Dive Brief:
- Peet’s Coffee is turning loyalty programs around for National Coffee Day on Sept. 29 by accepting reward points from its competitors through its limited-time “Disloyalty Program” effort, according to a press release.
- To participate, consumers can create a rewards account with the brand via a microsite and upload a screen grab from a rival company’s loyalty app to be rewarded with a free drink from Peet’s. Brands it will accept loyalty points from include Dunkin’ and Starbucks, among others.
- The move arrives at a tough time for the business and follows the launch of its new brand platform, “Coffee for Coffee People,” which puts the focus on its core coffee beverage as opposed to more complex drink concoctions.
Dive Insight:
At a time when Peet’s parent company JDE Peet’s is reportedly losing market share to competitors and carrying significant debt, the company is stepping up its marketing with a bold move that could help it lure customers and stay in the game. Peet’s Coffee’s playful Disloyalty Program is a clear attempt to spur trials from the its closest competitors.
After becoming a member of Peet’s loyalty program, called Peetnik Rewards, consumers can exchange rewards points from other programs under a handful of Peet’s rival brands, including major players Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Dunkin’, to be used on free coffee from Peet’s. Other accepted rewards points can come from coffee brewers including: Dutch Bros, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Better Buzz, Joe and the Juice, Bluestone Lane and The Human Bean.
"We know that coffee people can be a bit promiscuous in their hunt for a great cup. So, we wanted to reward them for their loyalty to the drink because, no matter where else you get your coffee, coffee people deserve great coffee," said Jessica Buttimer, vice president of brand marketing at Peet’s, in a statement.
Peet’s cheeky Disloyalty Program joins other marketing moves as of late, including the launch of its new integrated campaign and brand platform earlier this month. Created with new creative agency of record Mischief @ No Fixed Address, the effort includes six spots, paid social and digital elements and out-of-home placement in key markets that focus squarely on coffee itself — as opposed to intricate coffee drinks often promoted by its rivals — in an attempt by the brand to capture a larger share of coffee drinkers.
Still, Peet’s has an uphill battle to lure those loyal customers away from its successful competitors. For example, Starbucks has built strong participation in its loyalty program, so much so that half of the company’s sales at one point were fueled by its loyalty program members. The company last year also enhanced the program, using Web3 technologies to offer more experiences and interactive rewards that could help it gather more first-party data, but other changes to its loyalty program drew backlash. Similarly, Dunkin’ CMO Jill McVicar in a previous interview with Marketing Dive touted the coffee chain’s loyalty program, which has added 4 million new members since its relaunch in October 2022.
