The Brief: In Korea, consumers gladly pay $5US to proudly carry a simple cup of coffee. This behavior is rooted in the perception that a higher price means better quality. This has helped Korea become Starbuck’s sixth largest market worldwide. To successfully launch the McCafe Coffee Brand, we had to focus on transforming people’s perceptions and change their coffee buying behavior. We had to convince people that they no longer have to pay a premium to drink premium coffee. The Solution: We filmed real people in real test situations to show how strongly peer-pressure and price perceptions affect people’s decisions. These spots were placed on a micro-site (McCafe.co.kr) where we asked consumers to rethink their coffee purchase habits and “Make the Smart Choice. This rallying cry was also communicated in an aggressive out-of-home campaign where we targeted the competition with boards, bus panels, subway stations, and shelter placements that were in close proximity to Starbucks and Coffee Bean stores. The message? “Forget the Star and Bean – Make the Smart Choice.” The Results: Consumer response has been very positive as bloggers, journalists, and industry websites have all been talking about the McCafe brand. In fact, the film executions have been ranked among the top ten most viewed on a local industry website. However, the greatest result has been the strong growth in coffee sales. Within two weeks of launch, initial client data has shown a 52% increase vs. the same period a year ago!