powe red b y
MOKIT Volka n Franc Uysal esca Te Delia Berta rzi to
Introduction The project started with the challenge to update the historical concept of the “italian/milanese latteria” through a research on today trends and lifestyles. What this typical Italian shop communicated in the years is the idea of a resting and meeting place, living hub of the neighborhood, as well as point of sail of fresh and local food products. What we tried to keep is this central role of the place, but reviewing it inside the neighborhood’s social changes in cities as Milan. What today is mainly changing is the social role of the city: if before could be interpreted as a permanent statement of people, today is mostly a crossing point, due to work and study reasons. The new identity of the city it’s a moving and developing area with a huge degree of contamination from different cultures, behaviours, belongings. The typical citizen it’s not yet living there, it’s a person passing by with a mission to do until the end of the day and a feeling of not belonging. The growing need is the “home feeling”, in sense of resting and quiet sensation, as well as a space where each one could feel welcomed, and he could feel also part of the environment. What makes us special and belonging to the same roots? the ability to find solutions and adapt in new situations...this is creativity, a common ingredient.
Index Critical aspects of the project Original project................................................... 05 Identity issues...................................................... 07 Business Model Analysis B.M. barycenter...................................................10 Value proposition issues........................................11 Customer segment and relationship issues...............12 Bialetti’s role....................................................... 13 Redesign Logic Trends and case studies....................................... 15 Results............................................................... 18 New Business Model......................................20
t c e j o r p e h of t s t c e p s a Critical
Original project Our project started from the idea to provide an atmosphere , in a place where a “long lasting experience” it’s welcomed. The basic concept was to communicate the time and the feeling of home with a sort of symbol: the “moka” , a coffee machine which needs time and care for make the best coffee, with a completely different taste which talks to your senses. This is Mokit, a new place where the space it’s free to be used to the customers, while having a good and resting “coffee experience”. Each user can settle the space for his own need and book it depending for the kind of activity he wants to organize (art exhibitions, business meeting, work session…). Our target are workers, creatives and students, who need a place where to meet and discuss about their works, and artists, who need a place where promote themselves. The payment system works with a membership card, which allows also the online booking. These cards are avaible in two different kinds, the daily one, for the occasional user, and the long term use, for who wants to take part to the system and organize something inside it. So in this area we could have three different journeys:
PARTNERSHIP
MOKIT CUSTOMERS
customers *member guests *occasional
exhibitors *active member
-guest: “user for a day”; he could be someone that passing and daily card
gold card
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be triggered about the place, enter for chance, or someone invited to other people. To enter he needs the daily card, which give him the possibility to use a moka for many times as he/she wants, and some services, like little snacks and free wi-fi connection. -customer: after been inside once, he/she decided to become member and activated other kind of services, like the online booking of an area or discounts on food. -exhibitor: kind of customer who, decided to be “active” inside the place, using it for his own promotion, and organize events or activities with the usage of an area (exhibitions, book presentations, charity events...) The payment system through card works differently for each kind of customer. In the design process this created some problems in the management of the activities, especially for the “exhibitors”. Also if it’s still in a concept level, this system generates too many alternatives, and complicates a lot the experience which you could gain inside. Probably the kind of payment works from the company point of view, because it increases the revenues stream thanks to the level of service used, but it disturbes the customer experience, making him/her not belonging to the place, scared to pay more of what is needed.
We thought to build the place in collaboration with Bialetti, the most important moka producer, with the premise that it probably needs to upddate and change his value proposition. Bialetti provides to our system the products (moka machines) and a branded partnership to increase our identity. For us this was a partnership thinking to a new start up business, but Bialetti could also have more possibilities inside the project, so it should be the client. The problem still we have it’s why Bialetty should be intrested in a similar project, and what could it gain. Another problem related to the project was the organization of the activities (who prepares coffee, who serves it, who clean). In our original view the customer is related to the place through a “self service” relation, through he decide the kind of coffee he wants and settle everything by his own self. Thinking about the maintainance activities this could be a weak point.
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Identity issues Taking in consideration the project we delivered, we saw that most of the problems were coming from the identity, not coherent and not enhancing the power of the value proposition. We decided to power the project with the partnership of Bialetti, taking in consideration his recent crisis in the market and the decision to move their production abroad (The moka sales lost -26% in the last two years). A big Italian company as this should be interested in a new business? The problem is how bring Bialetti identity and value proposition inside the new project. Of course this project won’t solve the temporary crisis, but the actual situation could rapresent the need to update the brand proposition and start to think a new market segment. Bialetti it’s representing basically the home atmosphere of the coffee, but they are still missing how the home atmosphere is changing nowadays, and basically, where do you need to feel at home in a crowded and confused mindset. As we said before, this need is the base of our project, but what we didn’t took in consideration is when you have this need inside the city. With Mokit we tried to build a “second house” for the citizen, but with too many functions and possibilities. Considering that this is a place where the customer is free to do what he
wants, we are completely missing the core identity. The question at the end we forgot to answer is exactly when and where you need an home experience, thinking to the social changes of the city, and how could be a “public house environment”, what you could do inside it. This probably has to do with the working situations happening inside the city, considering the lately changes of the work meaning. Mokit could become a “second house” for working people, as well as “working house”. We didn’t think about this central role before, in a way which this project could also enhance the “healthy level” of the work. And we also didn’t take in consideration the lattest changes in the work environment, where every work start to be considered through his creative perspective. This is something which could give back the identity we lost, “a working house where you could feel welcomed”. And inside this vision, Bialetti moka is the excuse to give the feeling.
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So all the issues we had regarding the identity were brought from mainly problems we had on the customer segment, which considering the premises, was too wide: a free space avaible for every kind of activity: - group meetings - business meetings and presentations - art exhibitions, book presentations - events This was where all the issues came from: we considered too many clusters of kind of “workers” without taking in consideration what should make them a hole group, instead of a segmented target. As we said before, the creativity point of view is what in the last years made some changes inside the working areas. Creativity is becoming something avaible to every kind of workers, not only designers and artists. Thinking about new trends starting also in Milan, like Milano Hub or Coworking, we could notice as the work efficiency is not just seen correlated to the traditional point of view, but it’s something related to the choice of the own individual: I decide when been efficiency, considering not only the work environment. Creativity is a tool which is becoming eritage of every kind of work, but also to everykind of people. Why instead of talking of “creative jobs” couldn’t we talk about “creative people”, and provide tools and sharing moments to enhance this part of the human being?
So, coming back to the Bialetti moka, and look to the value which is communicating, it is one of the most famous italian design icon, but of course in a different way. Bialetti is not like all the furniture pieces we could find inside milanese museums, is not a piece of art: is a tipical component inside the italian houses, part of the daily life. It’s a symbol of the italian creativity, so why don’t look in this perspective: “Bialetti moka, as icon of the italian creativity heritage, brings coffee and ideas to everyday life.” So Mokit wouldn’t enhance the italian design, but the italian way to be creative: find solutions by chance, laughing, drawing and imagining a future possibility. All of this with pleasure, fun, relax and a coffee experience as you could have inside your place.
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sis y l a n a l e Mod s s e n i s u B
Business Model barycenter Key Partners
Value Proposition
Key Activities
Customer Relationship
Customer Segment Segmented Market
coffee sells Customers membership
other activities
Key Resources
Channel
Guests
Give a Place for a Longlasting Experience
People
Mokas
Costs
web
Revenues
Barycenter
Exhibitors
Value proposition Mokit works around the coffee experience as an excuse to build a working area and cooperation between customers and the place itself. The value it wants to propose is to “give a place for a long lasting experience”, a place where you feel welcomed and where you could stay more than other bars or coffee providers. Customer segment It’s really important the kind of customer who we want to provide this experience. The customer segment should point out the unknown needs of the people which we could solve with the value proposition. Why people should go in a place where they have to prepare something by themselves, and which kind of persons will be intrested in this new “active coffee break” it’s the point. Customer relationship Between them, the relationship through customers and place should enhance the identity of the project, making people feel belonging to the experience. This 3 areas are the main important in the business model, and create the barycenter. So our changes will focus more on these, affecting of course also other clusters. 10
Value proposition issues Differentation degree: What makes Mokit different from an other business? The value we want to provide it’s not coherent in the existing market. Finally the space was a working area plus the possibility to use mokas and have some snacks. So what is the differentation degree between it and a working area or a coffee bar? The common working areas as Milano Spazio Hub are places where you can find tools and space where work on a project, with the possibility to interact with other professionalists. The stream revenues of these places come from “payment on time” of the customers: is like renting a common office. Of course you can apply to the service just if you are intrested in a “long usage”, so the differentiation degree between it and Mokit could start from this point: the relationship it’s not forced by a monthly contract, but is free for every time the customer needs it.
time experience “long lasting”. The relation between coffee and work is something already part of the common knowledge, the new value should take in consideration it in a different way. Coffee is an excuse to make yourself thinking but not just working; setting the space as Milano Hub we clustered the possible target to a segment which is already served from a “well known competitor”. And not defining the activities and the identity of the place, we made it too similar to an “Italian Sturbacks”, wich already exist under the name of Arnold Cafè. So we could build the new value under the sentence: “coffee as an excuse to enhance your best creativity” taking in consideration that creativity is part of all the activities you could do in your daily life. This will be the place where have an “healthy break” and refresh your mind, with the best coffee of Bialetti.
This could be related to the business model of a normal coffee bar: the customer is free to chose when he needs a break, and the relationship ends with the payment. But as experience, what makes Mokit different from it? Of course the possibility to prepare your own coffee, to serve your group mates, to use the space and build ideas on it, makes the 11
Customer segment issues
Customer relationship issues
Market analysis: Who is the customer, and why he should pay for this?
Relation analysis: How the user belongs to the place?
“I need a break”
guests
“I’ll book the space for the meeting”
customers
“I’ll do my presentation there”
exhibitors
The division of the target we did in three main clusters isn’t rapresenting the real segment we want. We thought about workers who need a space for arrange their activities, artists who need a space where to promote theirselves, and people who need a relaxing break. But as we said, this was too wide, considering also the differentiation of their purposes. Considering also the coffee new way of consumption, we should re-design the kind of personas: who really would like to prepare the coffee by himself? Of course the kind of customer is openminded, easygoing, who likes an unsual way of interact with people. Instead of talking about workers and artistis we should talk about what make them an hole cluster: creative people, who need a rest for refresh the mind and like social interaction, culture contamination and feel different or would like to feel different.
The original project solved the customer relationship through a membership card, which allows the payment system according to the kind of service the user could have. The problem of this kind of relation is that rapresents the belonging to the system in a wrong way: if from one hand it solves the payment, on the other it doesn’t give the idea of “freedom” and easy accessibility to the place. As we saw before, the payment system of a normal coffee bar could rapresent an intresting alternative. In this view the relationship we could install with the customers is to trigger them through a new kind of coffee consumption, and maintain them inside the system through the idea of freedom and creativity. So the new relationship is not anymore something which categorize you as part of the system, but through a normal activity as a coffee break you could feel part of the Bialetti identity, as icon of creative as common heritage.
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Bialetti’s role In the previous Business Model we took Bialetti as partner, consider it as coffee and mokas provider. In reality this company is not producing coffee (they just provide coffee pods and capsules). We also didn’t think about WHO was providing the service itself. The recent losses of Bialetti say that coffee it’s not just an house experience, and if it’s inside home, people lately says to prefer espresso machines. One of the reasons is that it has a faster preparation, considering that people stay inside home less than years ago. So how we could use Bialetti mokas to build another business for them? And why this could be an opportunity? What probably Bialetti needs it’s how to bring their business to the public structures. If we think to Italian coffee companies , most of them are feeding both the private as the “public” market. (Examples: Illy and Lavazza). What probably Bialetti it’s still missing it’s to change the coffee experience maintaining its own identity. The product portfolio they are offering it’s including also home espresso machines, but still with a lack of core identity: enlarging the offer, they tried to maintain the identity thanks to shapes and stereotypes (“Mokona”, “Tazzona” espresso machines), but without representing a core innovation.
Thinking to the value issues, and the central role of the moka products inside the place, why don’t use Bialetti as company powering the project? Of course this project won’t solve Bialetti’s crisis, but could open new business possibilities for the future. Changing the strategic cluster Bialetti could gain a new channel for brand visibility, a new value to communicate, and it could start up the base to update the company purpose.
Since now, Bialetti’s innovation could be interpretated just on the functional point of view of their products. Also if it’s the leader in the moka sector, the strategy could be seen as a “red ocean” one. The product commodification is expressed through the evolution of shapes and functions without create and capture new demand. 13
ic g o l n g i s e Red
Trends and case studies Working stations and areas As we started from the idea to provide an extra environment where work and spend time, we would like to show what is the offer of this kind of places, especially in relation with the recent trend regarding the rising of the creativity ingredient inside them. Gone are the days when offices were typically cubicle, surrounded by white walls and lit by white fluorescent lights. Thanks to corporate giants like Google and Pixar that have demonstrated tremendous success despite their unconventional workplaces, more people are embracing the idea that creative work environment helps stimulate minds and inspire innovation.
A wealth of the benefits itself is come from a good views and the natural light, the downtown location, on-site restaurant, the game and the recreational areas, gym and massage area, shower, etc. All of those things are intended to improve the creativity, productivity and help attract the best people. Google could be considered the first company who understood the main importance of the creative component inside the daily life.
Google offices The design of the space, it is essential for an ideal development of the office activities, entailing flexibility, more community spaces relative to individual workstations, good quality without indulging in luxury, and environment-friendly investments in better services and support spaces. The people who take a work in Google have to spend a lot of time inside the workplace. So, from the office itself must provide the extremely comfortable environment and a wealth of the benefit. This strategy is to handle the boringness of the employer itself. 15
Milano Spazio Hub Hub it’s social enterprise with the ambition to inspire and support imaginative and enterprising initiatives all over the world. The Hub is a global community of people from every profession, background and culture working at ‘new frontiers’ to tackle the world’s most pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges. They create places around the world for accessing space, resources, connections, knowledge, experience and investment. Places with all the tools and trimmings needed to grow and develop new ventures. Places to access experience, knowledge, finance and markets. The payment system works through a monthly fee, depending the kind of “stations” you want to book. Finally is like “sharing” a common office where the great value is the possibility to get in contact with other professionalists who could help in building your business.
Urban Station, Buenos Aires Called Urban Station, the brightly coloured space features a café, which doubles up as a temporary office for freelance workers in need of desk space. It is appropriately located at Malabia and El Salvador Streets in Buenos Aires’s hip Palermo Soho. You sit at one of the wide tables, pay by the hour and benefit from the calm atmosphere and comforts of an office with plugs and locks for your computer and super-fast wifi. The coffee shop part comes in the form of unlimited coffee, tea, mineral water, fruit, croissants and cookies, all part of the fee. In addition, the large and airy Urban Station offers art and business magazines and books to read, comfortable armchairs for lounging and casual meetings, fully equipped meeting rooms, printers, fax and scanners.From the organization of promotional events among frequent customers to the offer of free bicycles to be borrowed and take a break, many other elements and services have been also designed to provide enhanced comfort and interaction opportunities for the nomad worker.
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Coffee bars We searched also kind of public places where users have extra services and could stay longer than just the coffee/food consumption. One of the best known is of course Starbucks, and this changed completely the concept of the bar as we know in Italy.
can franchising, but in Italy the kind of experience you could have inside is something quite new. Coffe most of the time is an “excuse” to stay longer in that place, where you have free wi-fi connection and a comfortable environment.
Starbucks and Arnold coffee Starbucks was founded 35 years ago as a single coffee shop in Seattle. The import and distribution of fine coffee and identified an up-market niche for coffee houses scaled up while combining some of the atmosphere of Italian espresso houses with American values of friendly, efficient service. It continued to expand and entered significant distribution relationships with a number of large US retail, air travel and hotel chains. It also extended its brand to encompass other aspects of the coffee shop experience, such as selling CDs of the music played in its stores as well as ground coffee and related products for home consumption. Because of the competitive issuies, Starbucks couldn’t enter the Italian market. But recently we can see a very similar formats of Starbucks started in Milan, known as Arnold coffe! The core value of the Arnold Coffee is carrying the american coffee style to Italy. So the identity is basically took from the well known ameri17
Results After checking the existing trends and case studies around the topic, we figure out details that before we didn’t know. Kind of environment As Google offices, the most useful environment is something which trigger attention and give suggestions and hints to inspire creativity. But regarding to Milano Hub we could say that this kind of environment is just thought for professional workers. What we want to provide is an setting which could inspire creativity in each customer, taking their thoughts together and enhance socialization. The best example is a playful and coloured environment, where you could have the possibility to stay in big rooms or to “close yourself” and your friends when you need more concentration. And coffee will be the excuse to share moments of creativity together.
for size. Then, if you want to have different food or drinks, you could have paying for them. Is basically the restaurant and bars model, but we took it because it creates “the excuse” to go there, without any consideration about time=money to spend. Interaction of customers What could be intresting in the “users dynamic” is around the moka usage. User doesn’t buy just a personal consumption, but a thing to share with mates and probably other people. This interaction through coffee is the relation between Bialetti and creativity: enhance social interaction to build new ideas and share pleasant moments.
Payment system The membership card wasn’t so effective in the customer relationship meaning, and at the end was too complicated, related to the kind of usage. We thought also to change it in a “payment by time” like is in Urban Station of Buenos Aires. But this kind of system wont create an “excuse” to go there, and people would go just if they “need” the place. So at the end the kind of payment we choose is a “payment of usage” of the moka, different 18
el d o M s s e n New Busi
New Business Model Value Proposition
Key Partners
Key Activities
*Milanese torrefazione
space maintainence (cleaning, food and moka preparing)
*Stationary provider
enhance spontaneus creativity with interaction
Customer Relationship
Bialetti opens your mind with a new coffee excuse
acquire customers through a new coffee experience
+ temporary community
Enhance the italian way to be creative
+
New experience from private to public
Key Resources
Channel *Place *Website
*Place *Bialetti products *Creative tools
Costs *People (staff) *Materials (coffee, food,tools) *Space maintainance
Customer Segment
Creative workers *Designers *Writers *Journalists *Students “Aspirant creatives” easygoing and openminded people Moka’s lovers
Revenues *Payment for usage (moka) *Payment for additional services
Barycenter
First of all we moved the Bialetti position, from partner of the business to client: is the italian company who will provide the service with the purpose to build a future possibility for their business. Value Proposition: We changed the value “long lasting experience” because it was missing the core new perspective of the place. Give a long lasting experience is something which is already given by competitors like Starbucks. So, taking in consideration the new position of Bialetti, the value is under the coffee excuse, which helps customers in enhance creativity and interaction between them. It’s also important che change of the Bialetti role: from a private experience to public. Customer relationship We took off the membership relation and the “forced club”,and we understood the importance to acquire new customers and how they interact each other. The coffee excuse is the key to attract them, innovative because belongs to private practice. This will be the excuse to make customers building a “temporary community” inside the place, where they could interact with the reason to share a pleasant moment, and to enhance their creative insights. 20
Customer segment We passed through “workers”, to “creative workers”,to “creative people”. The aim is to provide a new environment and a new experience, for people who needs a break and stop for a while. If this would be a working area, shouldn’t recall an office. So instead to serve just workers, we could provide this free environment to people who likes work in a social interaction. It’s impossible to think to business employees: who really could gain something from Mokit is a customer easygoing, openminded, willing to learn something from each experience. Could be a creative worker (designer, artist, writer, journalist) as well as a student or just someone missing a space where interact and learn. Basically the proposition is for groups or people willing to share. Partnership Moving Bialetti from partner to client, we understood the need of other kind of stakeholders inside the system. Of course a coffee provider; we took Caffè Ottolina, a milanese torrefazione, to give to Mokit a local recognizability. But as Ottolina could be what ever kind of company. We also inserted a stationary provider for avaiability of tools and material inside the place, for the customers. The cost for Mokit will be probably less, for advertising reasons, and will be covered thanks to the revenues of moka usage. 21
Mokit a project by: Delia Bertato Francesca Terzi Volkan Uysal
References: milan.the-hub.net starbucks.com arnoldcoffee.it urbanstation.com.ar www.popgive.com bialetti.it 22