With the new addition of a popular coffee chain in a small town like Natchitoches, it only seemed natural to have attracted the attention of residents. I can only think of it as marketing on steroids.
Seven Brew Drive Thru Coffee opened its first Natchitoches location on March 3, but the student body of Northwestern State University of Louisiana were no strangers to their product prior to the opening.
Beginning in early February, the new location’s staff began making deliveries of their products to local businesses and large areas of the NSU campuses. Staff members dropped off coffee to populated areas of campus such as the Kyser Hall brickway and the Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts courtyard to allow for the students to sample some of their drinks.
Being from New Orleans myself, I had never heard of Seven Brew but in the last month it felt like it’s all I heard about. Not that I’m complaining in any way because their attempt to get the city of Natchitoches hooked on their product definitely worked on me. How about the rest of the student body?
Lauren Ray, senior communication major, was very familiar with Seven Brew prior to its promotion in Natchitoches and shared that she is glad to now have a location here.
“I love Seven Brew. Out of all the coffee shops I’ve been to, they are hands down my favorite,” Ray said.
Though Ray was already familiar with the chain, she acknowledged the company’s marketing strategy that made the business so well-known within the area.
“I think the amount of marketing they are doing is great. Doing free coffee for the community not only makes Natchitoches familiar with their business, but also allows their employees time to practice before opening day,” Ray said.
Jayda Gee, senior biology major, also knew of Seven Brew but had not yet tried their products. She feels their marketing strategy led to her new found love of the business.
“I love Seven Brew. I knew about the Seven Brew in Ruston, but I hadn’t tried it before,” Gee said. “I think their marketing is really cool. It gives people a chance to try it and get hooked.”
Tyla Stewart, sophomore musical theatre major, agreed that the whole city seemed to be fixated on their products within the week of the location’s opening.
“I think it helped them a lot and it was really smart of them, because it’s like they got the whole neighborhood hooked,” Stewart said.
Despite the variety of coffee options in Natchitoches including Cafe Demon, Starbucks, StoryBrew Coffe Cafe or Java House Donuts, Seven Brew seems to have easily met the competition in getting the city’s attention.
Dorcia Gillam, sophomore vocal music education major, like the rest of Natchitoches has also found herself hooked on Seven Brew, but doesn’t see the need for the chain in the area.
“No, I don’t feel Natchitoches needed another coffee shop but I’m still glad that they added this one,” Gillam said.
Gillam felt that having the opportunity to test the drinks first allowed for people to see what they like from Seven Brew but perhaps a little more marketing is needed.
“I think it totally helped them because it gave people the chance to test their drinks out and see what they liked but they need to advertise the secret menu,” Gillam said.
Now we are only left to see what else is to come from Seven Brew. Will the hype die down or only continue to grow? Clearly their initial marketing efforts paid off in capturing the attention and tastes of both the student body and the community. Can they keep up with their competition in Natchitoches?
