Nescafé M-Junction Drive-In Cinema eclipsed by guerrilla marketing last night

BY THE HAMMER

Nescafé and Wonda have been sparring with each other in the marketplace while giving our readers a taste of what smart marketing is all about. Bold ideas encourage new breakthroughs and these two brands have been more innovative than others in the market keeping a health exchange of competitive banter every now and then.

In fact, one of our readers was watching a movie at the Nescafé M-Junction Drive-In Cinema last night, and was taken aback by a pleasant surprise she encountered and immediately alerted me. 

From what I could tell it was a guerilla marketing stunt, and I have seen many of those over the years,

You see, in the wake of COVID-19, Nescafé recently collaborated with M-Junction Drive-In Cinema in a sponsorship partnership with 2Spicy Entertainment Live and MD Events Asian, and supported by the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC). 

In an attempt to boost domestic tourism, they can accommodate about 50 cars per screening and ticket prices per vehicle (2 occupants) include movie and food.

They kicked off their launch by being the first drive-in cinema in Malaysia to join the world premiere of Hollywood’s Legacy Of Lies ten days ago. 

Screen vs Screen  

However last night, in a clever marketing twist, it appears that competitive brand WONDA 3-in-1 Premium Coffee upped the ante with a one-off cheeky stunt…..

Projecting their Class vs Classic message (in obvious referenc to market leader Nescafé Classic), they hoisted a giant screen using a massive a crane around 9pm in the direct line of sight of the audience as they were watching their movie at Nescafé M-Junction Drive-In Cinema! 

The almost adjacent screen briefly showed the Wonda ad and ended with an invitation to viewers to visit thisisclass.my, where they get to see a movie for free with an Aurum Pass at the Comfort Cabin hall, GSC’s ultra-luxurious boutique cinema experience at the Gardens Mall TODAY August 9! 

The invitation is a nudge at Nescafé Classic by suggesting that the Wonda screening tonight is a class above the classic.

It looks like quite a few people signed up for the two Wonda screenings of the brand new release of Solar Impact today in cinematic luxury at the Comfort Cabin hall. 

Our calls to the theatre indicate the halls are full for the night

Attempts to reach WONDA Brand Managers for comments were unsuccessful, so we are now suspecting the stunt at MaTiC could be a case of a Wonda coffee junkie gone rogue. 

While guerrilla marketing or the creative use of novel or unconventional methods in order to attract interest in a brand is common in most markets, Nescafé itself deployed this tactic some years ago in Croatia.