When we dreamed up Story Coffee Company - the world’s only (that we know of) Tiny House Coffee Shop where customers come inside - we were truly shooting in the dark. We didn’t know how the community would receive us. We didn’t know how our systems would work. We didn’t even know where we would be located! So we did the best we could, then got invited to set up in Acacia Park and we were off to the races. A year later we created our roasting program, and about a year after that we began to really feel like we understood who we were, what our place in the community had become, and what our mission was. That’s when we started to feel like we should do a little re-imagining.
So with this new clarity in mind, we began to fashion a way to hit the reset button. We knew we had some things to say, and wanted to do it in Story Coffee fashion, with a lot of innovation and creativity. We spent a few days in a mountain cabin crafting our strategy, and came up with the idea to present our message in a fun and interactive context called THE GAME. As we developed this strategy it kind of evolved to include a full re-brand, so we did that too. It ended up taking WAY longer than we planned, but ultimately we had a whole new look, and a whole new array of cool mugs, shirts, stickers and packaging to offer as prizes for THE GAME.
Next? We had to create some intrigue to get the attention of the community so we started announcing on our social media channels that we were launching our next chapter, and that it would be a jaw-dropping experience. I kind of think this language might have given some people the wrong impression, because folks started congratulating us for what they apparently imagined was something akin to launching a national chain or becoming the official coffee of the Vatican. Nonetheless, when we did launch we had the experience - over and over - of watching people hear about our cool little game, and seeing their jaw drop when we told them if they could win it they could choose anything in our shop as their prize.
Ultimately it was a huge success by most standards of measurement. We launched in September of 2018 which is usually a slow month, and it ended as our second best month EVER! We also gave away - FOR FREE - hundreds of prizes. By far, the most chosen prize was our MiiR Camp Cup which has kind of become the darling mug of the city for right now, featuring the little RV we lived in for almost 4 years and our inspirational phrase of Live Your Best Story.
We hope you had the chance to play along (and win) our little game! But most of all, we hope everyone got the message, which was laid out point by point as you experienced the game. Didn’t get a chance to play? No worries! Here’s that message, laid out in simple bullet points:
Our model of simplicity means we can consistently offer a great product at a better price, and still be able to redirect resources to help those less fortunate in our community.
We save you money in SO MANY ways! Cash discount. Loyalty program. Bring your own 16 oz mug and we fill it for the price of a 12 oz. Plus our prices are lower than most for comparable products to begin with!
We’re fast and convenient, with the option of coming inside or just stepping up to the window for even faster service.
We LOVE your partnership, and have ways for you to get FREE GEAR to help promote us to your friends, such as mugs, shirts and stickers. And connecting with us on Social Media is the BEST way to keep up to speed on all of it.
