Fancy Some Thought Leadership in your Cuppa?
Tetley, the beloved British tea brand, got its start in 1837, one year into Queen Victoria’s reign. Since then, the brand has continued to stay current with authentic thought leadership that appeals to today’s tea drinker. Their recent Royal Wedding campaign is a perfect example. Spanning digital, social and public relations, it landed the brand a prime segment featuring their master blender with Megyn Kelly, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on the TODAY Show. (In full disclosure, The S3 Agency created said campaign…)
The campaign started with the creation of the Tetley “Royal Diamond Teacup” – a teacup with a one-carat diamond in the handle. Consumers had a chance to enter for their chance to win by taking a “Which British Royal Family Member Are you” quiz online. Tetley tapped into the pop culture phenomenon of online personality quizzes with their thought leadership in the area of Britishness. The flashy diamond teacup didn’t hurt things, either.
The Perfect Tie-In for a Royal Wedding
The promotion ran for a month before the Royal Wedding, held on May 19, 2018. After the wedding, Tetley took things to the next level on social media. First, they offered free tea (British Blend, of course) to any married couple named Harry and Meghan. Here, the brand’s thought leadership involved connecting British culture to everyday Amercians – at a time when all eyes were looking across the Pond.
The icing on the wedding cake, though, came the day before the wedding. That was when Tetley’s Master Tea Blender was featured on the TODAY Show on a segment tied directly to the historic affair. Seated in front of Windsor Castle with the show’s hosts, the Tetley thought leader shared proper tea tasting tips. These insights were particularly timely for the millions of viewers who would soon be watching Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle.
This triple-pronged approach embraced the brand’s authentic expertise and made it relevant to the media and consumers. How? By tying into a major topic of interest. That is when thought leadership is truly meaningful. After all, what better time to learn from a British tea master than the day before you’ll be watching a fairy tale come true – with your morning breakfast?
