Monday, July 10, 2017

Canada 150: Meet Tim Hortons’ Biggest Fan

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Tim Hortons Caribou House TV Commercial David Mole Glasgow University

Tim Hortons has officially expanded in the UK, just opening its first location in Glasgow, Scotland to crowds and accolades from locals who may have encountered the brand on trips to Canada.

Ironically, it’s not the first Tim Hortons in the UK—or Scotland, for that matter. Pining for his favorite brand from home, a Canadian exchange student at Glasgow University opened an unofficial Tim’s outpost 15 years ago—much to the delight of the company, which donated supplies and featured the story in an ad campaign.

David MoleWe spoke with that uber-Tims fan, David Mole (right), to get his reaction to the company finally catching up with his big idea some 15 years later—and how he sees Tim Hortons today in the pantheon of iconic Canadian brands.

David, how did you come to open an unofficial Tim Horton’s at Glasgow University 15 years ago?

As an international exchange student from Queen’s University, it became abundantly clear to me within the first few weeks “on Campus” in Glasgow (University of Glasgow) that the “Canadian” student delegation was far outnumbered by our American cousins to the south. Canadians have an uncanny way of finding other Canadians when traveling, so after about 10 days I had found representation from coast to coast to coast – our 30-odd Canucks to their 120-odd Yanks. Sitting at a pub one night with my housemate James Allen and a few loud-mouthed and patriotic Americans it became clear that our US friends simply saw Canada as the 51st state—which we desperately argued!

That night, a light went off in my head—a perfect plan to demonstrate just how awesome Canada is, unique in both identity and character. It really started as a joke, to open an “unofficial Canadian embassy” on campus—to not only be there for homesick Canadians, but to invite everyone over to showcase our ‘true patriot love‘ and shining light.

We decided to call it “Caribou House” as a bit of a play on Canada House in London. So we had an awesome plan to transform our dingy five-room flat into some great tribute to Canada, but… we needed help. So I pledged to my fellow Canadians to write at least one letter a night to high-ranking Canadians and Canadian companies back home, imploring support.

I sketched out a page full of iconic Canadian brands and set to it. Within two weeks of my first salvo of this epic letter campaign. I had received amazing responses from across the country, including but not limited to: the Prime Minister (Jean Chretien), Molson Canada, Bauer Hockey, Canadian Tire, West Beach, and of course, Tim Hortons.

Tim’s and Molsons truly went out of their way to show their support… both of whose leadership had direct ties to Scotland.
I had directed my letter to Tim’s co-founder Ron Joyce, a renowned philanthropist and all-around Canadian titan. His personal response was outstanding, as was Tim’s contribution.

I’ll never forget the day boxes upon boxes of coffee, trinkets and a brand new Tim Hortons-branded coffee machine showed up. So, with a little help from my ‘Embassy’ cohorts we set to it. It was time to show everyone in Glasgow just how awesome Canada is!

We went all around the University telling the story of ‘Tim’s’ and inviting people back to Caribou House to have a cup of the world-famous coffee through a sequence of parties. With a little help from our Australian friends, the parties got quite lively thanks to the fine folks at Bailey’s and the local Scottish contribution of a few “nips of Scotch.”

We were even successful in getting most of the American troupe out to celebrate Canadian identity with some delicious coffee. The whole thing was a thrilling “experience-of-a-lifetime” thanks in large part to Tim’s, Molson’s and the PMO.

Founding “Caribou House” led to a late night radio show with a friend from Ecuador and shooting an international student exchange documentary with a friend from Australia. Could it get any more Canadian, eh?

What was the reaction to the brand on-campus? 

The reaction to Tim’s on campus was electric. It was an easy sell to locals for a number of reasons. As Tim Horton’s is sewn within the Canadian fabric, so too is IRN-BRU sewn within the Scottish fabric. I would often said, “This is our IRN-BRU,” this is who we are.

Also, many Scots have Canadian ties and anyone who’s been to Canada can’t deny the dominance of the Tim’s brand. The final way we won over the locals—other than having parties, supplying free coffee and just being Canadian—was to say, “You have your local pub, we have our local Tim’s. You have pints, we have the double-double.”

How did the 2003 TV commercial by Tim Hortons featuring Caribou House (featuring Charles Rennie Mackintosh‘s font, no less) come about?

Sadly saying bye to Glasgow in May of 2002, I returned home to Niagara-on-the-Lake. That fall I headed back to Kingston to complete my final year at Queen’s. One day, rather randomly, I received a letter from Enterprise Marketing in Toronto asking if I would be OK if our story could be used in an advertisement for Tim Horton’s. I said yes, and thought nothing of it.

A short while later I received another random phone call from an Enterprise executive asking me to be at the airport in a few days and that I was being taken back to Glasgow to film a “True Stories” commercial called “Missing Home.” The entire experience was amazing.

The commercial came out that winter and aired from coast to coast to coast in Canada for a few months. People would randomly come up to me on the street and say, “What a great story, I always miss Tim’s when I’m away from home. It’s the first stop I make when I get back.”

Tim Hortons Caribou House TV Commercial David Mole Glasgow University

So what was your reaction when you heard that Tim’s was finally opening in Glasgow—and at Glasgow University—as their UK launch site last month?

The UK launch and, the fact that the first location was opening in Glasgow, was brought to my attention via social media by a dear old friend who I met on campus back in 2001/2002, Sarah McGee.

Sarah, and so many other amazing local Scottish friends who were part of the “Caribou House” pop-up, have been terribly excited about the news and that now, 15 years later, “Tim’s” has arrived. For me, as someone who follows Tim’s continual growth and success, I was really excited to hear of this latest and bold move into the UK market.

Knowing the people both of Glasgow and the broader Scottish thumbprint, I really do believe they’re going to embrace the brand and high quality product. I vividly recall having conversations with top Tim’s executives while shooting the commercial about bringing Tim’s to the UK simply because there is a great cultural fit. Although Brits are known for a piping hot cup of tea, the model’s been there for centuries to sit down and enjoy each other’s company over a caffeinated beverage or two.

I was told then that the greater American market was first on the agenda. I do love traveling over to Buffalo or Niagara Falls, New York, and seeing Tim’s everywhere. I hope they keep on growing and building into many more American and global communities.

I honestly think it’s all of those great Canadian backpackers and exchange students, and those living in the UK, who really made this happen after decades of proudly extolling the Canadian virtues of hockey, Canadian beer, snowmobiling and the undeniable greatness of a Tim’s coffee.

What is it about the Tim Hortons brand that you love?

This is a great question. I was actually thinking about this the other day heading into work. It was early, 6:30 am-ish. I was in downtown Hamilton, on Barton Street. This particular Tim’s is smack dab between Hamilton General Hospital (one of Canada’s largest hospitals), Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre (again, a big prison) and a handful of emergency homeless shelters, food banks, and addiction/recovery facilities… not to mention a large urban community.

As someone who now works in the social work/health field, I stood there in line and thought to myself, “Only in Canada, and only at Tim’s” would this happen. The cross-section of society and the demographic of those waiting in line (which was out the door by the way) was simply amazing. You had doctors and nurses going into work, recently-released inmates, city workers, two pastors, construction guys, those who had just been kicked out of (homeless) shelters and a few (drug) users coming off their night highs.

Looking around the store, I saw a pocket of old Italian men sitting at one of the long tables, righting all of the wrongs of the world (no doubt their daily tradition), an older lady reading a book with a muffin and a coffee, and a young couple—headphones in, on their laptops.

That to me is what Tim’s is all about… accepting of all, a place to come that makes everything just a little bit better even if just for the moment… in every cup. Tim’s, for me, is Canada. It’s what makes us great—no matter your race, religion, creed or calling. Still to this day, when friends or family are visiting Canada for the first time, I either meet them at the airport with a Tim’s or it’s our first stop. This is what we’re all about, and that I love.

As you think about iconic Canadian brands, is Tim’s still top of your list?

Absolutely, hands down, Tim’s, in my opinion, is still top five with the big boys of Canadian brands like Molson/Labatts, Loblaws, Maple Leaf Sports, Canadian Tire, Bombardier, Blue Jays, Air Canada/WestJet, Bauer etc.

I bet if you were to take a tour across Canada, gauging the “pulse” of Tim’s in vastly different communities—from the far north to the prairies, from east to west—I bet you would see a similar thing I saw in Hamilton that early morning. For instance, two months ago I was doing some work on Six Nations, Ohsweken (reserve) and forgot to bring my lunch. Popping into the local Tim’s was fascinating. Again, a wide cross section of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people were there, enjoying the coffee, food and atmosphere.

As someone who has lived and traveled overseas throughout your career, what do you feel makes an iconic Canadian brand in general — especially as we celebrate Canada 150 and reflect on what makes Canada great, at home and abroad?

Some of my favourite brands all share a few core elements in common. First and foremost, they’re built on an imagination-captivating story. Look at Land Rover Jaguar — started in 1947 when a “Rover” engineer decided to rip about an old WWII US Army jeep on a beach in Wales in order to “build a better, more British all-terrain vehicle, the ultimate-all-terrain- vehicle,” Now look at the powerhouse that Range Rover is today all over the globe. To this day, they still celebrate that origin story and the countless adventures it led to—they challenge their customers to adventure “above and beyond.”

To me, what makes a Canadian brand “iconic,” like Tim’s, is the fact that they hit the nail on the head when it comes to “identity marketing.” That’s another core value of successful brands to me—winning the confidence of customers by letting them know “you get it,” i.e. it sucks being up at 5am for work, but, hell here’s a great cup of coffee.

Just look at the Toronto Blue Jays, another one of my most cherished Canadian brands. Having one of, if not the largest, fan bases in the MLB, I believe, can be attributed to the fact that they tap into the core of our identity: a small fish in a big ocean — and an “American Ocean” — fighting forward every game and actually winning… sometimes!

Is Tim’s any less Canadian to you since it’s been owned by Burger King?

Not in the slightest. I think if there was a dramatic drop in quality then there would be reason for alarm. Maybe it’s because I grew up only about five kilometres from the US boarder in Niagara-on-the-Lake or going to Buffalo regularly, or the fact a lot of Canadian brands like Molsons/Labatts are owned by foreign operators. I think the purchase of Tim’s by a much larger company is both a compliment to Canadians for helping build such a successful economic titan and provides an opportunity for us to share the Canadian story around the world.

I honestly can envision Tim’s being in every airport globally in the future, not to mention Australia, Scandinavia and broader parts of eastern Europe and Russia. The brand potential is really there. Watch out, McDonald’s!

Get more branding insights in our Q&A series. Suggest a Q&A: editor@brandchannel.com.

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