Costa Coffee appoints Wunderman Thompson to lead global brand strategy

Wunderman Thompson will coordinate Costa Coffee’s creative marketing and branding across 41 international markets | Photo credit: Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee has announced New York-based marketing agency Wunderman Thompson as its global agency of record for brand strategy. 
 

The WPP-owned creative agency will coordinate Costa Coffee’s creative marketing and branding across the coffee chain’s 41 international markets. WPP is also the Global Marketing Network Partner to Coca-Cola, which acquired Costa Coffee in 2018 for £3.9bn ($5.4bn). 

The partnership sees Wunderman Thompson take over from BBH London as Costa Coffee’s creative agency in the UK. Its first marketing campaign will focus on promoting the Costa Club loyalty programme in the UK, its largest market.  

Costa Club is a rewards-based loyalty scheme that Costa Coffee relaunched in August 2021. 

The promotion will run across Costa Coffee’s 2,800 UK stores and on national radio, promoting weekly deals. An out-of-home campaign is expected to follow in October 2022. 

Loyalty programme have become a key component for operators highlighting product value amid a rising cost of living crisis. 

The UK’s largest chains, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Caffé Nero, Pret A Manger and Greggs, all offer loyalty schemes rewarding customers with free beverages after a certain number of purchases have been made.   

Costa Coffee currently operates nearly 4,000 stores globally. The chain opened its first brick-and-mortar store in the US and relaunched in Oman with Kuwaiti franchise partner Alghanim Industries in August 2022.