Christmas campaigns move quickly. For a national retail rollout, the pressure is even higher. Every store needs the right materials, the perfect design and the artwork has to be prepared correctly and installation needs to happen before the campaign begins.
For Costa Coffee’s Christmas campaign, ARC UK was brought in through ITG to manage the full process across 103 stores. The scope covered site surveys, survey manuals, artwork preparation, print production and installation.
The schedule was strict. ARC UK completed 103 store surveys in 4 days, produced and dispatched around 1,000 sqm of Contravision and deployed 10 installation teams across the rollout. The installation itself was completed within a 72-hour window, ahead of the Christmas Nutcracker drink launch.
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Project Detail |
Information |
| Industry | Food & Beverage |
| Client | Costa Coffee |
| Partner | ITG |
| Service | Survey, Print & Installation |
| Project Type | Christmas Campaign Rollout |
| Scale | 103 Stores |
| Timeline | Under 1 Week |
| Key Challenge | Delivering a 103-store rollout at speed |
| Key Outcome | 100% completed on time |
Costa Coffee is one of the UK’s well-known coffee brands. For its Christmas campaign, the brand required its store network ready for the launch of the seasonal Nutcracker drink.
The project came to ARC UK through ITG. The brief was clear. A large number of stores, including locations in Gainsborough and Bath, needed to be surveyed, artwork prepared, materials produced, and installations completed within a very short timeframe. There was little room for delays. The campaign had a fixed launch date, so every stage needed to stay on schedule.
Rolling out campaign graphics across 103 stores is a sizable task under any circumstances. Doing it in less than a week adds another level of pressure.
The first stage alone involved surveying every store. ARC UK completed the 103 surveys over four days. The survey manuals were then shared with Costa Coffee to help with the selection of window assets.
The project had four main priorities.
Surveying 103 stores in four days:
Each location needed accurate information before production could begin. ARC UK completed all 103 store surveys within four days.
Preparing for a Large-Scale Print Run
The campaign required around 1,000 sqm of Contravision.Production had to move quickly so the finished materials could reach the installation teams ahead of launch.
Coordinating Multiple Installation Teams
Ten teams, with two installers in each,were deployed across the 103 stores. The teams had to work to one clear schedule and finish the installations within 72 hours.
Meeting the Christmas Launch Date
The installation programme had to finish ahead of the Christmas Nutcracker drink launch. There was no flexibility in the final deadline.
ARC UK managed the rollout from the initial surveys through to the final installation. This gave the project team one coordinated process for a campaign that involved more than 100 individual locations.
The project began with surveys across all 103 Costa Coffee stores.
ARC UK completed the surveys over four days. The team then prepared survey manuals for Costa Coffee. These manuals supported decisions around the window assets required at each location.
Once the required campaign assets were received, ARC UK prepared the artwork for production.
The survey information provided the measurements needed for the individual store requirements. This helped the production team prepare the materials for each location.
The print programme involved approximately 1,000 sqm of Contravision, equal to around 10,600 sq ft.
ARC UK produced and dispatched the materials in record time. The finished materials reached the installation teams two days before the campaign launch.
The installation phase involved 10 teams of two people.
All 103 stores were completed within a 72-hour window. The teams finished ahead of the Christmas Nutcracker drink launch, keeping the campaign on schedule.
The project started with the tender process through ITG. ARC UK submitted its tender and successfully secured the work after the commercial agreement was reached.
ARC UK surveyed all 103 Costa Coffee stores within four days. The survey information formed the basis for the campaign’s production requirements.
Survey manuals were prepared and shared with Costa Coffee. The required artwork assets were then supplied to ARC UK for production.
Around 1,000 sqm of Contravision was produced and dispatched. Materials reached the installation teams two days before launch.
Ten two-person teams completed the installations across all 103 stores. The full rollout was finished within 72 hours.
A campaign of this size depends on timing. The surveys need to be right. The print needs to arrive on time. Installation teams need to be ready when the materials reach them.
ARC UK delivered all three stages to the required schedule.
The project achieved:
The Costa Coffee project also formed part of a wider relationship with ITG and Costa. The case study notes that ARC UK had supported more than 800 installation activations for Costa through ITG over the previous two years.
“The ARC UK team was absolutely amazing, ensuring we were kept abreast of project milestones throughout. Their proactive communication and attention to detail gave us complete confidence every step of the way.We are truly grateful to the entire team at ARC UK for their unwavering commitment. The project was delivered in excellent shape and on schedule, despite the scale and tight timeframe involved.” – Costa Coffee / ITG Project Team
National campaigns can quickly become difficult to manage when surveys, production, logistics and installation are handled by different suppliers.
ARC UK brings these services together under one project team. That means businesses have one partner coordinating the work from the first site survey to the final installation.
ARC UK’s investment in advanced print technology also supports high-volume campaigns that need to move quickly. The Costa Coffee case study specifically highlights the Fuji Acuity as part of ARC UK’s ability to deliver projects at scale and pace.
Whether you’re preparing a seasonal retail campaign, launching new in-store graphics or rolling out branded materials across multiple locations, ARC UK can manage the project from survey to installation.
With large-format print capabilities, experienced installation teams and end-to-end project management, we help businesses keep complex campaigns on schedule.
