« Beauty of Blends », a Kusmi Tea successful campaign

3 days of filming, one 8-meter-deep pool, a 6-ton set, 7 divers and 6 actors [1], these are all the means that the brand invested in the "Beauty of Blends" campaign. In 2014, this campaign, by its originality and its accurate reflection of the brand's identity, is part of the success story of Kusmi Tea.

Sylvain Orebi, president of Kusmi Tea, wants to further assert its positioning and "democratize premium tea". He wants to make his mark with an advertisement that is out of the ordinary in form while conveying the brand's value proposition. And if there is one thing that Kusmi Tea knows how to do well and that has brought it to this point today, it is the blend.

The advertising campaign is based on the 3 iconic products: Prince Wladimir (the famous favorite blend of the Tsars), Sweet Love and BB Detox. The campaign is composed of 4 TV spots: 3 spots lasting 25 to 26 seconds, featuring each tea blend and one spot featuring all the teas over a period of 45 seconds. To depict these teas as they should be, Sylvain and his team wanted to portray the teas through women and men of different origins, dressed traditionally, conducting aquatic choreographies in an apartment filled with water and Haussmanian style. Indeed, the mix represented evokes not only that of the tea associations but also that of the company's culture shared between Russia, the UK and France.

This campaign managed to offer a perception of tea, which consumers have always taken or can take, in the form of a poetic metaphor. By the way, if you didn't know it was a tea ad, you would probably have a hard time guessing it: indeed, the commercial doesn't show any tea or cups. This can strike a chord with the audience, which can allow the brand to make a mark on the consumers' minds in some way. This film series resulted in a 19% increase in brand awareness and sales for Kusmi Tea.

For the filming, the brand wanted to conduct everything in real life and have a “behind the scenes” that is as close as possible to what will appear on the screens. Thus, the actors as well as the film crew were placed in the set immersed in water. This also allowed to have a beautiful making of which could be shared with the general public. This beautiful realization earned Kusmi Tea 9 awards for advertising and media strategy [2].

Laxcina ARUNTHAVAKUMARAN

[1] L. (2014). « La Beauté des Mélanges » le spot TV de Kusmi Tea. J’ai un pote dans la com. https://www.jai-un-pote-dans-la.com

[2] La beauté des mélanges. (2014). QDO. https://www.quaidesorfevres.com