Case Study | Chatting your way to enduring connections | Branding Agency Australia | Brand Strategy | Restaurant Design | Industry recognition

UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT

Ms Cattea is not your everyday cuppa tea.

Hand-picked by Cathy Zhang (one of Australia’s most qualified exponents of tea making, and a respected judge at prestigious international tea competitions), the brand brought a whiff of fresh air to tea drinking in Australia when first launched in 2013. Interest among cafes and coffee bars steadily grew even as Cathy began creating some iconic new flavours (for a 2017 launch) while contemplating dipping her toes (and teas) in the corporate events market with a rare iced tea concoction.

ANALYSING ISSUES

Ms. Cattea had gained a foothold on the ‘strength’ of its sheer product superiority. Cathy and Bubblefish (now with an ownership stake in this business) saw an untapped opportunity to leverage its popularity by more clearly defining the brand’s positioning as a lifestyle experience rather than a mere beverage offering.
The foundation was already laid in the way Ms Cattea was launched since day one. All that was missing was a strategic anchor that encapsulated the brand idea and expressed it in a visual language that was as powerful as the original campaign lines.

IDEATING STRATEGIES

First and foremost, the brand needed to connect with young, vibrant, ethnically diverse target groups of discerning casual and regular tea drinkers with a new platform that was relevant, credible and shareable. Simultaneously, the underlying concept had to lend itself to appeal to the corporate meetings market. An opportunity to participate at the Sydney Tea Show provided the ideal setting to launch the new positioning platform as well as test out the Iced Tea offering.

CRAFTING SOLUTIONS

A clear, compelling descriptor, The Camaraderie Tea helped to establish Ms Cattea’s renewed positioning, linking the brand more closely with “unending conversations, lingering memories and lasting friendships” the lines that endeared Ms Cattea to young, upwardly mobile, and socially active couples and groups, thus helping to consolidate and extend the brand’s asset value.
A Pop Bar set up at the show sampled out Cathy’s exotic iced tea concoctions. The signage “Make your next event the talk of the town. Ask Ms Cattea how” established the promotion’s corporate slant while reinforcing the Brand’s core benefit. Visitors also enjoyed a hot cuppa from Ms Cattea’ s flavoursome tea chest.

“unending conversations, lingering memories and lasting friendships”

PRIMING FOR SUCCESS

Bubblefish stage-managed Ms Cattea’s presence at the Sydney Tea Show. The Iced Tea was a cool hit generating instant interest among the media, the trade, the public and those who were looking for new ideas for their company events. Equally brisk was the sale of Ms Cattea’s signature red boxes containing exotic hot teas from Cathy’s established collection. Above all, the new positioning came magically to life on the brand’s revamped website with some candid photography that captured the camaraderie spirit of life’s precious moments.