1	Interviewer: Thanks for making the time, we'll talk for like twenty minutes, is that okay?
2	Respondent: Yeah no problem, I've actually got coffee in my hand right now, kind of fitting.
3	Interviewer: Great. Tell me, right now, without overthinking it — what does the name "Perky" bring to mind for you?
4	Respondent: Well the first thing that pops into my head is, like, some alarm clock, that sharp ringing sound.
5	Respondent: For some reason I also remember gym class in school, I can literally picture that gym.
6	Interviewer: Interesting, why gym class?
7	Respondent: I don't know, it's just the word, it's like it's pushing you to do something, not just, you know, calmly drink your coffee.
8	Interviewer: What's the tone for you there, do you actually like that image or does it annoy you?
9	Respondent: I mean I'd say it's a fine brand, nothing weird, the name's just a bit funny.
10	Respondent: Although honestly, every time I see the sign, there's this slight, um, like I'm being hurried along, and I don't like being hurried along.
11	Interviewer: Do you go there yourself regularly?
12	Respondent: I go almost every weekday, there's a "Perky" right under my office, I grab a cappuccino in the morning, it's my spot.
13	Interviewer: So this is personal experience, not just something you've heard about them?
14	Respondent: No no, it's me, every day, literally paying at the register with my own hands.
15	Interviewer: Now compare it, please, with other chains — there's "Coffee Cult," there's "BlackCat" — how does "Perky" stack up against them?
16	Respondent: I get "Coffee Cult" sometimes too, if it's near home, they've got more of, well, a grown-up vibe, tastings, they show off the beans.
17	Respondent: And "BlackCat" I've never actually ordered from myself, honestly, my friend told me about that one, that it's all really stylish there, black cups, that kind of minimalism.
18	Interviewer: So your impression of "BlackCat" comes from your friend, not personal experience?
19	Respondent: Yeah exactly, I haven't even walked in there, she just showed me photos from their Instagram.
20	Interviewer: Have you heard anything about "Perky" from other people, not just your own experience?
21	Respondent: Well my coworkers at work constantly complain that prices went up, I've heard that a lot, I'm not making that up myself.
22	Respondent: And I also saw their ad on a billboard coming into the city, there was some slogan about energy.
23	Interviewer: Coming back to "Coffee Cult" and "BlackCat" — what's weaker about "Perky" next to them?
24	Respondent: Weaker is, probably, this plainness, with "Coffee Cult" you can really feel that people know their beans.
25	Respondent: And at "Perky" they just pour it fast, which isn't bad either, but there's no soul to it, kind of.
26	Interviewer: So what does the name "Perky" actually convey about what kind of place this is?
27	Respondent: It conveys, basically, that it's about energy, about perking up and running off back to work.
28	Respondent: But what it doesn't convey at all is that the coffee there is actually good, I mean the baristas are solid, there are even alternative brewing methods.
29	Interviewer: So the substance gets lost?
30	Respondent: Yeah, it gets lost, because everyone thinks it's some checkbox grab-and-go spot, but in reality they actually put in effort.
31	Interviewer: Is the word itself long, hard to say, hard to remember?
32	Respondent: Not that it's hard, but when I'm telling friends about it, I just say "that coffee place under my office," the name just doesn't come to mind on its own.
33	Interviewer: If you were coming up with a new name, what would you suggest?
34	Respondent: I was actually thinking, something like "Jolt" or "Pulse," short, punchy.
35	Respondent: I like "Jolt" because it keeps that idea of energy, but it doesn't sound as schoolteacher-ish, not like an alarm clock.
36	Interviewer: And why do you also like "Pulse"?
37	Respondent: "Pulse" is decent too, but it sounds a bit colder, like it's some tech company, not a coffee shop.
38	Interviewer: What would you definitely reject out of the options?
39	Respondent: I'd definitely not go with something with a foreign word like "Energy Cup" — I've already seen something similar at small-time spots, and it sounds cheap.
40	Interviewer: Are there any brands, maybe not even coffee ones, that you'd want "Perky" to resemble?
41	Respondent: I like how it's done at this one burger chain, called "Crafthouse," they've got minimalism in the signage, black-and-white, stylish.
42	Respondent: I also like how "Coffee Cult" does social media, you see people, they show who's brewing the coffee, it feels honest somehow.
43	Interviewer: Does anything international come to mind as a reference?
44	Respondent: Well how could it not, Starbucks obviously, just because that's the first thing everyone thinks of for a coffee brand at all.
45	Interviewer: Now about the visuals — what would you say about "Perky's" logo and design?
46	Respondent: Their logo is a yellow lightning bolt on a mug, pretty loud, I'd say straight-up acid yellow.
47	Respondent: The sign at the actual location has already faded a bit, the letters are peeling on the left, it really catches your eye when you walk up.
48	Interviewer: Have you looked at the website, social media?
49	Respondent: Honestly their website's so-so, I went there once to check the menu, and it was just some old version sitting there.
50	Respondent: Their Instagram is okay-ish, but looks like it's run by one person, no big team, posts are infrequent.
51	Interviewer: How's the brand recognition, from what you can tell, do people in the city know "Perky"?
52	Respondent: That's actually where it falls apart, if I tell someone "Perky," half of them ask what that even is.
53	Respondent: Although when I describe it — yellow sign, lightning bolt — they immediately go oh yeah, I've seen that, but the name itself doesn't stick in people's heads.
54	Interviewer: Who do you think the target audience for this brand is, who is it actually meant for?
55	Respondent: Well in theory it's for office people who are rushing in the morning, strictly grab-and-go, quick and off to work.
56	Respondent: But in reality students also go there in the evening to sit around, and that's strange, because the sign and the whole style are absolutely not about sitting around.
57	Interviewer: So there's a gap between who it was designed for and who actually shows up?
58	Respondent: Yeah, there's a gap, it's like they haven't figured out for themselves who this place is actually for.
59	Interviewer: If "Perky" decided to rebrand, how do you think that should be done?
60	Respondent: I'd start by asking regular customers, not just go and swap out the sign overnight.
61	Respondent: Because if you change everything abruptly, some people just won't realize it's the same place, and they'll walk right past out of habit.
62	Interviewer: What risks do you see in the renaming itself?
63	Respondent: The risk is that they've spent three years building up the brand somehow, a bit clumsily, but there's already recognition through the colors.
64	Respondent: And if you suddenly change the name but keep the colors and the lightning bolt, everyone will just get confused, that's part of the recognition too.
65	Interviewer: Coming back to the essence of the brand — you talked about energy, about the substance getting lost, and about them actually putting effort into the coffee. So what's the core essence of "Perky," as you see it?
66	Respondent: Good question, honestly, I don't fully understand myself what the essence is here.
67	Respondent: On one hand it's just quick coffee at hand for me, no frills, no nonsense, grab it and run.
68	Respondent: But on the other hand, when you try their seasonal drinks, you feel like they're actually coming up with something, experimenting, it's not just a quick grab-and-go spot anymore.
69	Interviewer: So these two things don't really fit together?
70	Respondent: Well that's exactly the thing, I don't even know myself, is it a checkbox assembly line or a place that genuinely loves coffee, depends on the day, I guess.
71	Interviewer: Coming back to the comparison — does it ever happen that you mix up "Perky" with one of the competitors?
72	Respondent: Actually yeah, funny you ask, I was telling a friend recently that I saw a new seasonal lineup at "Coffee Cult," I said, "Perky" made these cool new cups.
73	Respondent: And then I corrected myself, I said, wait no, that wasn't "Perky," I mixed it up, "Coffee Cult" has those cups, "Perky" has a different design.
74	Interviewer: Why do you think that happened, that you mixed them up?
75	Respondent: Probably because they're both yellow-brown in their design, both have these warm tones, and they're both right next to each other on the same street.
76	Interviewer: Coming back to coworkers complaining about prices — how do you feel about the price yourself?
77	Respondent: I've kind of gotten used to it, I just pay and pay, but when a friend from another city said the same coffee is cheaper where he is, it stung a little.
78	Interviewer: Overall — if you had to describe your attitude toward "Perky" right now in one phrase?
79	Respondent: Well like I said, a fine brand, nothing wrong with it overall, I go there every day after all, so it must work for me in practice.
80	Interviewer: Thank you so much, that's everything I wanted to ask.
81	Respondent: No problem at all, reach out if you need anything.
