When you buy a product from a high-street shop they usually give you a branded bag to carry it in, so that when you walk down the high-street with a big grin on your face after buying that pair of shoes you’ve been saving for, you become a walking advertisement for the brand.
Why should food and drink be any different?
Sponsorship Branding
Sponsorship branding is a marketing strategy in which a brand supports an event or activity by putting money towards the event and in return receives coverage in the form of advertising and visual branding. Sponsorship branding aims to collaborate brands of various sizes with event agencies in order to generate a relationship that aims to economically gratify both the sponsor and the event.
Printed Cup Company sponsors Clitheroe Rotary Charity Golf Day by providing paper cups for midday refreshments and in exchange, receives brand coverage and promotion. A printed paper cup is a perfect medium for delivering sponsorship advertising because you are able to effectively display every sponsor of the event on a single paper cup which is then placed in the hands of every attendee of the event! It is one of the most effective marketing strategies and a great way to gain large scale coverage.
Corporate Branding
Corporate branding is important because it not only creates a memorable impression for consumers to relate to, but it also creates a level of expectation in terms of quality and service that your customers expect to receive. It is a way of distinguishing yourself from the competition and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you the better choice. Printed Cup Company works with multiple Corporate brands such as Ted Baker, BMW, Lavazza, Silverstone Formula 1 and designer brand Paul Costello. The corporate branding they choose usually relates to some from of timely promotion, creating a unique design specific to the marketing activity of the time. We previously worked with Paul Costello on their summer season launch for London Fashion Week. The paper cups were used as props by the models as they paraded down the catwalk, flaunting their brand to the entire audience.
Branding the High-Street
As a customer walks down the high-street with a takeaway cup in their hand, passers-by may see the branded cup and start searching for the place it came from to get a drink for themselves. Or perhaps a branded paper cup left on a table in a public space has an eye-catching design causing people to research the brand and find out more. The potential reach of a branded paper cup is unlimited once it leaves the café, restaurant or bar it originated in.
The internet went crazy after a Starbucks coffee cup was spotted on the set of Game of Thrones which was then aired to the entire world. Even if it wasn’t Starbucks coffee contained within the cup itself, the branding on the outside of the cup caused Starbucks to reach millions of people without even trying - a perfect example of a paper cup finding its way in front of a huge, unintended audience. This is why takeaway merchandise should be an extension of your brand and an important tool for standing out within a sea of competition on the high street.
Branding on Social Media
Coving-19 instigated a shift in the hospitality landscape after national restrictions caused the high-street to close, which at first glance, may cause problems for spreading awareness through branded takeaway packaging.
However, as social distancing is maintained and people have less physical interaction they turn to the internet to socialise over screens. Many customers turned to sharing a picture of their ‘takeaway date night’ on social media and in their hand is the branded coffee cup or takeaway packaging. This may be retweeted, liked and shared countless times and is an opportunity not to be missed!
Interactive Branding
Following on from social media sharing, the availability of smartphones in everyone’s pocket and the ability to print literally anything on a paper cup provides a golden opportunity to engage with your customers. An embedded QR code printed on the product packaging can help cafes, restaurants & service providers open a dialogue and interact with their customers. The destination link within the QR code can be a call to action such as a company competition or customer sign-up form or an informative link to a list of ingredients, nutritional information and dietary advice for the food contained within the packaging. This creates added value for the customer long after they have left the shop and even after they've finished consuming the contents within the packaging itself.
Collaboration Branding
As we have explained above, a paper cup isn’t just a paper cup, it is a 3D marketing tool placed in the hand of every paying customer. This provides multiple opportunities each day to present branding and marketing messages to a wide variety of people in the local area. So why not share this space with another local business and share the cost of printing the cups too? We call this idea the ‘Collaboration Cup’. The way it works is the café, bar or restaurant that intends on using the cup for takeaway beverages receives a branded takeaway cup for half the price, while the third party involved with the collaboration receives prime advertising real estate in the hands of every paying customer. It is a win-win for everyone involved as well as a cost effective way for local businesses to help and support each other.
To find out more about our Collaboration Cups, click HERE!
Seasonal Branding
Variations to seasons and public holidays provide businesses with the opportunity to change and adapt their branding slightly to stay fresh and avoid stagnation in the public eye. Every Christmas, Starbucks launch a new paper cup to coincide with their Christmas drinks, which usually involves Christmas colours and a new, eye catching design created by their design team. Starbucks loyal customers eagerly await these new changes every year, smartphones in hand, ready to snap and share the latest Starbucks coffee cup! Why? Don’t forget that you are marketing your brand to people, and people are interested and excited for public holidays. It is easier to encourage peoples current thoughts and interests and direct them towards something your brand can offer instead of converting them to an entirely new way of thinking.
Find out more about seasonal branding HERE!
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