Setting the Stage: Following a complete rebranding campaign, Seattle’s Best Coffee was faced with the task of recruiting new customers while not losing existing ones. Armed with vibrant new packaging, Seattle’s Best was looking to take their new “Level System” to the public, and invite consumers to play along.

The concept of coffee coming in different varieties is not new, but Seattle’s Best sought to align each of their five coffee varieties with a different type of coffee drinker. By personifying each coffee, Seattle’s Best was hoping to have a better emotional connection with its customers.

Seattle’s Best agency, Creature Creative, and their public relations firm (Zeno Group) collaborated with Second City Communications to create a groundbreaking idea in social media marketing and emotional branding – a 24-hour live streaming improvised comedy show accessible via Facebook, based on the input of fans of Seattle’s Best Facebook page.

Playing the Part: In this grand collaboration, SCC was uniquely positioned to help guide the other parties on how to make the improv piece most effective. We educated our partners on the opportunities for using improvisation in social media. We developed a theme that was aligned with the agency’s branding brief. We wrote scripts for welcome videos that were posted on every user’s Wall. And most importantly, we were able to bring out full team on board to pitch in on all creative and management tasks.

One step in the process worth noting was our “Creative Development Workshop.” SCC invited the agency, PR firm and end client to this working session. It was integral to the process, as it was a unique opportunity to kick off the project by using improv to explore themes, ideas and relationships. The basis for all content was developed in this session, and it laid the groundwork for a successful partnership.

The 24-hour live show was a huge success. Seattle’s Best gained more fans on Facebook over the course of the 24 hours than they had in the entire 10 months they’re Facebook page had been up. Online traffic records were broken. But, most importantly, the engagement and brand love generated by our work made us all remember that true brand loyalty is built by forming deep emotional connections.