The Campaign

The challenge was to draw public attention to a new product in Japan's mobile phone market, where new models abound and functional capabilities are forever evolving. The product was a mobile phone with arm and leg attachments that, assembled, resembles a robot. It was launched to coincide with the start of the one-year (on-running) TV action series that stars the character on which the product is based. Targeting young adults, the campaign depicted a product as a hero with personality that would serve as a sidekick rather than an inanimate mobile phone.

Success of the Campaign

The TV drama drew a wide audience, turning its protagonist into a star and increasing the visibility of the product. The PC version of the official website received over 6.5 million hits, while mobile phone site access topped 4.4 million. Numerous blogs dedicated to the drama and the character also appeared (more than 800 sites on Yahoo!). The product came to be recognized as a real 'hero' with viewers of the drama series uploading the promotion video for the song featuring the character as singer onto video sites, etc.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

This was a cross promotion that linked the program advertising campaign of the TV station to the product advertising campaign of the mobile phone company to gain maximum media exposure. Rather than simply advertising the product, it appeared as a 'character' with personality in other infotainment programs, gaining extensive free vehicle exposure as a result. Featured software applications were updated continuously to coincide with developments in the TV series storyline to maintain the interest of the target audience and users. Product contact was expanded with the DVD release of the TV drama series and the establishment of a purpose-built café.