Categories
Restaurant Branding Lifestyle Trends

5 Coffee Shop Marketing Trends for 2024

A morning cup of coffee was once the norm for the average American. But now, the norm is three, maybe even four cups of coffee to get the day started.

As the coffee industry continues to grow in 2023, consumers demand a higher level of convenience and quality when choosing their preferred drink. Coffee shops are now required to provide options that can be whipped up quickly, taste great, and align with consumers’ health and environmental viewpoints.

This highly competitive market demands new marketing tactics that connect with guests to get them through the door. Let’s dive deeper into the coffee shop trends of 2024 to find innovative solutions that will help your shop stand out from the rest.

1. Target Younger Audiences

In 2023, 74% of Americans now drink coffee. This wide audience wants their cup of coffee to be a statement about themselves, and they’re looking for something that’s made sustainably and is healthy.

One way you can connect with this audience is through the sourcing of your ingredients. Find sustainable ingredients from your local farmers and roasters, Fairtrade certified farms, or vendors who work with the UTZ Certified seal. These resources increase the credibility of your coffee to this generation.

2. Explore Artisan Drinks and Speciality Drinks

According to the National Coffee Association’s 2023 National Coffee Data Trends Specialty Coffee Breakout Report, 52% of US consumers aged 18 or above reported drinking specialty coffee in the previous week. The reason they are so popular with coffee drinkers is the care and attention to detail that goes into them. 

Creating artisan and specialty drinks means that you put a high level of importance on quality throughout the entire supply chain. Sourcing ingredients locally will help differentiate your coffee shop in the market and justify consumers paying a premium price for your cups.

3. Use Milk Alternatives

Plant-based alternatives are continuing to grow in popularity. More consumers expect to have these options when they’re ordering. A great way to provide this option to your customers is through non-dairy milk alternatives.

Oat milk is currently the preference of choice for the majority of this audience, but there are other options such as soy, almond, rice, and cashew milk that can serve as great replacements for traditional milk.

Having a variety of milk options can also benefit your specialty drink menu, giving customers a variety of ways to personalize their cups to their liking.

4. Consider a Stretched Coffee Concept

We’ve talked about how you can think outside the box to find ways to set your coffee apart from the crowd, but you can also think outside the cup entirely. Get creative in how you deliver the coffee flavor that so many crave with coffee flavored ice cream, popsicles, or chocolate bars. As of 2023, 48% of Americans enjoy coffee ice cream, 30% drink Irish coffee, 24% enjoy coffee liqueur, 14% like espresso martinis, and 10% enjoy coffee soda. This will give your guests more reasons to visit the store throughout the day, instead of only for their morning cup of joe.

5. Allow Custom Ordering

As of 2023, three out of four Americans use coffee enhancement flavors and sweeteners. The ultimate way of giving your customers a cup that connects with them is through custom ordering. This trend has been on the rise for a while and allows customers to create their own coffee masterpieces.

As a business owner, this strategy can give you great insights into your customers’ preferences. Using POS systems that allow for menu modifications means you can track what toppings and extras are your best sellers. This will help you find what suppliers and roasters your customers prefer and allow you to plan your future strategies accordingly.

Need More Support? 

Not sure where to begin? As experts in the restaurant industry and Real Estate industry can help craft creative and personalized marketing strategies to help you maximize your potential. Check out more of our work here.

Categories
Tourism Advice Lifestyle Trends

Tourism Marketing Predictions for 2023-2024

It’s 2023 and travel is finally taking off again. Today, digital travel sales have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. They’re even expected to hit $833 billion in 2025. Besides the obvious reasons travel sales have gained their turbo-charged momentum, market shifts, tech advancements and changing attitudes can take some credit for moving the needle far, far ahead. If you’re a tourism marketer looking for an edge over your competitors, here’s what our top tourism industry trends 2023 will bring.

Bleisure travel will continue to rise.

While Millennials have already taken over a large portion the workforce, Gen Z has begun infiltrating and their numbers will only continue to grow. What does this mean for travel? With the shift in demographics, business leisure travel is on the rise. Even before the pandemic, 90% of Millennials tacked on entertainment activities to their business trips. Now, employees are taking advantage of flexible corporate travel policies and utilizing their resources, like self-service apps and programs, to optimize their stay. Consider appealing to young, business professionals and business travel trends post covid when marketing your hospitality or tourism company this year.

Sustainability will influence travel decisions.

With the shift in demographics, advertisers and marketers will have to pay close attention to how tourism trends 2023 will hold and appeal to their target audience’s changing preferences. Recently, green initiatives have become a hot topic. It’s reported that seven in ten consumers have actually avoided certain tourism spots because they were skeptical of their sustainable practices. This includes climate, environment and even culture. Travelers in 2024 are expected to closely consider climate warnings when it comes to their travel choices as well as the impact their travel may have on native cultures.

Travelers will prefer unique, authentic experiences.

Experiential tourism is hot right now. Travelers want once-in-a-lifetime adventures. They want to get on the same level as the locals. That’s why many travelers prefer non-traditional accommodations, so they can explore their destination with a different lens. In fact, 74% of millennial business travelers opted for vacation rentals versus hotels. If hospitality and tourism brands want to show their consumers all the unique and authentic experiences they offer, they will need to up their digital ad game. Leveraging video assets will give digital ads a stronger search presence to win over their audience’s attention and ignite their wanderlust. Other useful initiatives to do this include: influencer campaigns, loyalty programs, digital promos, social media strategies and more you can read about here.

Personalization & automation will make travel more convenient.

Bye, bye travel agents. The modern travelers are utilizing self-service apps and programs to meet their accommodations and preferences. Tech advancements make their travels almost completely contactless. From mobile boarding to facial recognition, faster in-flight travel updates and more, tech innovations will make the process smoother and more convenient, giving travelers that much more reason to jet off at a moment’s notice. The future of tourism in 2023 is moving toward a fully automated world.

For more ideas or questions about how you can apply this information to your brand, feel free to reach out. Push can help take your brand to the next level.

Categories
Social Branding Lifestyle Trends Education

The Future of Education Marketing in the Metaverse

As you know by now, the idea of the metaverse has started to gain more and more popularity as many leading companies and brands are starting to shift their attention to the newest frontier, Web 3.0. This next evolution of the internet sees online experiences evolving, creating communities where users can immerse themselves within a virtual world or brand.

Metaverse Marketing

Although the term metaverse has just recently gained mainstream relevance, there have already been versions of the metaverse that companies have been collaborating with. Games like Roblox partner with brands like Gucci and Vans to create visual worlds that users can explore to learn more about the brand. 

Tips for education marketing in the metaverse

But these virtual experiences aren’t limited to just businesses—education marketing in the metaverse can give prospective students a better understanding of your school and what you have to offer. Here are some tips for education marketers on how to effectively leverage the metaverse to promote your institution.

Tip #1 – Prospective student meetings

Through the power of the metaverse, enrollment teams will have the ability to meet with prospective students in virtual rooms, instead of being separated by hundreds of miles.

Meta, formerly Facebook, is already using settings like this in their new virtual technology called “Horizons Worlds,” providing users with virtual spaces where your avatars can meet with others. These virtual experiences can create a sense of intimacy that is lost on a video or phone call.

Tip #2 – Virtual campus tours

Bring your campus to life in the metaverse and allow prospective students to take a tour of your campus. Virtual tours can include a game day experience, giving future students the best seat in the house for the big rivalry game. You can show how your school’s traditions are truly unique and allow the guests to take part.

Research shows that students who visit a campus before applying to a college are two times more likely to matriculate. These experiences are essential to the admissions process, and taking it to the metaverse allows potential students to be fully immersed into the campus no matter where they are.  

Tip #3 – Virtual in-class learning

With the power of VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), your online learning experiences can be transformed to immerse students in their education. 

In recent years, online learning has seen a significant increase, but students are claiming that this new mode of learning leads to feelings of isolation. These online learning environments often lack the human interaction that in-person classes provide.

Marketing the use of VR and AR in your online classrooms can show prospective students that your programs look to provide the community and interaction that many online learning programs currently lack. Instead of students and professors being trapped inside boxes on a screen, they can walk around and interact with one of another.

Why Push?

Here at Push, we’re always looking for ways to maximize the reach of our higher education brands, and with the increasing potential that the metaverse holds, we want to make sure our brands are utilizing the technology to its fullest potential. To continue learning more about how you can grow your college or university’s enrollment, check out how content marketing funnels can grow student enrollment.

Categories
COVID Marketing Communications Lifestyle Trends

Wholesome Foods Take Center Stage

With a commitment to New Year’s resolutions underway and COVID-19 still top of mind, being and staying healthy is more of a priority than ever. Consumers are looking for fresh, healthy food options, especially when ordering in or dining out. In fact, local-food company Forager reports that 91% of consumers say it’s important or very important to feed their family fresh, healthy food right now. We’re breaking down these trends toward healthier foods to understand what your guests are looking for and how, as a restaurant, you can incorporate them into your menu.

A Focus on Holistic Health

 

While more nutritious foods have been popping up on quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants for the past decade, those additions have often catered to individual diets. But as QSR magazine reports, consumers are seeking a more holistic approach to nutrition and the wholesome foods that go along with that.

This means incorporating more fresh, non-processed ingredients into your menu and preparing and serving them in a way that protects their functional benefits. And while plant-based dishes are a clear way to do this, there are plenty of ways to bring clean ingredients into the heartier dishes that your customers love.

Immune Boosters Spark Interest

Beyond seeking out whole, healthful foods, consumers are also taking a growing interest in specific ingredients that may have immunity-boosting properties. As quoted by Market Research, over 50% of consumers reported taking more supplements to support their immune health in 2020. And purpose-driven ingredients are predicted to be at the forefront of the food industry.

As a restaurant, consider adding ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin D, elderberry, or ginger to dishes and drinks on your menu, along with some education for guests on the benefits these nutrients and ingredients may offer them.

As we move through the year, we expect this focus on health to continue, even as things get more back to “normal.” Keep in mind though, incorporating this trend should feel authentic to your
restaurant and sustainable past the pandemic. Health may be top of mind right now, but honesty and transparency will be crucial for your business to maintain for years to come.

Categories
COVID Restaurant Marketing Communications Lifestyle

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR OUTDOOR DINING SPACE

According to Dataessential research, 47% of diners are willing to dine-in at a restaurant with outdoor or patio seating. So if you’re considering maximizing your restaurant’s capacity by expanding outdoors, now may be a good time to think about the logistics of your setup, safety measures and curb appeal. 

START WITH THE BASICS 

By expanding your restaurant’s square footage to sidewalks, patios, the street or even the parking lot, you can operate at closer to full capacity. But before you start moving outside, check for any state and local mandates to determine how much space your restaurant is allowed to accommodate and how temporary your setting will be. Beyond any local ordinances, here are a few things to consider for your space: 

  • Consider your average party size for your restaurant, such as a table of 4 or 6 people, to best determine the ideal table size for your outdoor area
  • Space tables 6 feet from other tables measured from the back of each chair, chair-to-chair
  • While folding chairs and patio tables may be appropriate for temporary setups, more permanent fixtures like picnic tables and heavy seating that are difficult to move will help ensure social distancing is maintained
  • Set up an outdoor host stand to help direct diners when they arrive
  • Clearly designate areas for foot traffic and your restaurant to help diners navigate your outdoor area and prevent congregating too closely
  • Help give outdoor diners peace of mind with outdoor sanitation stations, your COVID-19 policies, inviting safety signage and notices that your staff is regularly cleaning all surfaces, just as they would do indoors 

KEEP IT LEGAL 

While many state and local governments are temporarily suspending the necessary permits needed for outdoor dining, it’s important to keep a few things in mind before setting up: 

  • Don’t put any temporary furniture over street drains that could impede water flow
  • Ensure outdoor dining areas are not in any fire lanes or obstructing access to fire hydrants or any other safety amenities
  • Consider what your pet policy will be for your outdoor dining area
  • When in doubt, contact your local municipality to ensure you are following the correct processes and have the proper permissions 

DRESS TO IMPRESS 

Not only does an open air environment lower the risk for spreading COVID-19, but it can also make your restaurant look more enticing to passersby. If you can invest especially in dialing up the decor of your outdoor space: 

  • Use planters to transform an outdoor space by creating natural barriers and even minimizing surrounding noise
  • Temporary decking, turf or platforms that cover the ground can also help demarcate the space while providing ADA accessibility
  • Keep your diners comfortable by providing shade with canopy tents, umbrellas, fans or even portable AC
  • Bring your indoor branding outside by adding color treatments to barriers that separate seating, or by defining areas on the ground with chalk, corn starch paint, epoxy gravel or tempera paint