Founded in 1879, Hälssen & Lyon is one of the world’s biggest and most innovative tea companies. The recipe behind their success: seeing tea a little differently to their competitors and having a bold vision for the future of tea. To help Hälssen & Lyon make this vision reality they’re looking to recruit new employees who share their deep passion for tea creativity and see the real potential of tea – and their role in it.

Building on our campaign line ‘Seeing tea differently since 1879’ we created the Hälssen & Lyon version of a test for eyesight and colorblindness, made up of classic Hälssen & Lyon tea blends that are designed to filter out the tea losers from the genuine tea lovers we want to recruit.

Ishihara-style color blind tests made up from real Hälssen & Lyon tea blends that demand closer attention. Found within each circle of tea circle is a unique number – all motifs add up to 1879 – the year Hälssen & Lyon was founded. In keeping with the theme of vision, our headline ‘Can you see the difference?’ is typeset to look like an optometrist’s eye chart. The copy then gives readers a taste of the unique, creative, and often whimsical way, Hälssen & Lyon sees tea. The tea aficionados we’re looking for will immediately get it – and those who are happy with any old soggy tea bag won’t.

The unusual form of recruitment and the extravagant positioning as an unusual employer brand were very well received. At the jobs fairs and recruiting events prospected employees spend significantly more time and focused earlier on the relevant topics than usual.

Job inquiries via Social Media, Website or Mail rose in general – but that fact that especially the number of qualified applications increased by over 200% was a strong sign for the success of the campaign. In the highly competitive market for young apprenticeship applicants,

Hälssen & Lyon scored particularly well – with four times more applications than in the same period last year.

As a welcome side effect, business partners also took the motifs as an opportunity to contact Hälssen & Lyon again.