How Yeo’s 'brattea' Conquered TikTok with Anti-Design Aesthetics and Guerrilla Marketing
Earlier this month, Yeo’s launched its ‘brattea’ campaign to promote its First Harvest Green Tea by aligning with the viral 'Brat summer craze,' a trend popularised by Charli XCX new album launch.
To target younger consumers, Yeo’s stripped down its packaging, adopting a rebellious, neon-green, anti-design aesthetic. The campaign featured guerrilla-style product drops at popular youth hangouts in Singapore, creating buzz and tapping into the gen z market.
Collaborating with local influencers, Yeo’s emphasised authenticity, aiming to reposition its green tea as a fresh, trendy choice while maintaining the brand’s core values.
The campaign quickly resonated, with the limited-edition bottles snapped up within minutes.
To learn more about how Yeo’s embraced an anti-design aesthetic, LBB’s Tom Loudon spoke to the team behind the campaign from Forsman and Bodenfors Singapore, including creatives Kenneth Wong and Reynard Adrianto, and designer Yen Wee.
LBB> What inspired the decision to align Yeo’s with the 'brat summer craze'? How did you see this trend fitting with Yeo’s brand identity?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> When you think of green tea in Singapore, Yeo’s doesn’t usually come to mind, despite their First Harvest Green Tea being brewed from the highest quality leaves. That’s why the client approached us with an awareness brief targeting gen z and 20-somethings.
To connect with this audience, we had to speak their language. So, we got all the gen z in the office on the brief. It was the height of brat summer, and our gen z staff got us on it, too. Inspiration struck when we looked at the iconic brat green and Yeo’s green tea.
Beyond the green synergy, we were also drawn to the idea of brat — embracing your most authentic self — which aligns with Yeo’s commitment to producing authentic flavours. It was the perfect moment to go brat and position Yeo’s First Harvest Green Tea as the first choice for our target audience.
LBB> Yeo’s is traditionally known for its Chrysanthemum Tea and Soy Milk. How did you approach the challenge of repositioning the brand to highlight its First Harvest Green Tea within this campaign?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> All comms within this campaign were crafted in a tone and manner inspired by the attitude of Charli’s brat rollout. From the recognisable Yeo’s logo to the functional product write-up, we literally ripped away the existing First Harvest Green Tea packaging. We redesigned the entire bottle, turning it into 'brattea.
LBB> The campaign’s design heavily leans into the ‘anti-design’ aesthetic. What were some of the key considerations or challenges in adopting this unconventional approach for a brand like Yeo’s?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> Our first challenge was our group creative director nearly having an aneurysm when they saw the pixelated assets.
Then, the biggest consideration we had was striking the right balance in adopting the anti-design aesthetic without venturing into “how do you do, fellow kids” territory, we needed to ensure that we embraced not just the visual style but also its attitude. It was crucial that we didn't come across as merely imitating the design but rather celebrating and reinterpreting in our own way.
LBB> How did you select the specific gen z influencers for this campaign? What role did they play in shaping the narrative and authenticity of the Yeo’s Brattea launch?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> We wanted to work with influencers in Singapore who embody the brat attitude, the ones who are unapologetically authentic to themselves or, as Charli puts it herself, “someone who embraces their chaotic, messier side and every other part of their personality that makes them who they are.”
LBB> The guerrilla-style drops across popular youth hangouts in Singapore created a buzz. Can you share more about the logistics and strategy behind these surprise location drops?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> This activation required us to work fast — it was the height of the trend, and we couldn’t miss the cultural moment. We were all hands on deck as we worked closely with the clients to create labels, manually repackage the bottles, and secure the right location permits.
We worked with our clients to select high-traffic spots in Singapore in Orchard, nightlife in Clarke Quay, thrift store culture in Haji Lane, and a university during freshmen camp and convocation. This ensured that we’d reach the right audience who would get the brat reference.
LBB> The Brattea packaging (or lack thereof) is quite distinct. How do you think this minimalist and rebellious approach to packaging resonated with your target audience?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> A lot of them couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that Yeo’s did an activation like that. Many did a double, triple, or quadruple take when they first saw the bottles. Some even thought it was an art installation. But we also overheard many excited comments drawing the link between brat and brattea. It's truly an IYKYK campaign which was lovely.
LBB> Given that the 'brat' movement has been adopted by various brands globally, how did you ensure that Yeo’s Brattea stood out and remained true to its core values?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> We stuck a picture of the actual First Harvest Green Tea bottle on the back of the brattea bottle so that anyone with the bottle can easily link brattea and Yeo’s First Harvest Green Tea.
LBB> How did you measure the campaign's success, especially given its guerrilla marketing tactics and the involvement of social media influencers?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> We are looking at interactions and engagements on Yeo’s and the influencers’ channels. On a longer-term basis, we want to monitor the sales of First Harvest Green Tea and changes in brand sentiments among the younger audience.
LBB> What was the most unexpected reaction or feedback you received from consumers regarding the Yeo’s Brattea campaign?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> The brattea was snapped up within minutes for each of the product drops! We did not expect the barrage of gen comments we received on TikTok. It was a crash course on a whole new language for us, but it was nice that they were largely positive sentiments (at least based on what we could decipher).
LBB> Looking ahead, do you see Yeo’s continuing to explore bold and unconventional marketing strategies like this? What lessons from the Brattea campaign will inform future brand initiatives?
Kenneth, Reynard, and Yen> Yeo’s is a well-loved 100-year-old heritage Asian drinks brand that Singaporeans grew up with. The positive sentiments from TikTok on the campaign showed that this campaign was a bold, unexpected move from the brand that resonated with our target audience. We had a great partnership with our clients throughout the process to be able to work quickly on this activation for us to tap into a cultural moment to connect with a younger generation, and we shouldn’t shy away from doing more when the next big opportunity comes by.
