My Honest Story Campaign 

Marina, Gregg, Sophia, Emily, Daniela and Hannah 

 

 
 
 
 
Introduction 
 
Each year, Honest publishes a mission report to highlight the company’s 
accomplishments and work in progress for investors and stakeholders. While the 
report is full of great information about the health and wellness of Honest 
products, how they are reducing their environmental impact, how they are 
creating economic opportunity and democratizing organics, it is somewhat 
lengthy and does not engage the audience.  
 
Honest wants to draw in more consumers through social media use to make the 
mission report more easily accessible to the target audience. Honest’s mission 
includes giving back to communities that create the ingredients used in their 
products, and in 2016 alone, $529,126 in Fair Trade Premiums went back to tea 
and sugar sourcing communities.  
 
 
Primary Research 
 
The first step in our primary research was completing a social media audit of 
Honest accounts. We found that Honest is most popular on Facebook in 
comparison to the other platforms that they are active on, having 537.3k page 
likes. They also have 57.3k followers on Twitter and 27.6k followers on 
Instagram. We chose to focus on their Instagram and discovered that they 
currently post content once a week, sometimes twice. They currently have 4 
highlights for their instagram stories titled Honest HQ, Tea Cap Wisdom, 
Wallpaper, and Recipe and most of their content focuses on Honest Tea bottles. 
 
Next, we created a survey regarding individuals’ spending habits using the Likert 
scale. 122 individuals were surveyed. The questions we asked were: 
 
1. I regularly go out of my way to purchase products that are presented as 
being ethically sourced (fair trade, liveable wages etc.). 
2. I would be more likely to purchase a product if I knew that the money I 
spent on it was going back to help communities in other countries. 
3. I would be more likely to purchase a product if I knew how much of my 
money was going to help communities in which the products were sourced. 
4. I would be more likely to buy from a brand that regularly reports how it is 
giving back to communities (as opposed to a brand that does not report 
this). 
 
  
 
On Honest’s website, viewers can easily access Honest’s story of how the 
company came to be as well as how they make their beverages. It is clearly 
stated that every product is made with organic ingredients and are Fair Trade 
Certified. For those who don’t know what that includes, the website explains 
how Honest pays a premium “that goes directly back to the farmers which helps 
farmers and workers invest in themselves.” 
 
Secondary Research  
 
When conducting our secondary research, we looked for facts to support the 
direct correlation between sustainability factors and sales. We wanted to 
emphasize Honest Tea’s use of fair trade and ethically sourced ingredients.  
 
In a 2018 Nielson Report titled, “Sustainability Sells: Linking Sustainability Claims 
to Sales,” they discussed the performance of sustainable products and why 
consumers prioritize such factors over others. They compared two categories of 
sales from three categories: chocolate, coffee and bath products. One category 
was the overall sales and the other category was sales of each product with 
sustainable factors. The results showed that the sustainable products 
outperformed the total sales in each category. This shows that consumers value 
sustainability and will choose these products over others.  
 
Now we know that sustainability sells but in order to create a successful 
campaign for Honest Tea, we wanted to understand ​why ​consumers prefer 
products with sustainable factors. In an article titled, “5 Reasons Why 
Sustainability and Social Issues Attract Customers,” Brian Hughes, CEO of 
Integrity Marketing and Consulting, discusses the ways in which a company can 
help consumers feel good about their purchases.  
 
The first way to attract customers is to connect purchases to important issues. 
Most consumers decide what companies to purchase products from based on 
their emotions. If a percentage of profits are donated to charity, consumers 
would be more likely to make a purchase.  
 
Next, Hughes discusses how consumers feel passionate about certain causes yet 
feel helpless when it comes to acting upon those causes. Companies can help and 
attract more consumers by supporting causes that resonate with them. According 
to the article, ​“​90 percent of U.S. shoppers​ choose to purchase the cause-branded 
product or buy from a cause-branded company (Hughes, 2017).” This process is 
known as cause-based spending and it has a major impact on businesses. 
 
Hot-button topics, such as sustainability, can be used to market products and 
services. Consumers looks for easy ways to support the environment. Sustainable 
practices benefit both consumers and producers and have lasting effects. This is 
why we emphasized Honest Tea’s Mission Report and fair trade practices in our 
campaign. We also created our #MyHonestStory video tactic based on the notion 
that entertainment is an effective way to market products. This article states that 
a simple video about a company explaining why they support a cause will attract 
customers and invite them to participate in their efforts.  
 
Lastly, social media efforts play a major role in creating targeted campaigns. 
Integrating issues with relevant social media campaigns will allow the company 
to reach a wider audience. Social media is a great way to connect with consumers 
who value the same things as your company. This is why we chose to promote 
our campaign and distribute our “Honest fact of the day” on Instagram.  
 
The bottom line is promoting a product with a purpose will increase engagement 
with consumers and benefit the company in the long run. This gives the company 
an opportunity to show their audience what they stand for and why.  
 
In a Clutch survey, we read that “​71% of people think it’s important for 
businesses to take a stance on social movements such as those involving the 
environment.” This was a key factor in our campaign because we needed 
consumers to know that Honest Tea places strong value on preserving the 
environment. In addition, it states that “70% of of Generation Xers and 54% of 
millennials are likely to stop shopping at a company that supports an issue they 
disagree with.” Now, were not saying that Honest Tea supports a controversial 
issue but, if consumers are not aware of Honest Tea’s mission report, then they 
might stop purchasing their teas.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SWOT 

Strengths  Weaknesses 
- Leader in socially responsible  - Advertising efforts have been 
business practices and  relatively ineffective 
community service outreach  - Higher price point than basic 
- One of few bottled tea  tea brands 
company whose products are  - High amount of substitute 
all 100 percent USDA organic  products 
certified.  
- Ability to expand the 
availability and the impact of 
the brand through support 
from Coca-Cola  
- Market leader in the tea 
market  

Opportunities  Threats 
- Influential trends: ethical/fair  - Competitors in the tea market: 
trade sourcing  TeJava, Malibu Teaz, The 
- Growing awareness for  Republic of Tea, Tazo 
innovative health beverages  - Highly saturated market 
- Transform mission report to   
be more interactive & digital 

 
 
Planning 
 
Goals and Objectives 
 
The goals of our campaign is to to reinforce Honest Tea as a leader in corporate 
social responsibility and to fulfill Honest’s mission as the preferred fair trade 
certified organic tea brand. We plan on moving Honest Tea toward these goals by 
monitoring several objectives: 
 
● Drive brand awareness to increase sales of Honest Tea by 15% by 
December 2019 
 ● Increase social media and online print placements by 30% to make Honest 
more user friendly and digital by December 2019 
● Inform the public about about Honest Tea’s sustainability mission and 
increase conversation with the use of #MyHonestStory by 15% by 
December 2019 
● Increase Mission Report PDF downloads by 15% by December 2019. 
 
 
Publics 
 
The primary publics we plan on targeting with our campaign include millennials 
between the ages of 23-38, college students, parents, and the farmers that work 
with Honest Tea. Our secondary publics are Honest Tea employees, Health Gurus, 
and Retailers that carry Honest Tea and our intervening publics are the media. 
 
Big Idea 
 
The big idea for our campaign is My Honest Story which will encourage farmers, 
consumers and employees to tell their stores. These Honest Tea stories include 
examples of what Honest Tea has done for a farmer’s community and how 
Honest Tea has helped a consumer’s family stay healthy. This idea drives 
conversation about what Honest Tea does for others and amplifies the good it 
does in different communities. Some of the message points we thought of include: 
 
● Honest Tea is devoted to giving back to its customers, farmers, employees 
and the environment. 
● Honest Tea prides itself on developing products that use fair trade 
ingredients and innovative sustainable practices. 
 
Spokesperson 
 
Spokespeople that we want to incorporate into our campaign are Health Gurus 
who have a strong social following and follow into the demographic categories of 
our targeted primary publics. Sia Cooper, known as @diaryofafitmommyofficial 
on Instagram, is a mother and personal trainer with a following of 1.2 million on 
Instagram.  
 
 
Key Messages 
 
For our message points, we want to emphasises a few of the main characteristics 
that make Honest Tea unique: 
 
 ● Honest is community oriented and does its part to keep the needs of our 
farming communities in mind as we source our ingredients.  
● Honest is devoted to giving back by helping our farming communities by 
building schools and improving infrastructure in order to improve the 
quality of life.  
● Our ingredients are ethically sourced from small communities to create a 
socially responsible impact on the world.  
● Honest participates in the Fair Trade market by paying premiums that help 
support sustainable practices.   

Application of Communication Theory 

 
The Narrative Paradigm can be applied to this campaign. The paradigm was 
proposed by Walter Fisher, explaining that storytelling is in the essence of human 
nature. Stories are more persuasive than statistics, and humans can relate to logic 
when it is told in a story. Our campaign is based around the idea of stories 
because of their relatability to the audience. Through the My Honest Story 
campaign, Honest will be able explain the benefits of their product without 
explicitly stating them.  
 
Implementation 
 
Our campaign theme was about the impact report, Honest Tea’s mission and 
increasing engagement and awareness with consumers. The first tactic we 
created was the “My Honest Story” initiative. We wanted to show consumers 
what Honest Tea means to the people who work hard to create and promote the 
product. First, we would implement the #MyHonestStory hashtag on social media 
channels to engage consumers and encourage them to share their honest stories. 
Next we would release videos from consumers, pluckers, farmers and employees 
explaining what Honest Tea has done for them and what it means to be a part of 
the tea-making and distributing process.  
 
Our next tactic was a contest for the best #MyHonestStory video. Consumers 
would submit their stories and a winner would be chosen. Not only would the 
winner’s story be posted on all of Honest tea’s social media accounts, but they 
would also receive a case of tea in the flavor of their choosing. After the winner 
was chosen, we would highlight their story on our social media channels and the 
Honest Tea website. We would also engage with consumers by allowing them to 
vote for their favorite #MyHonestStory video on our Instagram polls.  
 
Lastly, we would implement the “Honest fact of the day” tactic. This idea was 
designed to make the mission report more accessible for consumers. Each day, 
we will send out a fact from the impact report on social media and via email. We 
wanted to reach a larger audience with this information so that more people will 
become aware of what Honest Tea stands for. This will also draw more traffic to 
the impact report for consumers who want to learn more.  
 
Channels (Reach and Impact) 
 
For this campaign, we chose a mix of social media and both print and digital 
advertising. Social media and organic content made from Honest consumers has 
greater impact, while the traditional ads will have a larger reach.  
 
Creative Elements 
 
The main creative element of this campaign is the #MyHonestStory component, 
which not only includes user’s testimonies about their experiences with Honest 
Tea but also includes a series of video ads that showcase the various ways in 
which Honest works to benefit consumers’ health and farming communities. One 
specific example of this was actually suggested to us by one of the judges. She 
suggested we focus on Honest being a low- sugar option and exemplify how it 
would be suitable for a child with diabetes who likes sweet drinks. Below is the 
(updated) sample profile: 
 
Consumer example: “​As a mom, I am always looking for new products 
for my kids. My youngest daughter is diabetic but loves sweet juice, 
which makes it especially hard to find her drinks that she’ll like but 
that are also healthy for her. Honest provides a healthier alternative 
to traditional juices which keeps her happy and healthy.” 

 
Campaign Theme 
 
The main themes of the campaign are health and community- building. Honest is 
known for being a healthier option than most teas, so we wanted to play up how 
Honest can serve those who are health- conscious. Also, the campaign puts a large 
emphasis on how Honest gives back in order to promote the brand to consumers 
that want their purchases to benefit the global community as a whole.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Timeline 
 
June 2019  July 2019  August 2019  September 2019 

• Begin My Honest  • Post the first My  • Monitor online  • Promote 

Story video  Honest Story  conversation  #MyHonestStory 
production  video on all social  about Honest Tea  giveaway and 
• Create new  channels using  and gather  select the first 
content for social  #MyHonestStory  feedback on the  winner 
channels,  in the caption.  My Honest Story  • Post the next My 
including  video.   Honest Story 
Instagram stories.  • Create a post for  video all social 
• Create a post for  a National Honey  channels using 
World  Bee Day (August  #MyHonestStory 
Environment Day  17) promotion for  in the caption. 
(June 5).  a buy one/get one   
Honest Tea 
Special. 

October 2019  November 2019  December 2019  January 2020 

• Implement  • Continue  • #MyHonestStory  • Continue with 

Honest Fact of the  #MyHonestStory  giveaway ends.  the Honest Fact of 
Day Instagram  giveaway  • Conduct a social  the Day Instagram 
stories  • Post the last My  media audit  stories. 
• Continue  Honest Story  across all social  • Evaluate the 
#MyHonestStory  video on all social  media channels.  effectiveness of 
giveaway with a  channels using  • Gather all  the campaign. 
special prize in  #MyHonestStory  engagement rates 
honor of  in the caption.  and feedback on 
Sustainability Day    #MyHonestStory.  
(October 23). 
 
Budget 
 
The budget for this campaign is relatively low. Since most of the My Honest Story 
content will be curated from Honest’s consumers and employees, the costs will be 
driven from the creation of the My Honest Story video. To produce a 30 second 
video, it will cost approximately $5,000. This includes the cost of hiring a team to 
direct, film and edit the clip, and the price of hiring Honest ambassadors 
(including consumers, pluckers, farmers and employees) to speak in the clip. 
Additionally, for the My Honest Story giveaway, winners will receive a case of tea 
and a Honest promotional item such as a reusable water bottle or Tshirt. This will 
cost approximately $1,000. Lastly, since Honest will be increasing their social 
media content, the price for some new content creation will be approximately 
$1,000. 
 
My Honest Story Video Production  $5,000 

My Honest Story Giveaway  $1,000 

Content Creation  $1,000 

Total  $7,000 
 
 
Evaluation 
 
In order to evaluate the success of our campaign, it is important to go back to our 
objectives. We plan to evaluate how engaging the campaign was by checking 
back to see if we reached our business, outcome and output objectives. For our 
tactics, we would look at the overall engagement with our #MyHonestStory social 
media campaign and evaluate based on how many people used the hashtag, sent 
in their stories and voted in our weekly competitions.  
 
Additionally, we would also have certain checkpoints in place during the 
campaign to see if we are on- target with our audiences. While the campaign is 
going on we would look to see how many users were engaging with our content 
and if there is enough organic content for content curation. We would also want 
to make sure that the stories being submitted to the contest are viable and worth 
posting.  
 
Works Cited 
 
Cox, Toby. “How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Buying Decisions.” 
How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Buying Decisions | Clutch.co​, 7 Jan. 
2019, 
clutch.co/pr-firms/resources/how-corporate-social-responsibility-influences-buyin
g-decisions. 

Carufel, Richard. “Why Brands Need to Pay Attention to Millennials' CSR Ideals 
Now.” ​Agility PR Solutions,​ 12 July 2018, 
www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/why-brands-need-to-pay-attention-t
o-millennials-csr-ideals-now/. 
“Sustainability Sells: Linking Sustainability Claims to Sales.” ​What People Watch, 
Listen To and Buy​, 16 Oct. 2018, 
www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/sustainability-sells-linking-sustainabi
lity-claims-to-sales.html. 

Hughes, Brian. “5 Reasons Why Sustainability and Social Issues Attract 

Customers.” ​Entrepreneur,​ 6 Jan. 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/287301. 

“Home.” ​Home,​ www.honesttea.com/. 

Inc. Staff. “Honest Tea's Seth Goldman on Social Responsibility.” ​Inc.com​, Inc., 28 
Oct. 2011, www.inc.com/video/201110/inc-5000-seth-goldman-honest-tea.html. 

Doering, Christopher. “The Honest Truth: How a Tiny Tea Company Is Poised to 
Become One of Coca-Cola's next $1B Brands.” ​Food Dive,​ 22 Oct. 2018, 
www.fooddive.com/news/the-honest-truth-how-a-tiny-tea-company-is-poised-to-b
ecome-one-of-coca-co/539008/. 

Hays, Constance L. “Tea by Two.” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times, 2 
Aug. 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/08/02/business/management-tea-by-two.html. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Research Report 
 
Review of how we conducted Secondary Research 
When conducting our secondary research, we looked for facts to support the 
direct correlation between sustainability factors and sales. We wanted to 
emphasize Honest Tea’s use of fair trade and ethically sourced ingredients.  
 
In a 2018 Nielson Report titled, “Sustainability Sells: Linking Sustainability Claims 
to Sales,” they discussed the performance of sustainable products and why 
consumers prioritize such 
factors over others. They 
compared two categories of 
sales from three categories: 
chocolate, coffee and bath 
products. One category was the 
overall sales and the other 
category was sales of each 
product with sustainable 
factors. The results showed that 
the sustainable products 
outperformed the total sales in 
each category. This shows that 
consumers value sustainability 
and will choose these products 
over others.  
 
Now we know that 
sustainability sells but in order to create a successful campaign for Honest Tea, 
we wanted to understand ​why c​ onsumers prefer products with sustainable 
factors. In an article titled, “5 Reasons Why Sustainability and Social Issues 
Attract Customers,” Brian Hughes, CEO of Integrity Marketing and Consulting, 
discusses the ways in which a company can help consumers feel good about their 
purchases.  
 
The first way to attract customers is to connect purchases to important issues. 
Most consumers decide what companies to purchase products from based on 
their emotions. If a percentage of profits are donated to charity, consumers 
would be more likely to make a purchase.  
 
Next, Hughes discusses how consumers feel passionate about certain causes yet 
feel helpless when it comes to acting upon those causes. Companies can help and 
attract more consumers by supporting causes that resonate with them. According 
to the article, ​“​90 percent of U.S. shoppers​ choose to purchase the cause-branded 
product or buy from a cause-branded company (Hughes, 2017).” This process is 
known as cause-based spending and it has a major impact on businesses. 
 
Hot-button topics, such as sustainability, can be used to market products and 
services. Consumers looks for easy ways to support the environment. Sustainable 
practices benefit both consumers and producers and have lasting effects. This is 
why we emphasized Honest Tea’s Mission Report and fair trade practices in our 
campaign. We also created our #MyHonestStory video tactic based on the notion 
that entertainment is an effective way to market products. This article states that 
a simple video about a company explaining why they support a cause will attract 
customers and invite them to participate in their efforts.  
 
Lastly, social media efforts play a major role in creating targeted campaigns. 
Integrating issues with relevant social media campaigns will allow the company 
to reach a wider audience. Social media is a great way to connect with consumers 
who value the same things as your company. This is why we chose to promote 
our campaign and distribute our “Honest fact of the day” on Instagram.  
 
The bottom line is promoting a product with a purpose will increase engagement 
with consumers and benefit the company in the long run. This gives the company 
an opportunity to show their audience what they stand for and why.  
 
In a Clutch survey, we read that “​71% of 
people think it’s important for businesses 
to take a stance on social movements such 
as those involving the environment.” This 
was a key factor in our campaign because 
we needed consumers to know that Honest 
Tea places strong value on preserving the 
environment. In addition, it states that 
“70% of of Generation Xers and 54% of 
millennials are likely to stop shopping at a 
company 
that 
supports an 
issue they disagree with.” Now, were not saying 
that Honest Tea supports a controversial issue but, 
if consumers are not aware of Honest Tea’s mission 
report, then they might stop purchasing their teas.  
 
In a 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability 
Report, it states that “​81%​ expect their brands to 
make a public commitment to good corporate citizenship.” 

 
Review of how we conducted Primary Research     
For our primary research we conducted a survey that was set out to individual’s 
through the team member’s social networks. We collected data from 122 
anonymous individuals and collected information on their age, gender and their 
level of agreement to four statements. 

1) I regularly go out of my way to purchase products that are presented as 

being ethically sourced (fair trade, liveable wages etc.) 

2) I would be more likely to purchase a product if I knew that the money I 

spent on it was going back to help communities in other countries. 

3) I would be more likely to purchase a product if I knew how much of my 

money was going to help communities in which the products were sourced.  

4) I would be more likely to buy from a brand that regularly reports how it 
is giving back to communities (as opposed to a brand that does not report 
this). 

We measured respondents answers on these items with a likert scale that ranged 
from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Overall the results demonstrated 
that individuals are more likely to purchase a product if they knew how much of 
their money was going to help the communities in which the products were 
sourced. A majority of individuals also reported that they would be more likely to 
regularly purchase products from a brand that reports how it gives back to 
communities.