So yesterday an old mate of mine who works on campaigns for the consumer insurance brands of RBS points me to the new 'Teamergency' campaign for Direct Line. It's a neat campaign. Some boffin-led research (it's a pdf, but not a big one) to identify a genuine link between tea and reduced levels of anxiety, which of course validates the traditional British reaction to any stress-inducing event of putting the kettle on. Lovely.
This little piece of content (and it really is a pretty small piece of research) provides a nice news hook (I heard it mentioned on Sky News yesterday and apparently there's a dps in the Mirror today and a bunch of other coverage) but also the basis for some direct consumer engagement through social media. There's a well-designed website and a Twitter-based competition: the best examples of tea-mergencies tweeted with the hashtag #teamergency get some special tea delivered or, potentially, tea for two at The Ritz. There are also downloadable versions of the Tea is for Trouble poster (as above). All in all, a lovely little brand campaign for Direct Line.
Good content, well produced, interesting, entertaining, direct audience engagement as well as through media (but press coverage not being the primary driver).
That's what we're talking about.
Mark Pinsent 