Typhoo accused of plot to bag sales

A major row is brewing over a Typhoo tea campaign, aimed at getting the brand listed in more Sainsbury’s stores, after claims the company hired field marketers to pose as customers to lobby individual supermarket outlets.
According to a report in The Sunday Times, Typhoo hired Intelligent Marketing Services (IMS) to conduct the campaign, after discovering the brand had been delisted from number of shops.
An email allegedly sent to IMS customers read: “We have been asked by our client to contact Sainsbury’s by the following methods [email, Facebook etc] to ask why they no longer stock Typhoo tea in a specific store (the stores will be listed) and to ask if this product can be restocked. Rates of pay are £1.50 per call, with the exception of the letter and telephone assignment, which are paid at £2.50.”
The email made no mention that workers should identify themselves as marketing staff. It added: “You will be provided with a Sainsbury’s store for each call, but this may not be a store near you. However, because this is an online assignment, this will have no bearing on you conducting this assignment successfully.”
The campaign was due to start today (November 25) but field workers are believed to have been told over the weekend that it is now on hold.
IMS specialises in field marketing including face-to-face promotions and mystery shopping, however, there is no mention on its website of a service in which its staff directly contact companies to ask them to stock certain brands. It is not known whether Typhoo or IMS came up with the plan.
A spokesman for Sainsbury’s said: “We always aim to offer our customers a choice and we do stock Typhoo tea in some of our stores. But from time to time we have to remove lines so that we can increase the availability of the products that are the most popular with our customers.”