DavidsTea – How Do You Do What You Do???

It’s hard to mention tea nowadays without someone in the room piping up with “Oh yah, you know DavidsTea? Yah, I love their coconut chocolate candy cane swirl cupcake avocado blend.” Many tea aficionados in the world (or tea sommeliers, if you prefer – and yes, it’s a real thing) despise DavidsTea for what it has done to the sanctity of the institution of tea. “Sacrilege!” they cry, as they sip their lightly roasted Ti Kuan Yin from their Gaiwan (a type of Chinese oolong tea, drunk from a traditional tea cup). But from a marketing perspective, what DavidsTea has done is nothing short of brilliant.

Let’s discuss…

As a background, for all you non-tea-snobs, all real ‘tea’ comes from one type of plant – the camellia sinensis plant. That means chamomile, rooibos, yerba mate, coffee, etc. is not real tea. None of it. Blow your mind? Good.

What Davids has done is taken a centuries-old commodity and made it hip. Tea is the new yoga. It’s old, a deeply spiritual practice, it’s perceived as a health supplement, and it has been bastardized (pardon the language) to suit North American appetites. Companies like Silk Road in Victoria BC began importing mid to high-grade tea and blending it with local ingredients in the 90’s. Silk Road was one of the first ‘cool’ tea bars in Canada, and has stuck to their values through the years. Companies like TeaOpia (bought by Teavana, then bought by Starbucks) caught on board, but Davids has propelled past any of them.

Their marketing is brilliant. Everyone recognizes the shade of blue with the white writing. Everyone recognizes when someone pulls a tin out of their desk, or is holding a to-go cup from Davids. Their brand is incredibly strong, and it has become a status symbol, much like holding a coffee from Starbucks, but with the perception that the ‘tea’ is healthier.

Their social media channels are very interactive. Much of their content on Facebook is user-generated. Their persona could be described as fun, friendly, cute, cheeky, pretty, and youthful. 99% of their posts have a picture or a video – all that contain a message about DavidsTea, or one of their products (mugs, thermoses, tea pots, tea tins, etc.). All of the photos support their brand image – whether it is designed in house, or user-generated. The mix between the two styles of beautiful, professional-studio photographs, and on-the-go iPhone pics support the different facets of the persona. They often post recipes, or brewing instructions, which leads traffic to the website, as well as highlighting new/seasonal blends. They mix this with engagement posts “How do you … ?” etc.

DavidsTea has a very broad range of posts/content, while keeping it very specifically under the brand restrictions. It is highly targeted towards their ideal customer, and their sales and brand reputation show that. Tea is a rapidly expanding market, and they have managed to both capitalize it and propel it forward.

Although I haven’t personally liked anything I have ever tried from Davids, I’m not who they’re targeting. That being said, hats off to the marketing team. They sure know what they’re doing.