The Psychology of Price by Leigh Caldwell

Author:Leigh Caldwell
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781780592008
Publisher: Crimson Publishing
Published: 2012-09-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The tea party

Inspired by a visit to the USA during the Congressional election campaigns, Maggie launched her range of luxury products in May with a new marketing campaign: the Chocolate Tea Party.

Having gradually built up a mailing list of several thousand loyal customers over nine months, the company announced a competition to select the top 100 influencers. They each received a visit from someone in the sales department and a gift of the new luxury tea range. This combined an exclusive high-cocoa chocolate with a range of Japanese and Chinese teas, served in a handmade pottery tea set.

The range was not designed to be enjoyed alone, however. The tea set came with eight small cups and saucers, and the quantities were made for sharing. This was the launch of the Chocolate Teapot Company’s first social marketing experiment.

I took a trip to Liverpool to visit an early summer tea party hosted by influencer number 37, Joanne Spiers. Joanne was a charming lady of indeterminate age (let’s be polite and call it 45) whose house by the river had a beautiful, secluded garden. She had set up a tray for tea and cakes before I arrived, and invited me to sample a little before the party proper got started.

We sat together on the grass, with a small table in front of us, and Jo opened a packet of luxury Cho-Chai. The tea was sealed in a thick parchment packet and the chocolate, disc-shaped, wrapped in a cacao tree leaf. She placed the leaves in a porcelain pot and poured some boiling water over them. A timer chimed after 90 seconds and she dropped the chocolate discs in. Another minute and she poured the tea out into two small china cups. We could almost have been in Kyoto instead of Liverpool. I brought the tea to my lips, anticipating something special.

It had a lovely flavour, more delicate than the normal teapots and with a sweetness that was more subtle. Instead of the normal strong black tea, which needed a fair hit of chocolate to balance it out, these teas tasted more herbal, with only a hint of chocolate providing some warmth in the background. I savoured it for a few moments before taking a bite of sesame-infused rice cake.

With hindsight, I realised how strongly my experience of the flavour was affected by the power of the ritual and of all the extra attention I paid to the flavour as I tried it. The very fact that I knew this tea was expensive made me enjoy it more.

Jo’s guests arrived soon after, and I watched their reactions to the tea as well as the interactions across the table throughout the evening. I’ve never been to an Avon or Ann Summers party but I imagine they might be a little like this, if more risqué – some gossip, some trying out different products and comparing them, and all the while a careful social comparison of who’s buying what.

The social dynamic was fascinating. Everybody clearly felt they had to buy something.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.