Drinkit

The brand strives to make visiting coffee shops convenient and in line with modern times, in which most people prefer comfort, speed, quality, and the ability to combine the world of digital technologies with reality.

To a greater extent, Drinkit is oriented toward the new generation, young people, and residents of large cities who actively use digital services in everyday life. The chain’s revenue is closely linked to current trends that allow most purchases to be made online through applications and marketplaces, as well as to the possibility of self-expression and identification achieved through interaction with products, beautiful packaging, and an attractive and unique visual style.

Thus, Drinkit represents a progressive modern brand in the food service segment, offering users interaction with technologies that act as a factor in improving service quality and creating a unique, more comfortable, and friendly user emotional experience.

A key part of Drinkit consists of the application, digitalization, and interaction of visitors with modern technologies.

The brand is actively present in the media space, developing social networks and digital platforms, building communication channels with the audience. Up-to-date news and information about promotions, trends, and updates can be found on VKontakte, the Instagram profile, and Telegram channels, which allows visitors to follow new developments in real time.

For example, Drinkit has a separate Telegram* channel dedicated to business processes, where up-to-date information about revenue and the number of orders, the opening of new locations, plans, as well as invitations to business meetings and interviews with management representatives are published, which influences the PR strategy, increases brand awareness, and forms in consumers the image of a reliable, successful, and in-demand brand.

*The social networks Instagram and Telegram are banned in the Russian Federation. By a court decision dated March 21, 2022, Meta was designated an extremist organization in the Russian Federation.

Also an important element of the communication strategy of Drinkit is participation in joint projects. Visitors are offered products and promotions created within various collaborations, which themselves represent a fairly powerful marketing tool in the modern world, attracting attention, allowing interaction with the audience at different levels, and increasing the relevance and quality of the products offered on the market. For example, within a collaboration with the Russian cosmetics brand The Act, a limited scrub based on Drinkit coffee beans was created, the packaging of which resembles a coffee cup.

The coffee shop also strives to increase the number of locations and make products as comfortable, close, and accessible as possible for the most frequent visitors, who are young employees of large companies and offices.

Drinkit locations are open in offices of T-Bank, Alfa-Bank, the Lamoda Sport store, residential complexes, and shopping centers, where they function simultaneously as coffee points and relaxation areas, which allows increasing the number of visitors due to permanent employees, making visits to the coffee shop a routine process integrated into the everyday life of the target audience.

A significant place is occupied by the positioning of Drinkit as a company that cares about customers and staff, which increases the brand’s reputation among consumers and employees. The chain attracts young specialists and offers training and preparation courses for work, conducts various internal events and camps, and also strives to increase salaries in order to retain highly qualified specialists.)

To analyze the communication strategy of the «Drinkit» brand, two theories were used: the theory of possibilities and the theory of symbolic convergence.

Affordance theory was developed by psychologist James J. Gibson within the ecological approach to perception and was later adapted to the analysis of human-computer interaction by Donald Norman. As James Gibson, who developed this theory in 1977, argued, affordances are «possibilities for action,» with people perceiving the world «not only in terms of object forms and spatial relationships, but also in terms of possibilities for action» [1]. Donald Norman later adapted this concept to communication within design, explaining that affordances are «possible interactions between an object and its user» [2].

Applying AT to the «Drinkit» brand, we can confidently say that its foundation in innovative technologies and the transformation of physical spaces to accommodate them is consistent with this theory of the valence of objects and their nonverbal communication with the audience.

This theory, developed by Ernst Bormann, discusses a sense of community or group consciousness that develops within a group through communication, such as stories and jokes. Sharing group fantasies creates symbolic convergence. As Bormann himself notes, «successful speakers» often «give voice to what the listener already knows and accepts,» rather than creating cognitive dissonance. [3]

For example, the «Drinkit» coffee shop employs transparent communication and a visual style that don’t impose new values ​​on a modern audience, but rather affirm and reinforce those they already understand and accept.

Affordances Theory

«Drinkit» is a brand built around a digital app and technology. Affordance theory studies how the environment (physical and digital) prompts users to take action. For «Drinkit», this is the perfect tool. The app and interface are the brand’s foundation; without them, it loses its distinctive stylistic and communication approach. The brand consciously designs the user experience through drink customization, speed of delivery and control.

The «Drinkit» app lets you customize your drink to your preferences: choose the syrup, milk type, and temperature. This innovative coffee shop isn’t afraid to embrace new developments and follow trends, including using artificial intelligence for personalization, a feature unmatched by its competitors and allowing it to achieve the highest level of affordability. Through this affordance, the brand conveys a special meaning, which is the foundation of the brand: «everyone can create something personal.»

Online ordering through the app literally encourages the audience to consider the minimal wait and «Drinkit»’s fit with the pace of young people in big cities, conveying the benefits of time management, which has recently become a key concern for city dwellers.

According to Gibson’s theory, «Drinkit»’s key objective is to use digitalization and the transparency of its strategy as affordances to nudge the audience toward understanding how to interact with the brand and what to feel.

Thus, by digitizing all information, thereby designing a physical and virtual environment, the buyer subconsciously engages in brand promotion, actively monitoring it through openly maintained social media: these include information about the expansion of coffee shops, the introduction of new positions and capabilities, such as artificial intelligence, or collaborations with other companies.

Symbolic Convergence Theory

«Drinkit» creates shared stories, rituals, and artifacts that unite its audience and foster a sense of community. The fantasy chain—that is, discussions, memes, and social media sharing—is a theoretical tool that the brand puts into practice thanks to its foundation in ubiquitous digitalization. «Drinkit» initially relied on online promotion, because in a world full of change and competition, no one would otherwise learn about its innovative approach to drink customization and the lack of communication with the barista.Thus, social media discussion is not so much an inevitable aspect of the brand as it is a targeted one — it is thanks to the interesting promotions and opportunities offered by this coffee shop that the brand has managed to gain immense popularity online.

Users share photos of cups, limited-edition products, and scrubs on social media. The latest news and information about promotions, trends, and updates can be found on VKontakte, Instagram*, and Telegram*. Furthermore, the introduction of artificial intelligence, capable of creating a completely unique drink based on a description and a combination of customized ingredients, fosters ongoing discussions based on the personal experiences of each «Drinkit» user.

Rituals and artifacts in this brand are items that facilitate its information dissemination and foster a sense of unity and cohesion among its audience. These include, first and foremost, a gift system for friends, allowing the audience to independently expand their reach through their close circle; and photographs that can be printed directly on the receipt upon order, allowing for further brand promotion on social media by instilling a sense of personalized experience as a transparent communication channel between «Drinkit» and its audience.

*The social networks Instagram and Telegram are banned in the Russian Federation. By a court decision dated March 21, 2022, Meta was designated an extremist organization in the Russian Federation.

It’s also important to note the transparency of business processes as a way to foster a sense of community. As mentioned earlier, the company openly maintains social media accounts, where it reports revenue percentages, sales figures, and shares business information with its audience, earning their trust and making them feel part of a larger, more collaborative system that helps them grow — an effect achieved through the company’s dedication to the brand’s professional activities.

Thus, «Drinkit» was able to harmoniously combine audience values ​​such as digital efficiency, speed, and individualization as a sense of community. The brand offers its visitors a meaningful technological experience integrated into their daily routines while simultaneously providing an opportunity for self-expression and identity.