Currently in the midst of rebranding its 350+ Ontario locations, Country Style has come up with a cheeky way of getting coffee drinkers to come on in to see what’s new.

In a first-ever move that might well be dubbed ‘promo hijack,’ or possibly ‘consolation marketing,’ the chain is extending a generous offer to every coffee drinker who is disappointed by rolling up the rim elsewhere, only to read the dreaded message: ‘Sorry Try Again.’ Anyone who brings their losing tab into a Country Style store from March 3 to 9 will get a free medium cup of coffee.

‘We know from feedback from competitors’ customers that they get frustrated with [not winning] the cups promotions,’ says Country president Rick Martens. ‘Our tagline is ‘It’s going to be a good day,’ and we want to make sure our customers and consumers across Ontario have just that.’

To publicize its piggybacking ploy, the chain is doing a PR and media relations campaign as well as viral marketing, including a Facebook posting, and email initiatives encouraging people to tell family and friends about the free coffee offer. As well, print ads will appear in the Toronto Sun, and there will be spots on radio morning shows at Q107 and Mix 99.9.

The initiative, including advertising and execution, is being done in-house at Country Style in partnership with Toronto-based promotional agency Rennick Marketing Solutions.