Tata Tea, the second largest tea company in the world after Unilever, is all set to redefine the idiom ?storm in a tea cup?. Primarily targeted at the youth, its latest ad campaign?Har subha sirf utho maat, jaago re?looks to represent the act of drinking tea as a metaphor for not just waking up but a larger social awakening.
This is not the first time that the company has focused on the youth. For the past three years or so, it has been channeling its creative pursuits towards attracting the younger generation. And not without a reason. Tata Tea?s acquisition of Tetley closely aligned it to the tea drinking trends across the world, enabling it to monitor the subtle changes in consumer habits in other markets.
Indeed, global trends point at a major shift. As it turns out, black tea or ?chai? as we know it, is no longer the preferred drink among the youth, who are turning down a nice cuppa for alternative beverages. Black tea which accounts for over 16% of the overall ?32.52 billion world tea market, has been declining at the rate of 1-2% every year.
Needless to say, the choice for drinks has grown enormously over the last few decades, with cold beverages leading the market for the so-called youth drinks.
In India, however, the scales are still tilted in favour of tea. At 400 billion cups a year, and 91% penetration, tea continues to be the largest penetrated product in the country. What also works in favour of tea is affordability.
Competition, however, is not making things easy for the beverage. And as international cola giants as well as the domestic beverage companies look at the Indian youth as one of the key growth drivers, it becomes imperative for a player like Tata Tea to act before it is a little too late.
?In the past few years we have increased our engagement with the young people,? says Sangeeta Talwar, executive director, marketing, Tata Tea. ?We stopped looking at tea as a monthly purchase item in the housewife?s list and we want to reach out with a communication that has a wider appeal.? In other words, reinvent itself to stay relevant.
The process was kicked off a few years back though. In 2004, the company decided to restage Tata Tea Premium, the largest selling packaged tea brand in the country. ?Our thinking was to move beyond the transactional level?from the physical attribute of ?Asli taazgi? (its celebrated tagline then) that focused on brewing tea properly to be able to enjoy the real aroma, to a more emotional level,? says Talwar. The company decided to piggyback on the India shining story to move up the ladder and make an emotional connect. The ad ?Taste kaamyabi ka? effectively using tennis star and youth icon Sania Mirza as its brand ambassador.
In June this year, when Tata Tea Premium became the largest selling packaged tea brand in the country (in volume terms), the company felt the need to take its communication campaign a step further. The brand had a volume share of 9.4% and a value share of 10.4% in August this year. ?As a category leader, Tata Tea believes its youth-oriented marketing and operational focus will emotively connect with issues that drive the heart, mind and soul of India?s emerging social consciousness,? says Percy Siganporia managing director, Tata Tea. ?We will lead category thought and widen the current appeal of tea.?
Sometime back, the company had researched the market to understand the positioning of tea vis-?-vis other drinks in the Indian consumers? mind. What it found just vindicated its position?that unlike coffee, which occupies a very niche space in India, tea is a way of life. ?It is so deeply embedded in our roots, in our psyche and our culture that we cannot imagine life without a cup of steaming hot tea,? says Talwar. ?The new campaign will take Tata tea from being a physically and emotionally revitalising experience to one that will challenge consumers to ?wake up? to what is around them.? ?We decided to adopt of path of thought leadership to catapult us to the next league,? adds Siganporia.
Given this, the challenge before Lowe, its advertising agency, was twofold. One, since tea is generally seen as a drink for an older consumer, there was the need to reposition the drink per se to make it more young and vibrant. Two, since tea drinking had a largely physical connotation?that of providing freshness and energy to the drinker?the appeal had to be on a different plane to bust the beverage market clutter. ?There is a social activist in everyone; our aim is to instigate a thought,? says Tarun Singh Chauhan, executive vice-president, Lowe.
As the company saw it, this was as good a time as any to combine a business purpose with a socio-economic goal. ?We have been passive as citizens for far too long, allowing corruption and lethargy to decide our fate,? says Talwar. ?In an overlap of brand and social messaging, Tata Tea has made an effort to exhort citizens to be agents of change.?
The local feel in the campaign is aimed at expanding the brand?s appeal in smaller towns and villages. The campaign, for the first time, unifies all the Tata tea brands?Tata Tea Premium, Tata Tea Gold, Tata Agni and Tata Tea Life. The campaign will therefore run across multiple media channels?including television, theatres, print, outdoor and radio.
Taking a cue from the efficient running of large retail formats, the company?s displays at mall counters say, ?Why not reward government clerks who are this efficient??, or ?why not have more counters at passport offices to shorten queues??. Similarly a washroom branding exercise at malls and multiplexes will sport captions such as ?Save trees, use one tissue paper at a time?. The idea will not be limited to urban locations alone. Displays across one lakh kirana outlets across the breadth of the country will ensure that the message cuts across class and status.
Thomas De Quincey in his Confession of an English Opium-Eater had said, ??tea, though ridiculed by those who are naturally coarse in their nervous sensibilities… will always be the favoured beverage of the intellectual.? If there is any truth in this Victorian writer?s words, Tata Tea will only stand to gain from its intellectually stimulating campaign.
Changing the Tetley story
After Tata Tea took over Tetley in 2000, one of the first few things that the company did was jettison the Tetley Tea Folk, that have been the public face of Tetley Tea since 1973. The amusing Tea Folk bunch includes Gaffer, Sydney, Archie, Tina, Maurice, Gordon and Clarence. Led by Gaffer, the Tetley Tea Folk represent all that is good about tea?whether it?s the care that goes into the preparation, the flavour you enjoy as a result, or the satisfaction you get from a cup of tea with friends and family.
The campaign released in 2002 hoped to shake up tea?s safe and old-fashioned image. Tea was Britain?s favourite drink?consumers in that country drank twice as much tea as coffee?and Tetley wanted to stand up for that. The end strapline ?You are the cham-pions, and this is your cup. Tetley love u?gave out the message that tea doesn?t only offer instant energy; it is healthy as well. In a way, the campaign refreshed the image of Tetley as a brand.
The campaigns that followed looked to strengthen the innovation platform, says Siganporia. What was communicated is that Tetley?s distinctive taste comes from a combination of three main components?Assam teas from the north of India gave body and strength, African teas provided Tetley?s distinctive red colour, while a smooth refreshing finish is given by Ceylon teas.
In markets outside the UK, Tetley positions itself according to local needs, In Canada, for instance, Tetley celebrates its true British origin. In health-conscious France, it?s the speciality tea and its benefits that are communicated through its campaigns.
