A Better Presence

In an effort to better position Cafe Evoke and Cafe Evoke Catering in our market, we planned a photo shoot with the ever great Sam Olson at 611 Creative in Oklahoma City. We are super excited to get this shoot underway as it will allow us to create ads, banners and images for the website that really fit what we are about. Here is a bit about the shoot. Shots Expecting There are several different shots that we need to get taken during the shoot. Here is quick list: 1. Product - these series will be mainly of our product - coffee, espresso, latte art shots, syrups, teas, etc. Anything that we serve will be featured in this set 2. Equipment - this will be featuring all of our equipment - from brewers to espresso bars. We need this for many reason but we hope to have pictures for our info kits so that clients have an idea of what they will be getter 3. Action - Batistas pulling shots. Simple and sweet 4. Head Shots - this is for the band side of us! Ah, a Cafe Evoke Band? No, really. We have been lucky enough to get some press lately (for a separate post later on) and we need to be able to have photos to send to the publishers. We want our pretty faces in the news you know! This set will be short and sweet and will feature the people who work with us and also Jenni and I. We are trying to set the bar for coffee catering - not only in Oklahoma but in the US. To get there, we have make a presence for our selves. To get the idea across that coffee and espresso is art, we need an artistic photo shoot that really lets the images speak for Cafe Evoke Catering. We have one chance to impress our clients - the first impression. Having photos and ads that do not meet up to our expectation or design will not cut it. We want people to see our images and know they are working with the best. I will have much more on this the first part of July. This is just another way we are solving this puzzle! Presence in our industry. Presence in our Community. A premier specialty coffee catering company. ...be bold

A Referral Worth Dessert

We love our customers - ones that have used us several times, ones that have used us once, ones that invited us to the casino or bar afterwards, ones that think we have better espresso drinks than Starbucks, ones that like our latte art, ones that like to help us pack up, ones that leave good tips, ones that order 5 iced mochas with whipped cream.... ..but ones that really stand out in our heads are those that tell their friends! So, in honor of all of those friends that do tell everyone about Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company - we have finally launched our referral program and it is sweet! I really wanted to use "awesome" or "fantastic" but, well, "sweet" just works so much better and on so many levels! Cafe Evoke Catering wants to buy all of our friends who refer us to a new client dessert and coffee for two to Coco Flow in Oklahoma City. What a great deal! It is pretty simple, really. I will explain it all: Why it Works: At Cafe Evoke Catering, our ultimate goals are clear and straight forward - 1. To bring the best in specialty coffee and espresso to events all across Oklahoma and 2. Exceed our clients expectations in service, quality and production. We know that our customers will talk. We understand that they will talk about our services whether it was great or the worst they have ever had so we have to make the best impression we can. If you love something, you are sure to talk about it and we want to harness that and also tell our customers "thanks" for taking the time to mention us to their friends - people they trust us to serve. We also understand that it takes a lot for a person to put their recommendation on the line. We can assure each of our clients that if they recommend us, their friends will get the same 5 star treatment they received at their own event. How it Works Past clients are all eligible for this program - from now on! All that has to happen is for our clients to tell their friends and family about Cafe Evoke Catering and how we helped make their event a success. Once their friends and family give us a call and book Cafe Evoke Catering for their own wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, birthday party, office meeting, bridal shower, afternoon tea or just for the fun of it the referrer will be on their way to desserts for two at Coco Flow! So simple! We are basically trying to make our clients part of our family - booking events, telling Oklahoma about specialty coffee and spreading our word! I have talked often about word of mouth marketing and that is what we are really trying to embrace right now. We have tried print ads and info kits but have found that the best way to reach our market is by having people talk about us. I will begin tracking results and will post to let you know how things are going sometime down the road. I am sure there are many other things we can come up with that follow the same path as this and we will find them. I think this may be part of that puzzle of "f's I was talking about the other day. We are still working towards the solution but feel that we are cutting away at it! We have one other thing to talk about soon that goes along with our attempts at solving the puzzle. I will talk more about it in a week or two when I have the details nailed down. Let me know what you think and if you have other suggestions! ...be bold

What is the answer to this puzzle?

We have been working almost 3 years on Cafe Evoke Catering. With each month that goes by, we find ourselves wondering what we are missing. What is that one thing that will push this idea over the top? That one thing that will allow Cafe Evoke Catering to stand on the mountain of coffee caterers as being an asset to our industry, our niche and most importantly our community? We know that the idea of a coffee catering business is a great one. We have seen other companies take it and run with it. And, as I have talked about before, what is more specialty than specialty coffee catering? There is this little brain teaser that has been haunting me lately. It is one of those that you know the answer is right there you just can't get to it. If you have not tried this, here is your chance to really understand what I am talking about. In the below text, how many "F's" do you see? FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. I have taken this quiz before and even knew the answer but time and time again, I come up with the wrong one! That is what we are talking about! We know that the answer to the formula for a successful coffee catering company - dedicated to being a leader in the specialty coffee industry - is right in front of us. We just need to focus in and find out what it is. Is it new package options? Is it a new way to promote the business? Is it a different way of thinking about coffee catering entirely? New marketing material? New ways of naming our packages? A street team? What?? So, in the coming weeks, we will set out to try and figure this out. I say this like we will have the correct answer - we won't. It will be trail and error. It will be market tests and research. One way or another, we will beat this teaser and realize that the correct answer is 6 F's in the puzzle - every time! ...be bold

Cafe Evoke in Oklahoma City

We have been in the process of trying to get Cafe Evoke Catering up and running on it's own to allow us time and space to begin creating the all new Cafe Evoke (the coffee house). This has not been going quite as quickly as planned and we are now feeling behind the ball on both operations. It is tough going, really. As you have been reading in our series on The History of Cafe Evoke over the past few days, we had our "ducks in a nice straight row" when it came to the business planning side of Cafe Evoke. We knew what to look for, we knew what we could "afford", and we knew where our money was going to come from at least at the beginning. Now, we are not so sure. Let me stop here a second to be clear - we are not worried about our ability to get back into business shape. I think the main thing was just to realize that we are not in a position anymore to pull the trigger on a location and getting things going that we were while in Bozeman, Montana. Here are the important things that we must get through before even beginning to step forward: 1. We have to get to know Oklahoma City - We have been doing this since the day we got here and it is something that will not stop. We are meeting as many people as possible, getting to know local businesses, community events and people that call this area home. This also means getting to know the area that we want to call home to Cafe Evoke. We need and want to learn about what makes these areas thrive, what people in the area are looking for and what we can do to make the area an even better place to be. 2. Where will our financing come from? - This is always a question we have to answer but it is even more different now than it was 3 years ago. Before, we had our own money to put down towards getting Cafe Evoke up and going. We had a plan for getting the rest so it was not a huge deal when the first two banks said no. Many things have changed since then however as we decided to open Cafe Evoke Catering - using the money we had to put against Cafe Evoke. There are many great places to start when trying to answer this questions about where the money will come from. Now, we really need to get started in putting a plan together to gather the funds that we will need to get our dream opened. 3. Who is Cafe Evoke? - Yes, we are still answering this one. Businesses seem to make their own name for themselves. We have to let Cafe Evoke be what Cafe Evoke is. What do we mean here? Menu Design Space Layout Equipment Choices Staffing Needs Hours etc. There are so many things that will come together once the menu is finalized. We have to really have a handle on what Cafe Evoke will be before we can even begin to put things together on a space. Once the menu is in place we can begin to understand what equipment we will need, what type of space will work, what we can afford to pay for the space and so on. Really, all this to say that we have a lot of foundation work to get done pronto. We did look at a space today that we think could be a great place to call home but the realization that we are not in a liquid position to act on it yet is frustrating and whiplashing. Work needs to be done and that is our goal for now. More on the History of Cafe Evoke tomorrow. ...be bold

A Weekend at the "River"

We had a fun time this weekend hanging out at the Oklahoma River Fest. I can say, however, that it was a bit breezy - and by breezy I mean gale force winds enough to blow beer out of your cup. Seriously. We strolled on down to the Oklahoma River on Saturday to try and watch the end of the dragon boat challenge but ended up only being able to catch the river show - "highlights of the RiverShow include barefoot skiing, wakeboarding, jet ski aerials, swivel ski and air chair demonstrations." The group was from Florida with one rider from Edmond, Oklahoma. It was fun to watch although they had to cut some of the events short due to super high wind and choppy water. What we were really excited about for the weekend was the river ride. They did this ride last year but this year, it was bigger and better. The crew at Wheeler Dealer did a great job with the event and the addition of the 30 mile ride was great. The group at Evoke Cycling headed down to the event. Again, it was super windy but we decided to do it anyway. There were a great number of people there and the way North was relaxing and pleasant. The ride back South to the boathouse? Not as relaxing as we rode into a 20 or so mile per hour headwind. We got back and really enjoyed the event. Speaking of Evoke Cycling, that is an up-and-coming bike club in Oklahoma City. We are in the process of making it a bit more official so stay tuned for that. It will be a club that will participate in community events such as this but also go out and do more. While we are going to be mostly recreational riders, we are hoping to gain membership by racers that want to join the crits and other events around our area under our name. Let me know if you are interested in joining in on the fun. Thanks again to everyone that made the RiverFest possible. It was great and I hope to see more in the future! ...be bold

The History of Cafe Evoke (Part 4)

This is a multi-part series discussing the history of Cafe Evoke -- from the time I started this blog to today. The posts are rather long which is why I am breaking them up into several parts. Let's get back to it on this windy Oklahoma Thursday. This is Part 4 of a multi part series we are calling The History of Cafe Evoke. You can find other editions here: 1, 2 and 3. Remember, these are quick highlights from the past 4 years. There are many more great posts in the archives if you ever get bored. Also, if you have questions about what we were thinking, doing or hoping for or over anything I have mentioned, please leave a comment and we will answer everything you ask! Let's back up a bit. Many of you are now familiar with Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company. Well, the idea was planted in march of 2006 for Evoke Catering to be Montana's premier specialty coffee catering company. There were many reasons to start the catering operation but I think the main reason was because we feel that what is more specialty in coffee service than setting up a full blown shop in someones living room? We had to begin changing a few things on our website and with our logos to reflect Cafe Evoke Catering. We also had to begin getting paper work in order with the city and state and learn what it means to be a caterer. This was tough because coffee caterers (at the time) were very new and unprecedented for many health departments. As you know, these guys do not like change, new stuff or having to figure out how you fit in to an already confusing tangle of rules and regulations. By the end of March, we released our logos for the catering company. Simple, clean, and to the point. Purchasing equipment and conducing research for the cafe began to run hand in hand. For the first time, we were beginning to feel like stuff was happening. We had to learn how to juggle getting our cafe started while at the same time launching our new business - Cafe Evoke Catering. The Catering operation began to take the upper hand with a long list of to-do's that had to be completed. By the end of April, things were really moving! We had the trailer and our cart and things felt good. While we knew we had a long way to go, having equipment in hand seemed to make everything feel real - finally. The beginning of May brought about the final details - the nitty gritty stuff for Cafe Evoke Catering. We had a TON to do - pricing and event details, equipment installation and prep for our first event on May 22nd, 2006. By the end of May, Cafe Evoke Catering was running smoothly and we were happy with the progress we had made. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, oklahoma, oklahoma city The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Our Perfect Wedding Guide Ad

Here is the ad I was talking about earlier. Thought I would share it! ...be bold

A Quick Side Trip

Just a quick side trip today from the series I have been written so profoundly named The History of Cafe Evoke. I hope that the series is not to mundane and that those of you who missed the past 4 years of this blog are having a chance to get caught up - at least a bit. Going through this blog has been like going through old yearbooks. You know the feeling. You read notes that made so much sense at the time of authorship that now seem simple and out of touch. You see pictures of times that bring back crazy memories - even as specific as what song you listened to during the event. I'm telling you, it is good to get back to your roots sometimes. But then again... So, quickly, a bit about what we are up to right now. There are a few major thing we need to get in order going forward. The main thing, get my laptop fixed. We are about to embark on a few projects where having a viewable screen will be handy. I will talk more about that once we wrap up the History series. We also just rolled out an all new Summer Menu for Cafe Evoke Catering. It will be sent out with this month's newsletter so if you have not had a chance to sign up, please do so! We would love to keep you up to date on things that have been going on! Also, keep an eye out for our upcoming advertisement to be in Central Oklahoma's Perfect Wedding Guide. Cafe Evoke Catering is currently the featured wedding professional on the site. So, there will be a lot of fun stuff coming up probably by the end of this week that we want to tell you about. News from the entire Cafe Evoke family will be shared as we pave the way to our future in our new community - Oklahoma City! Thanks again for reading this blog. Your comments/questions/answers/complaints are always welcome via email or by using the comment section. ...be bold Related Links: Follow Us on Twitter Cafe Evoke on Facebook Cafe Evoke on Myspace The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts