Adelaide cafés collaborate to promote independent business

A collective of independent Adelaide cafés has come together for a new advertising campaign to prompt coffee lovers to support small businesses.

The out-of-home advertising championing independent coffee venues went live across Adelaide this week. The campaign, which includes billboards and bus shelter ads, features local independent café owners and is designed to remind coffee drinkers that there are many great one-of-a-kind options.

Executed by marketing and communications agency Topbunk, the campaign came at no expense to the participating cafés.

“As a marketing agency, we understand how powerful storytelling and connection are. This campaign is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on what independent cafés bring to our city,” says Alex Theel, Founder and Director of Topbunk.

“The campaign isn’t just about advertising – it’s about using our expertise to advocate for the businesses that make Adelaide unique, helping them grow and thrive amid larger industry shifts.”

The campaign was established in response to the news in November that Gloria Jean’s had acquired coffee franchise CIBO Espresso for $2.7 million to “accelerate the group’s growth in South Australia”

The campaign will continue to run across Adelaide over the coming weeks. Spellmans’ Social in Glenelg is one of the cafés to take part in the project

“We jumped at the opportunity to be involved in this campaign as it is finally shining a light on an issue that has been affecting our business and many other local independent businesses like us for the past three years. This is more than local or federal governments have offered us when we have been crying out for help while more and more local businesses are being forced into closure every week,” says Spellmans’ Social Owner Ryan Spellman.

“Independent businesses create so much for the local economy and communities surrounding them. We buy from local suppliers, employ locally, and service the local community.”