<![CDATA[Competition among café businesses in Malang City has intensified alongside a growing student population exceeding 266,000 people. In this context, marketing communication has become a critical instrument for business sustainability. This study focuses on the marketing communication practices of Nakoa Café and Nakoa Social Space, addressing three main research questions: what marketing communication programs are being implemented, what strategy is chosen to increase the number of customers, and whether the strategy leans toward a pull strategy, push strategy, or pass strategy. A qualitative approach with a descriptive and interpretive case study method was employed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) involving six regular customers and two new consumers, and observation of the café's official social media content. Analysis was conducted using marketing communication strategy theory, which categorizes strategic choices into pull, push, and pass strategies. The findings reveal that Nakoa's marketing communication programs remain severely limited: Instagram-based advertising is active but suboptimal, sales promotion and publicity are virtually nonexistent, while direct marketing and personal selling have not been established at all. The current strategy leans toward a minimalist pull strategy with no meaningful push strategy component. Therefore, management is strongly advised to transition toward a pass strategy by integrating both approaches in a planned and simultaneous manner to achieve more significant market expansion.]]>
