bonjorno.

To fight the devaluation battle, their recruiter SKU, Nescafé 3in1, was assigned the task. And instead of slashing prices, the brand devoted itself to University Students, and successfully launched two relevant campaigns in 2017 and 2018 that both helped grow the popularity of Nescafe 3in1 among its target as well as narrow the competition sales gap.

In 2019 & for the third year in a row, Nescafe’s “University Pride” platform was to be put to the test once more in the launch of its latest variant Nescafe 3in1 Milky. The university students cup of coffee now whitened with milk.

The Challenge:

The pressure was on to find a new angle, a new approach to target this same young nation without being redundant.

The Task:

Rationalize to these students why Nescafe 3in1 decided to add milk to the product, under the “University Pride” platform.

The Insight:

Study groups, all-nighters, tutorials, the campaign was launching during peak study season. The stress would be mounting, so too would the need to stay focused. Yet, the more stress there was to study, the more the students found reasons and ways to procrastinate.

The Idea:

Nescafe 3in1 Milky, extra milk to give students that extra push they need to get started.

Bringing The Idea To Life:

Egypt’s educational system is very exam-oriented. Tests carry the weight of the year’s grades, so every year, the onset of finals season is cause for a month-long nationwide state of panic, which coincided with the launch date of our campaign. For months students were confined to their bedrooms and study groups, away from any distractions… or so their parents thought. Egyptian students fell for the procrastination trap. The smallest distractions lead to hours being wasted, and students justified their actions to themselves with the flimsiest excuses.

Bringing the insight to life meant telling tales of distressed students looking to make a rational decision of why they couldn’t study. The rationalization was endless. They needed to sleep so they could wake up focused. They needed to eat so they could be energized, they needed to head to the appliance store to get chargers for their laptops.

And so, with the never-ending list of excuses came never ending stories of procrastination, all in the form of entertaining films that reflected the honest truth of exam time studying. No one could deny it.

The campaign launched with 3 films each showing a different distraction in a different setting and proposing Nescafe 3in1 Milky as solution giving students that extra push to get going.

Bedroom:

Exam time means extra studying, extra assignments, and extra excuses to do anything BUT those. The slightest slip could turn into hours of texting, the sight of a joystick could turn into a series of games, and we all know how dangerous just being in the vicinity of a warm, cozy bed can be. This film plays on the little distractions lying around the average student’s bedroom, that snowball into hours upon hours of procrastination. 

The message: When your grades are on the line and you desperately need to focus, Nescafé will give you the kick you need to do just that.

Library:

Group projects are no-one’s favorite, and the outcome largely depends on just how focused the group can remain on the task at hand. Sometimes you’re blessed with a teacher’s pet who’ll do the lion’s share of the work. Other times, the group spirals, going from distraction to distraction, just looking for any reason to justify an escape. This film shows the comic downfall of a group of students studying in a library… triggered by one student skipping the session. What started as one student submitting early, turns into a personal affront to the rest of the group. As their sense of betrayal rises, so do their voices, and when a meek librarian tries to quieten them down, the study session officially disintegrates. 

The message: When you have a project to finish and you desperately need to focus, Nescafé will give you the kick you need to do just that.

Living Room:

Nothing’s quite as fickle as the level of focus of students forced to study, and that’s exactly what our film shows. The film opens on a trio of boys gathered around a laptop, studying, when it suddenly dies. So what starts off as a minor issue, turns into a series of attempts to justify their need for a break - each excuse flimsier than the last. They could break for food, or to run a quick errand, or to shower… but they’d still be left with a sense of guilt nagging at them to return, souring their peace. Only one escape would leave them guilt-free, and that’s a “quick nap”. But as we all know, no-one sleeps sounder - or longer - than a student optimistically putting off their homework until morning. 

The message: When you have a deadline, Nescafé will give you the kick you need to focus.