From the Arizona Republic (Sept. 8, 2007): Mannequin helps hawk cold drinks If you’ve seen a strange-looking man bundled up in a ski jacket and sweat pants at the Mokarabia Coffee Bar in Buckeye’s Verrado community, don’t be fooled. The man isn’t real. It’s a mannequin, and it’s all part of the Italian coffee retailer’s summer marketing campaign. The store worked with Phoenix marketing firm Santy to come up with a strategy that would reel customers into the coffee bar even during the sultry summer months. In addition to the mannequin, Santy created direct mailing materials and in-store posters featuring different people donning winter gear. The point was to get customers thinking about Mokarabia’s cold drinks. “We wanted to do something pretty fun and different, said Dan Santy, president of Santy. John Martinson, owner of the coffee bar, agreed. “What we’re trying to do is get people to realize we have cold drinks,” he said. So far, the mannequin has caused the most commotion. “We had one resident flag down a police officer to say there was a homeless man drinking coffee in front of our coffee bar,” Martinson said, who noted residents likely haven’t seen the last of the stone-faced figure currently known as Moka Man. “We’re planning on taking him to play golf. We’re going to take him around the community. We’re going to take him to baseball games.” Mokarabia Coffee Bar: Eskimo Mokarabia Coffee Bar 21067 W. Main St. (Verrado) Buckeye, AZ 85396 Phone: (623) 466-9945
