The Brief

In Hong Kong, Vitasoy is a household name. Since 1940, the brand has stood by the people of Hong Kong—cheering them on, quenching their thirst and helping them bond. Vitasoy is like an old friend, one that has stood by Hong Kong for 70 years. However, the brand’s core consumers are a new generation, in their 20s who see Vitasoy more like a distant uncle. It was strategically important for Vitasoy to engage this consumer segment and nurture lifelong relationships with them. Our challenge was to help a 70-year-old Vitasoy brand engage 20-year-old target.

Creative Execution

When our target made the effort to send their friends messages using our packs, we connected them with Vitasoy in a way that celebrated 70 years of friendship. Besides the 70 instant messages, we let our target consumers get personal and gave them special blank packs to write their own messages. They could also customize their messages using message stickers we inserted in magazines, collect fridge magnets for everyday reminders, or even post greeting cards to those they cared about. Online, we encouraged them to create customized messages and pack designs, upload them to blogs and vote for their favorites. These not only aided consumers in building real human connections, but they also drove purchases of Vitasoy drinks.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

“Twenty-Somethings” are tech-savvy. Technology has connected them to more people than ever before. Yet, with more digital connections, they have fewer human connections. There’s more screen time than face time; more text messages than moments together. On Vitasoy’s 70th Anniversary, we created limited-edition packs to give our messaging-obsessed consumers a new way to express themselves - live and in-person. It was a world first: 70 different packaging designs for one single product; 70 unique instant messages for 70 different moments.

Results

Sales Sales increased 40% YOY for value and volume in fewer than two weeks. All 40,000 collectibles - attainable for two dollars with purchase of two packs - were sold out in two days. High level of engagement We made 17,000 friends, not just fans, on our Facebook account in less than two weeks. One fan even developed a Facebook Application that 7,000 people signed on to use. Over 2,500 pack designs were uploaded, 36 times more than the 70 we created. Free media We got an estimated 1 Million HKD (USD130K) in free press, remarkable considering we did not use celebrity-endorsements