Tea Appreciation Society
In 2008 I co-founded the Tea Appreciation Society; essentially as a social media experiment. As a blogger and an early adopter of social media, I was exploring how a brand could engage people online. I was responsible for developing and nurturing an online audience that grew organically to half a million. I did this by creating & curating relevant content on my blog and on social media.
I developed a range of merchandise, which included organic cotton t-shirts that were made with the aid of wind & solar energy, and printed with tea related slogans using water based inks.
I also worked with a tea merchant and developed a range of tea that was soil association organic certified. I also ensured that the Tea Appreciation Society was the only tea brand in the UK to be signed up to Patagonia’s 1% for the planet initiative.
The success of the T.A.S enabled me to develop & monetise co-marketing opportunities with brands such as Cravendale, Yorkshire Tea & Tetley, all of whom commissioned me to help grow their online communities. This was prior to Facebook launching their own advertising model.
I was also contracted by KEO Films and the BBC, as a consultant to Victoria Wood’s two-part programme; A Nice Cup of Tea (2013).
I developed a range of merchandise, which included organic cotton t-shirts that were made with the aid of wind & solar energy, and printed with tea related slogans using water based inks.
I also worked with a tea merchant and developed a range of tea that was soil association organic certified. I also ensured that the Tea Appreciation Society was the only tea brand in the UK to be signed up to Patagonia’s 1% for the planet initiative.
The success of the T.A.S enabled me to develop & monetise co-marketing opportunities with brands such as Cravendale, Yorkshire Tea & Tetley, all of whom commissioned me to help grow their online communities. This was prior to Facebook launching their own advertising model.
I was also contracted by KEO Films and the BBC, as a consultant to Victoria Wood’s two-part programme; A Nice Cup of Tea (2013).
Below is a short film I produced. The music is by the composer Matthew Slater. The pianist is John-Paul Gandy.
"The word ‘influencer’ comes to mind when I think of Shayne House. He has an incredible ability to get ideas to really connect to online audiences. As such I have worked with him over the years on various projects and hope to continue to into the future. Oh... and on top of all that he is a top bloke."
~ Jonathan Chiu, Brand Manager, Make Mine a Builders Tea.