Since January 27 and until February 19, the Café Chéri, a meeting place for the creative Gen Z set of Eastern Paris, has been renamed Heattech Café. Not the same poetry… But why? Uniqlo decided to take over its terrace in order to promote its thermal clothing technology. As a result: the café’s staff and facade now display Uniqlo’s corporate colors (yellow, orange and red) and Heattech plaids are available for customers. The aim is to be, for a few days, “the warmest terrace in Paris”.
Under Uniqlo’s supervision, the menu has even been revisited. A fresh new offer of drinks and dishes include “caliente” and Japanese notes, such as spicy burgers and sake or lychee cocktails… It is the perfect demonstration that the alliance of a symbol of globalization and representatives of a natural protest ideology is more possible in 2023 than in any other time when a brand was necessarily the symbol of a capitalism that should not be encouraged. The partnership between Café Chéri and Uniqlo could be seen as a pact with the devil, but who would resist, in these complicated times, to the call of money?
Our era is much more pragmatic than ideological. Those who doubted it have here additional proof. It is not uncommon for a brand to decide to occupy a location in the form of a pop-up or an ephemeral café, or even a tarpaulin on a well-located facade. The goal is to increase its fame, to reach new audiences or to publicize its latest launch. The logic behind the Café Chéri and Uniqlo merger is quite different, since the chosen location is both confidential and highly community-oriented. Plus, the Japanese brand is probably not the most inspiring for those who need to adapt to its presence. The operation reveals a certain business agility (or skills?) as much as it announces new types of partnerships. They will be more specific, more unexpected and also more “violent” than those we know, by bursting into places where they are not expected. After coffee shops in stores, here comes the time of brands in coffee shops. A new facet of Guerilla marketing.