Before Christmas, I decided to share my slightly perverse reason for buying PG Tips (the bags throw better – click here if you’re curious).

And then something very interesting happened…

I received a parcel, which I assumed would be a chocolate ‘thank you’ from a grateful supplier or a Christmas gift from a hopeful prospector.

But it wasn’t. It was a box of tea bags….

Look at that lovely kitchen furniture

Until I received this parcel, I must admit I had no idea this brand of tea existed. I haven’t seen it in any supermarkets (although I’m told it’s now available in Morrisons) and I’m sure I’d have noticed it with that in-your-face packaging, so different from all the other tea brands (although guys… the builder’s bum??? Not exactly mouth watering!). But I loved the fact that I could write a seemingly meaningless and slightly silly blog and some clever, web-literate marketeer managed not only to find it, but also to find a simple way to make use of it.

For you see now I’m writing this…
…and this will appear on our Twitter page…
…and who knows who will get hold of it from there?!

With such an instant, joined-up network of consumer-driven, interactive media channels, it’s definitely an interesting time to be in marketing. Technology has created so many more possibilities and invariably it’s the more intelligent marketeers who first make effective use of it. The guys behind the ‘Make Mine a Builders’ brand also run a creative agency. Clearly they’ve seen a gap in the market and they’re using their knowledge of the various marketing channels to their advantage. And who can blame them?

The truth is that marketing has entered a whole new era, in which consumers hold a lot more power and marketing campaigns need to become a lot more integrated. Of course, large budgets will always have their place, but more and more the consumer is able to choose what it consumes and when. Subscription and Sky Plus-style television means we can fast-forward through the TV adverts; while interactive marketing and social media gives consumers the ability to affect each other’s buying decisions directly. The time has come for brands to think more cleverly not just about how they reach their target audience, but also about the honesty of their marketing messages, the validity of their USPs and the true strength behind their products. In other words, it’s no longer possible to hide behind propaganda.

The playing field is well and truly being levelled, which, for all of us as consumers, has got to be good news.

So what about ‘consuming’ the tea?
Delicious AND original. Now there’s a compelling reason to buy.

(Opinion: Jim Green- MD)