Mega boost for Ceylon Tea in the land of the Red Square

The maiden launch of the historical Ceylon Tea Global Promotion Campaign took off ceremonially with pomp and pageant in the capital city of the Russian Federation last week. This was the first time ever that Sri Lanka Tea Board launched an international publicity program and a propaganda blitz of such magnitude since the Ceylon Tea Advertising Campaign at the Summer Olympics in Moscow during 1980. 

Moscow was the centre of attraction where 150 specially invited guests from the tea fraternity were mesmerised by Chandana Wickramasinghe’s cultural troop of ten male and female dancers. The tea plucking dance, the peacock dance and the fire dance were some of the most prominent events, with the grand finale being a tea ceremony ritual similar to the period of the ancient kings of the island. The roll-out was a great success, creating vigour and momentum for the industry.

The 28th session of the World Food Exhibition at Crocus Centre in Moscow on 24 September was the platform for the launch, again with a magnificent cultural performance by Chandana and his troupe in front of the Sri Lanka Tea Pavilion. Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Moscow Dr. Dayan Jayathilake, Ministry of Plantation Industries Secretary J.A. Ranjith, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lucille Wijewardena and his team, tea export trade and other stakeholders from Sri Lanka with the Russian counterparts graced the occasion. 

The World Food Exhibition is one of the largest food and drink international events held annually in the Russian Federation where buyers/sellers, importers/exporters, suppliers/customers, distributors/packers negotiate and transact business orders. Many representatives from around the world commented positively and praised the program for the Ceylon Tea awareness boosting exercise among visitors at the food and drink extravaganza. 

The world renowned TASS News Agency conducted an exclusive interview with Tea Board Chairman and Global Promotion Consultant Hasitha de Alwis regarding the objectives of the campaign in the Russian Federation, the expected outcome, the present status-quo in the tea market of Russia, the recent trends and demand/supply situation on the face of the Russian economic difficulties, etc. A barrage of questions were paused at the two veterans of the tea industry at this lively media brain-storming session. It was considered another effective opportunity for spreading the popularity of Ceylon Tea among the Russian viewers, listeners and readers through the TASS network. 

The last Wednesday of the month of September was very special for Ceylon Tea which celebrated the 150 years anniversary of commercial planting in the island just two years ago. This was due to the Ceylon Tea Gala Evening at five star Lotte Hotel Crystal Ballroom decorated uniquely for the occasion in the Moscow metropolis. It was indeed a fitting tribute to the Russian Federation which maintained prime position as the number one import market for tea from Sri Lanka for almost two decades until just a couple of years ago, now slipping to the third place after Iraq and Turkey. 

The afternoon commenced with a media conference attended by almost 50 media personalities from television, radio, press, magazines and on-line services (social media bloggers and influencers). PowerPoint presentations were done by several officials of the Sri Lanka Tea Board and a powerful speech by the Sri Lanka Ambassador. 

A lively Q&A session immediately followed the briefings. Thereafter, a cocktails and beverages intermission proceeded the actual Gala Evening while Chandana and Troupe stole the hearts of the invited guests. The classy sit-down dinner provided the platform to convey the message of the launch of the Ceylon Tea Promotional Program in the Russian Federation.    

The Sri Lanka Tea Board re-aligned its traditional promotional campaign strategy from the past where it was mostly a Business to Business (B2B) focus to a Business to Consumer (B2C) targeting through the new campaign. Also, the expensive ATL and BTL publicity tools usually utilised at very high cost was re-focused to a propaganda program availing more effective but “value for money” social and digital media platforms. 

Celebrities, Influencers and Bloggers (KOLs) will be heavily used in the new campaign which is due for the second launch in Kiev, Ukraine during last week of October. A Search Engine Marketing (SEM) program would supplement the KOLs promotion. Activations consisting of sampling, tasting, demonstration, in-store promotion, etc. at super/hyper markets, departmental stores (modern trade outlets), yoga centres, sports and fitness studios and out-door festivals are planned to re underscore the advertising campaign for Ceylon Tea.

The Global Promotional Launch for Ceylon Tea is programmed to move to the two vital Far Eastern destinations of Japan and China in March and May 2020 respectively. The other target markets within the campaign include USA, Australia, Chile, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran and are scheduled to commence during second half of next year. 

The campaign is expected to increase the awareness for Ceylon Tea among the global consumers and convey to the end user, the correct method of recognising genuine Ceylon Tea branded packs on the retail shelf through the “Lion Logo” symbol as well as the linkage between Ceylon Tea and the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka. This would ultimately transform into a higher demand at the Colombo Tea Auctions resulting in better prices to the farmer.