2010.03.02

Costa Coffee has decided to introduce loyalty schemes into its marketing mix and is now offering customers the chance to secure five points worth 1p each for every £1 spent in-store.

This is being accompanied by an awareness campaign called 'Love free coffee? Join the club' and will incorporate integrated marketing to assist the strategy, involving web-based activity, as well as direct mail and goings-on in Costa Coffee shops, Marketing Week reports.

It's similar to that currently in operation over at Starbucks, which has a card-based loyalty programme that caffeine addicts can upload with cash to use at stores around the world.

Looks like it could be all-out war between the two coffee houses, although which will emerge victorious is another matter indeed.

The Seattle contingent is a bit of a force to be reckoned with, having just begun its own integrated marketing campaign to promote its Fairtrade products, but this new creative marketing solution from Costa Coffee could see that all change.