Case Study: Fortissimo

Introduction

Fortissimo is more than coffee - it is coffee for those on the move, coffee for those who want to relax, and, above all, it is a coffee that will appeal to all your senses.

Even though the majority of our portfolio consists of new brands on the market, this one was appetizingly special to us because the whole Apher Team loves coffee! Fortissimo is delicious – yes, I tried it – but the brand comes with many challenges. Good for us, though, because at Apher we love to take on new challenges in our own creative and strategic way. So, that is what we focused on from the beginning: to develop a strategy with a lot of creative elements.

Project Scope

Fortissimo was founded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the land where you go to dinner with your family and where they serve you coffee first, despite you being hungry. It is usually “Turkish” coffee– that’s how we call it here in Bosnia, and it is a huge part of our Bosnian culture and tradition.

We recognized Fortissimo as a modern and developed version of the Bosnian tradition combined with the ever-growing fast lifestyle we have. The majority of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region in general, have their employees back to their offices and people are much more “on-the-move” than before, trying to take advantage of opportunities at the level they were able to before Covid-19.

Employees enjoy taking a break with their colleagues and catching up over a cup of coffee. However, the trend has developed and changed into an environment where coffee is not just coffee anymore. Different tastes, variations, combinations, and flavors are now more than ever part of the coffee industry – in Bosnia included. And all that is to be found in the nascent product of Fortissimo:

Fortissimo has been curated through the experiences and knowledge of a barista throughout Europe – including Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. The secret ingredient to this unforgettable flavor is syrup, with its carefully considered ratio and mix of finest coffee. In fact, Fortissimo is the first Bosnian coffee brand with many flavors to choose from!

Just like the rest of Bosnia, we treasure moments where we get to sit down with friends and family and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee. However, the vision of Fortissimo is to provide business people who are constantly on the move with their essential shot of energy as well – flavored syrup included! While inspired by the European style and way of living, Fortissimo is Bosnian through and through.  

Project Progress

Now that we have defined the vision, the value proposition, and target market (the most important elements of the strategy), the next step is to create brand awareness and position the brand in the marketplace, which is part of the internal branding strategy.

At Apher, we always do the competitive landscape analysis and research to better understand the points of parity and points of difference our clients have with other similar brands in the market. Once we are able to create the positioning map, it becomes clear to us what type of persona would use the product and what kind of marketing strategies we can use to target that persona.

Therefore, the persona for Fortissimo is a young entrepreneur or business person who needs his or her favorite cup of coffee for a successful and productive day.

Where do we target this persona? 

We decided to focus on two marketing strategies:

• Location-based marketing, and

• Partnership marketing

Location-based marketing uses physical locations to target consumers, either with online or offline messaging. We are able to reach consumers using location data, such as how busy the location is, events happening within a certain range, what kind of people are mostly in those locations, etc.

When it comes to partnership marketing, the goal is to find other brands or companies that share the same interest as they both can increase their brand awareness through product offerings. 

Currently, Fortissimo has two partners (a third very soon) and it’s available on a food-delivery platform.

We can’t tell you more right now as these strategies are still in the making, but make sure to follow us on social media (IG, LinkedIn, or Twitter) and keep up with the progress of Fortissimo as well.

You can also follow Fortissimo on IG @fortissimo.ba or check out their website at fortissimo.ba.

Stay tuned for an update on the next marketing strategies!