Results and Effectiveness

We not only challenged category conventions, but absolutely smashed our sales objective. Sales of featured products were up +25% YOY- defying trade expectations. This meant that Dilmah could curtail the threat of being delisted without compromising its quality positioning. Engagement was phenomenal- we had over 6,210 video downloads and 50% of people who scanned the QR code went on to engage with the app (industry norm 15%). Proving our ‘Quality Foodies’ loved our tea gastronomy content. Dilmah was so pleased with the activation; Tea Gastronomy QR codes are used across all of their channels, including on pack.

Creative Execution

We didn’t want to create just another online destination. There were already +10,000 foodie blogs/sites in Australia. We needed to stand out. Magazines offer credibility and trust we had to tap into. The challenge was to do this in a way that would allow Tea Gastronomy to live beyond a static execution. QR codes often have a bad reputation. The truth is over 31% of Australians would use a QR code (Source: TNS MobileLife). We had confidence that our mobile savvy ‘Quality Foodie’ audience would want to engage with our tea gastronomy content. In a category first, we incorporated QR codes into our print executions. Once scanned, consumers were taken to site packed with tea gastronomy recipes, inspiration, and videos. Whether it was tea-smoked trout, Earl- Grey Ice cream or Lamb rump baked in Ceylon tea, we gave ‘Quality Foodies’ tea inspired food discoveries in the palm of their hands.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Dilmah is a quality Sri Lankan Tea brand. Its ‘Exceptionals’ range of flavoured teas was on the brink of being delisted from Australian shelves. In a competitive grocery environment, it had to prove to trade it could generate sales quickly without compromising its unique brand positioning: passionate commitment to quality and authenticity in tea. Typical short sales tactics that would create uplifts would undermine our quality positioning. We had to stimulate sales by giving consumers genuine reasons to pick up the product. Our research showed that consumers of our quality flavoured teas were also quality seekers of food in general. They loved food, they loved talking about food and most interestingly they loved experimenting with food. Dilmah was perfectly positioned to tap into this insight. With its tea authority positioning, Dilmah had real potential to reinvigorate the category. ‘Tea Gastronomy’ was born.