Introduction

Zealong Tea is a brainchild of Mr. Chen and his son, Vincent, in 1996; inspired by a blossoming camellia plant growing near to their residence. The thriving camellia plant is a well indication that tea tree can thrive and blossom in New Zealand.

The Chens began importing tea tree seedlings from Taiwan and 30 are selected for planting. From the 130 seedlings, Zealong has grown into a well-known brand that strive to produce tea leaves of the highest standards through the use of the best traditional harvesting methods from chemical free tea trees. (Zealong 2014a).  Given the current challenges, and the result of the blind tasting after the two product descriptions, which of the main features of Zealong tea would you suggest to stress in the marketing communication of Zealong for both New Zealand and Asian markets? Would you stress different attributes at different markets and why?

Perception is our sensory experience of the world and involves both the recognition of

environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli (Cherry 2014). Through

the perceptual process, we receive, select and interpret stimuli to form a meaningful and

coherent picture of the world.

Zealong was faced with changing the perception of foreign consumers as New Zealand

was yet to be associated with tea growing in comparison to well established tea-growing

Asian countries.

Perception varies with every individual and there are no clear boundaries to define an

individual's perceptions therefore the consumer’s perceptions and decisions are highly

affected by the way they perceive the world through their senses (Morin 2009).

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Being a new product in the market, the packaging design and marketing communications

need to embody the highest quality the make an impactful first impression on the

consumer. Positioning becomes an important process to identify an appropriate market

niche for a product, service or brand (Product Positioning n.d.).

Positioning a product involves creating a positioning concept or emphasizing the benefits

a customer can gain from the product. It is important to set Zealong Tea apart from its

competitors through the use of meaningful brand name, symbolic colour and three leaf

emblems to represent their high quality as well as understanding different needs of the

consumer market.

For New Zealand market, blind tests with respect to the positioning were conducted. and

‘Pure’ positioning is a better approach than ‘health and well-being’ positioning. As Al

Ries and Jack Trout wrote in their book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, introduced

the subject by saying: "Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you

do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the

prospect." (Ries 2001).

As a marketer, they are required to have different attributes in different markets. A great

attribute is able to provide the most valuable experience to consumers (Nowicki 2009).

New Zealanders perceive and view tea more of beverage than a health drinks; ‘pureness’

suggests more flavour and taste. Therefore, it represents a better approach towards

positioning.

Conversely in Asia, tea is not just a beverage but one with health beneficial properties, it

would be more appropriate to position Zealong tea on the product benefits of health and

wellness or even incorporate the greenery of New Zealand.

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If Zealong tea can provide a higher value than competitors by offering mixture of

attributes in a product, it will have multiple attributes that can assist in creating a unique

position in the market.

Looking at the packaging alone, what kind of quality perceptions of the product does it communicate?

Perception is the process of interpreting stimuli, when a consumer gets contact with a product or brand they will receive, select and process the information that is presented in their perspective. Hence many consumers tend to react differently towards the same product or advertisement. In marketing there are three distinct process of perception: Sensation, Selection and Interpretation (Schiffman et al. 2014).

Example, when a consumer enters a Zealong shop he/she can smell the sweet aroma of the tea leaves, hear the soothing background music that enhance the mood of customer and see the appealing store design, layout and the presentation of products. The physical setting/conditioning affects the consumer’s sensitivity and ability to experience sensation, hence when consumer steps into a shop and feel good, happy and relax, they will tend to spend more than what they really need to buy.

Nowadays marketers tend to use positive stimuli to alter consumer perspective on the products/brand. The lowest level a consumer can experience a sensation is known as absolute threshold. When consumers undergo constant stimulation, the absolute threshold will increase. The higher the rate consumers are being exposed to the product, the lower the rate they will not notice the modification made to it (Cross n.d 2014).

In actual fact, consumers only react to small areas of the stimuli they are exposed, because consumers are constantly overloaded with many information provided by the product/company. Hence when the product tends to be inconsistent with what the consumer needs and want, the product will automatically be withdrawn from the consumer attention (Cross n.d 2014).

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Consumer will associate the product from the previous experience they had with the brand or product. First impression tends to be more lasting, hence marketer frequently capitalizes on the product packaging, design, logo, colours that are associate or similar to national brands to attract consumers (Cross n.d 2014).

The current black packaging of Zealong tea is the primary national colour of New Zealand and is highly associated with the country’s most successful rugby team “All Black”. However, Chinese will think likewise as black is also associate with fear, evil, unhappiness, mourning and death. Thus, for Zealong to penetrate and outshine in Asia market, it is almost near impossible.

For Asian markets, Zealong should use red, yellow/gold, blue or green for their packaging, as such colours are generally more vibrant, creates happiness feeling when consumers look at it. (Colour Symbolism and Culture n.d). Example, Singapore tea company, TWG, uses yellow as their main packaging colour and it also artfully blends in packages that represent royal, elegant and reflect as quality of life (TWG Tea Company 2013).

Zealong marketers can create packaging that can be reused or recycle after consumers had consumed the product. Example, instead of cardboard packaging, Zealong can use airtight canister, which can be use as storage container.

Are the perceptions of New Zealand overseas favourable or unfavourable for the product? How would you suggest stressing the New Zealand link in the product’s packaging?

The perception of New Zealand overseas is unfavourable for the product as the establishment of Zealong New Zealand has never been associated as a tea growing country before.

Tea drinking is a long tradition established centuries ago and the majority of tea drinking countries are Asia countries. Due to conservative Asian values where new trends are generally viewed with doubts and mistrust, it will take a period of time for Asian consumers to accept new products especially a product that is not from established tea countries (Nicholson and Xiao 2011).

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In comparison to established tea growing, consumers are more receptive to a new product produced in these established tea-growing countries than that from New Zealand. Traditionally these countries produces varieties of tea products ranging from premium to mediocre and consumers place tea as a prestigious gift will be more likely to purchase their products from the established tea growing countries.

In order to make a powerful first impression, Zealong will need to stress on the production procedures of the tea leaves from the planting of plant, the enhancement of the tea leaves’ quality due to the growing environment of New Zealand’s weather, the harvesting of the tea leaves down to the cooking of tea leaves. With the production procedure contained on the product packaging will have a lasting impression on consumers.

Concurrently the outlook of the product package need to be exclusively packed in order to let the consumer precept the product to be a product of highest quality which is both ideal to be presented as a premium gift or as a personnel indulgence. The packaging has to be unique, exclusive and allow consumers to be able to link immediately to Zealong with a glance on the packaging (Patrick 2000). The three leaves emblem is the perfect mark of the highest quality of the tea leaves produced by Zealong which represents the harvesting of the top three leaves of each tea plant and the unfurl of the tea leaves during infusion.

In terms of packaging, it is advisable for Zealong to adopt two different packaging for Asian and Western markets. As Asian markets tend to be conservative and some symbols or colours may be perceived as inauspicious, Zealong has to stay clear of such taboo as this will badly damage the impression of the product (Parsons and Maclaran 2009). The packaging for Western market can include national symbols of New Zealand such as the image of a kiwi or the silver fern so as to link the product to New Zealand (Lake 2009).

With an exclusive packaging, Zealong will also need to establish its own branding in tea consuming countries. As Zealong is an unknown brand in these countries, it will need to aggressively promote its brand in order to work hand in hand with the exclusive product packaging to establish itself as one of the premium tea producer.

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What do you think stressing health benefits as product attributes has negative effects for the tea’s taste perceptions?

In the ancient times, drinking tea started way back to the Han Dynasty. Back then, tea was drank for it medicinal benefits and well-being (Food Babe 2014). Leaves from the tea plant are either plucked and directly infused in water for its herbal essence or grounded into powder form.

Due to modernization, the tea products are hardly comparable to those unadulterated tea produced ages before. Products selling under the pretext of health benefits but instead contain toxin and artificial ingredients. Hence, stressing the real health benefits of Zealong Tea may impose both positive and negative effects of the product to different age groups.

There will be positive effects on younger generation, because they have strong purchasing behavior and are materialistic (Schiffman et al 2014). Zealong being such established and well-known brand will be attractive for the Gen X & Y. For elder generation, they have brand loyalty and very likely they will also be attracted to consume food with additional health benefits. In a study, it concluded that health conscientiousness is particularly strong among older adults (Phys Org 2010). Brand loyal consumers are the foundation for a stable and growing market share.

With the increase of health and wellness publication, tea manufacturers are expected to promote healthy benefits of tea in New Zealand. Antioxidant is the key driving form for this trend (Euromonitor International 2013). It is expected that premium brands will perform well with new product development through the increase incorporation of fruit/herbal tea.

Generally, tea is known to help against radicals that contribute to cancer, heart problems and clogging arteries (Tsang 2012). In additional, tea is suggested to detoxify the liver, help reduction of weight and prevent digestive problems. Unfortunately, the more processed the tea are, the lesser polyphenol it may contains.

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In Asia, there are exotic delicacies such as Bird's Nest, Ginseng and Shark Fin, which are deemed to have health benefits but demanding a high price. It is believed that such delicacies aid in reproductive benefits, beauty and increase of immunity. (Long Cheun 2014)

In comparison of health benefits, Zealong tea is more competitive for its lower cost to consumers. Nevertheless, it is still essential that Zealong Tea conducts taste test, perceptual and motivational research prior to amending their marketing strategies in New Zealand and Asia.

Conclusion

It is difficult for consumers to link Zealong tea to New Zealand as tea has always been associated to established tea growing countries. It has to emphasis on the benefits of tea and apply it to their selling concept.

Generally, tea contains the same health benefits regardless of the countries it is produced in. For Zealong to stand out it has to stress on their packaging. Air-tight tins instead of cardboard packaging should be used to supports environment friendly products.

Colours is an important factor in the marketing strategy and the official colour of a product is a good way that allows consumers to remember and differentiate from others. A complimentary recommendation recipe of drinking tea can be included in each packaging this can attract consumers who do not like the bitter taste of tea.

Lastly, Zealong tea can enter the Asian market as its products are often seen on the supermarket shelves. With the correct packaging and advertising strategy, Zealong tea will be able to stand out and attract the growing market.

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