Tea… the jack of all trades when it comes to warm beverages. We all have different reasons for enjoying a cup or keeping multiple kinds of tea in our homes at any given moment. For some, it is a staple; for others, it is an occasional comfort. For PRs, it is a masterclass in public relations.
There are different types of tea drinkers.
You have those who believe it makes them propper and British Royal-like fancy. They — wrongly, I must add — put their pinkies so high in the air that they might pick up a radio signal.
There are those who like the gimmick of it all. They break out the fancy cups with the matching teapot for every new season of Bridgerton or The Crown. For them, it is about having some fun.
Then you get those who believe there is a tea for any ailment. Headache? Chamomile tea will take care of it. Tired? Peppermint tea is the way to go! Is the flu getting you down? Have some lemon and ginger tea. And so on and so forth.
There is another group, or should I say, my group. We just enjoy a lovely cup of tea. We love trying a new tea and we can be very particular about the tea we buy and the way we drink it.
The last group is the PR pros. Most of them prefer caffeine to keep them busy and buzzin', but they often look to tea and tea brands for a little PR inspiration.
So, put the kettle on because Alrika Möller from media update is spilling the tea on some great PR campaigns from tea brands.
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JOKO Tea
Joko is a proudly South African tea brand that belongs to Unilever.
In 2019, Joko partnered with People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) and started the '#EndDomesticSilence' campaign.
They realised that the statistics of violence against women and domestic abuse in South Africa were at an all-time high, and it just kept growing.
The campaign revolved around giving strong women a platform to speak up and start important conversations around:
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the realities about / surrounding abuse
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the different types of abuse that we might not know about
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the reasons a woman might not report or talk about it, and
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the different ways women can ask for help.
Joko and Unilever pledged to donate R1 of every hundred teabag boxes sold to POWA in an effort to fight domestic violence and violence against women.
Joko's strong stance against an important topic did not go unnoticed, and when the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide command centre's helpline reported getting 120 000 calls asking for help with domestic abuse during the first three weeks of the 2020 lockdown, people took notice.
Joko's sales went way up because people knew that Joko cared.
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Twinings
Twinings is about as traditionally English as it gets. They have held the British Royal Warrant since 1837. The company has been owned by the Twinings family for 10 generations — and they even still use the original tea shop as its flagship store.
They are a pretty big deal when it comes to the tea industry!
The sourcing of tea can sometimes be a steaming hot topic due to the fact that a lot of tea plantations have horrific working conditions and underpaid staff.
A lot of great strides have been made over the last few years.
In 2016, Twinings Tea launched the Sourced with Care programme. The programme is not just focussed on improving the lives of the people who work on tea plantations. They also focus on uplifting the communities surrounding these plantations.
Its vision is to have “healthier, happier, empowered and sustainable communities” in and around its whole supply chain.
The programme is such a success that the company even managed to secure funding from the United Kingdom government to put towards its fight for a livable wage for tea workers.
No wonder Twinings is the tea of choice for a large part of the Royal family.
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Five Roses Tea
Most people in South Africa know a cup of Five Roses when they taste it. It is a popular tea brand in this country. That means that when the brand attaches itself to a cause, people notice.
Five Roses is the official tea sponsor of the Cancer Association of South Africa's Cuppa For Cansa. The main aim of the campaign is to raise money and awareness for those affected by cancer while also spending some time with family and friends.
The main idea is to host a tea party as a way to raise funds. The event includes a speaker (usually a cancer survivor or a fancy celebrity), a wide range of delightful things to eat and, of course, Five Roses tea.
Anyone can host or attend a Cuppa for Cansa event.
Five Roses, being the official partner, opens up the charitable campaign to a bigger audience and takes the tea party concept to a whole other level. It also provides Five Roses the opportunity to get involved with an important cause and a well-known charitable organisation in South Africa.
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Fortnum and Mason
Fortnum and Mason started in 1707 on the famous Piccadilly street. Ever since then, the brand has become a beacon of taste and sophistication within England.
Not only is its tea of exceptional quality, but the packaging is incredibly aesthetically pleasing. Any tea lover worth their Ceylon will recognise the iconic blue that is Fortnum and Mason.
That means that people often buy tins and tins of tea and the packaging just sits around the house. This simply will not do!
That is why Fortnum decided to prioritise the concept of recycling its packaging.
On its website, it showcases the many ways people are reusing and recycling its packaging on the Long Love '#Fortnums' page to encourage customers to reuse the tins and boxes in a useful and creative way.
They went even further in May of 2023. As part of the coronation celebrations for King Charles, they proudly displayed a seven-metre-tall peacock statue. All 1 298 feathers of the peacock were made from recycled Fortnum and Mason tins.
Sourced from Instagram
This was a perfect way to use a historic event to shine a light on something as simple yet important as recycling while also making something really cool and quite pretty.
Fortnum and Mason managed to make recycling sophisticated and stylish.
Some people might think that tea is old-fashioned, but to this day, tea brands manage to make PR history.
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Do you have a favourite campaign from a tea brand? Let us know in the comment section below.
Brands and PRs keep finding new ways to make PR history. Check out these Female-focussed brand partnerships.
*Image courtesy of Canva