Free Here To There

Thanks to my new found love to contesting, I won the a Second Cup prize pack from @eatlivtravwrite. It was valued at approximately $100+. It included:

2 x bags of Kenya Reserve whole bean medium roast (approx. $10? each)
1 x ceramic (?) coffee canister with a bamboo lid (priced at $24.95)
1 x spill-proof (?) stainless steel tumbler (approx. $19.95)
1 x $50 Gift Card

Upon opening the package, I was immediately hit with a lovely aromatic coffee scent (so good!) and a box full of goodies! The ceramic canister was a beauty. Love the shape of the tumbler and it is the perfect size (I hope it’s spill-proof!). The new coffee bean packaging was simple and professional. It speaks to me as if they were “the coffee connoisseurs” and did not require any fancy logo or design. I found the $50 gift card taped to the packaging of the canister. The overall branding was subtle and chic. I’m beginning to redevelop my relationship with Second Cup.

Second Cup isn’t always my first choice. I would go into one for convenience. Most of the time, the other chains or local coffee shops are much more convenient. In my opinion, Second Cup had fairly decent coffee and served Italian Soda (one of my close girlfriends love it!). It didn’t appeal to me as much because of it’s lack of brand personality. To me Second Cup was “middle class”. Tim Hortons is on the lower end of the coffee chains, however, is an iconic Canadian brand. More affordable and always a decent cup. You get what you paid for. On the other end of the spectrum is Starbucks – the higher end of the coffee chains and is an iconic International brand. If I’m going to “cheap-out”, I will opt for a cup of Timmy’s and portray my ‘Oh! my native land’ persona. I felt like “balling”, I would purchase a Starbucks (a soy no-foam latte, please!?). To me, Second Cup was the unwanted middle child – with no personality and no relationship to me. However, their recent change with their branding peaked my interest.

second_cup_coffee_co_logo I’m glad they updated their brand and breathed in freshness and chic. With their re-branding campaign they got in with the tech times (do you remember the stamp cards they had?!) and launched an app. The app is fantastic and easy to use. I was setup in seconds. To teach the user the ease of using the app and getting rewards. I was rewarded with 500 points (members earn 10 points every $1 spent) which I could redeem for a beverage. When transferring funds from my Second Cup gift card to my app, all it took was a 2 second scan and the money was in! Easy peasy! I visited a Second Cup near my work. The look and feel of the store still remains old Second Cup (they need to start cleaning the stores up!). The cups and the sleeves changed. It’s more modern and colourful. I saw the cup stack and each cup had a different design (nice touch!). I took a sip of the Irish Cream and it was the same as I remembered it 🙂