Communication Theory: DRINKIT

Core Positioning

Drinkit’s positioning is built around removing friction from everyday coffee consumption. Rather than emphasizing coffee expertise alone, the brand focuses on convenience, speed, personalization and predictability. Technology functions as a tool that simplifies customer experience and integrates coffee purchasing into daily routines.

Target Audience

Drinkit’s audience is defined primarily by lifestyle and behaviour rather than age. The brand targets urban consumers who regularly buy coffee, use digital technologies confidently and value convenience, personalization and time efficiency.

Communication Ecosystem

Drinkit’s communication system combines digital and physical touchpoints. Communication occurs through the mobile application, social media, visual identity, PR activities, community events and collaborations. Unlike traditional coffee chains, communication is embedded directly into the customer experience.

Mobile App as Primary Communication Channel

The application functions as Drinkit’s main communication medium. Customers use it not only to purchase coffee but also to customize drinks, receive recommendations, access subscriptions and interact with the loyalty program. The app creates continuous communication between the brand and its customers.

Social Media

Drinkit’s social media strategy focuses on lifestyle, community and transparency. Instagram* emphasizes visual identity and brand culture, while Telegram provides operational updates, business insights and franchise-related content.

Visual Identity, Collaborations and PR

Drinkit communicates not only through advertising but also through design, collaborations and public relations. The brand’s visual identity serves as a system of signs communicating friendliness, accessibility and technological innovation. Collaborations and media appearances further strengthen audience engagement.

Two theories were chosen to aid our analysis of Drinkit’s communication. — The Dialogic theory was chosen because it is well suited for analyzing the communication between the brand and the customer, whether online or in real life. — The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) provides a framework to explore the variety of ways the brand’s communication affects the customer’s attitude towards the product.

Later, some additional features of the Dialogic theory were introduced specifically to cater to the communication happening online. Given the time at which those components were proposed, it comes as no surprise that they used to apply to websites only. However, nowadays they are also applicable to mobile apps, which are just as advanced and available as websites.

1. The Dialogic loop is a well-managed feedback system between participants, e.g. the brand and the clientele;
2. The Usefulness of information implies that the information provided on the brand’s website must be honest, relevant and valuable to the publics;
3. The Generation of return visits is a name that speaks for itself, emphasising the visitors tendency to come back again;
4. The Conservation of visitors ensures that users do not leave the website via external links or advertisements, or due to its poor construction;
5. The Intuitiveness means the intuitive understanding and the ease of use of the website.

Where can we look for the features of this theory in Drinkit’s case? The first and obvious choice would be the direct interaction between the customer and the brand in an everyday coffee shop scene.

However — ironically — Drinkit lacks the dialogue in the common sense of the word, more so in comparison with other coffee shop chains. The app-based service minimizes the interaction between the visitor and the barista. Once the coffee is made, it is put away to the designated table, where the customer can pick it up and leave, without ever making eye contact or exchanging a word with the employees.

While the dialogue itself is reduced, other forms of communication take its place exemplifying the theory. In Drinkit’s case, it is its interactive digital spaces that become the primary ground for communication with customers. Thus, we will be focusing on the five extra points within the Dialogic theory that are applicable to digital communication specifically.

1. Dialogic Loop

For Drinkit, there are several ways the Loop manifests. The customer may ask questions privately via email, placed conveniently in the Drinkit’s app; or he can voice his concerns publicly in the comment section of Drinkit’s social media. Regardless of the channel used, the trained employees reply eagerly in a helpful and friendly manner.

2. Generation of Return Visits

In order to guarantee that the users will return, the developers enrich their content with regular updates, special events and limited-time offers.

There is no way to place an order in Drinkit without using the app, making in-app return visits even more crucial than physical return visits of the customers to the café. To attract them back into the app, Drinkit utilises various strategies, including: personalised discounts within the company’s loyalty program; on-time seasonal updates; last but not least, integration of state-of-the-art features such as AI assistants.

3. Intuitiveness

The general usability of a digital medium provides the structure without which the website or app cannot ever reach its full potential. As it has been said already, Drinkit’s app is the backbone of the entire business, so its usability is the primary concern of the brand. It is obvious in the careful placement of the seasonal items and extra features — while vivid and attractive, they do not prevent access to the regular selection of drinks and desserts for those who wish to go with the usual. Another selling point here is the design of the menu sections. Each one is a single scrollable page rather than a sequence of separate screens. This interface provides an easier navigation within the app.

4. Usefulness

This feature goes hand in hand with the previous one, as they equally contribute to the overall quality of communication design. Since Drinkit’s numerous media pursue different communication goals, the useful information in each of them is different. The social media aims to update its followers on the brand’s newest offers on time. The application shares transparent data such as the nutritional value and the prices, because such information is useful only in the situation of ordering.

A brands’ communication with the publics is not limited by their communication with the customers, it is also represented by the PR targeted at prospective partners. While the main purpose of Drinkit’s social media and the application is to inform customers and to communicate their orders, the single-page website (and the Telegram** channel) is wholly dedicated to the information that could prove useful to potential franchisees. Very little can be found there that is actually related to the coffee-drinking experience. Instead, the website outlines the brand’s values and methods, meticulously lists the types of available partnership options, provides financial data and explains the pipeline of joining the franchise. At any point, a user can press a button to jump to the bottom of the page where a contact form and legal information can be found — both of these vital for business partners, not so much for customers.

5. Conservation of visitors

The Drinkit application and website fit this criterion, as neither of them contains any links to external resources — not even to each other. And the latter might be a problem. It is likely that among the franchisees there may be fans of coffee, and vice versa (potential business partners among the loyal clientele). Yet, there are no cross-links between the two media, and the two barely acknowledge each other’s existence. While the relevant information is thoughtfully contained to one or the other (high Usefulness, high Conservation), they remain completely isolated, despite sharing the same ecosystem managed by Drinkit (low Intuitiveness). Such separation could be slowing down the brand’s development.

1. Consistency

Drinkit’s target audience has constant access to smartphones and every part of their life is tied to the digital world already. Thus, it is both easier and more efficient to cater to their already formed behaviours, and they are more likely to engage with a brand whose main means of communication are application-based.

2.Social Proof

Another thing that makes Drinkit attractive for this audience is that it helps its customers feel included into the social group associated with a technology-first, specialty-grade company. Since such brands call for a higher price tag, the group is also defined by its financial (and therefore social) status. And once the affiliation with this group is settled, the customer is more likely to stay with Drinkit out of (once again) consistency.

4. Other

The other features are not as present in Drinkit’s communication. For example, its friendly demeanor does not fit well with the anxiety-inducing Scarcity and neither does Drinkit use the high-distance means of Authority to advertise the product. Therefore, the selection of communication devices depends on the specific brand and its desired image.

Conclusions

Drinkit’s communication strategy is highly effective in several key areas. The brand successfully employs its mobile application as the primary communication channel, embedding dialogue, personalization, and utility into the customer experience. The brand’s communication demonstrates application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), in particular through aligning with modern digital behavior, affiliating with certain social groups, and collaborationing with well-liked brands and institutions.

Drinkit’s communication strategy also meets the following aspects of the Dialogic theory: — Intuitiveness (mobile app navigation) — Usefulness of information (separate content designated for customers and business partners) — Generation of return visits (personalized discounts, AI features, customization options etc). — Dialogic Loop (Easygoing nature of online communication between customers and employees)

However, the analysis reveals a critical flaw: the lack of cross-linking between Drinkit’s customer-friendly platforms (the mobile app and Instagram account) and its business-focused platforms (the official website and Telegram channel). This establishes isolation between customers and possible business partners, thus reducing overall communication effectiveness and slowing down the brand’s development. Overall, it seems that the features of the Dialogic theory must be well-balanced in order to provide better results.

Additionally, Drinkit deliberately minimizes face-to-face verbal interaction between customers and baristas in coffee shops. Despite the brand’s digital-first positioning, this approach breaks the traditional aspect of the service sector. While this practice has been introduced to better accommodate the target audience of the brand, it may also alienate customers who value human connection.

Recommendations

First of all, the analysis showed the necessity of creating noticeable and convenient cross-links between customer and business channels of the brand’s communication. Secondly, it may help attract more clients if the mobile application will introduce options for selecting the preferable style of communication for each customer (short personalized interaction at pickup or minimal verbal contact). This way the brand can preserve its original digital-oriented approach while adding a human dialogic element.