| Title | OLD FOOD COMPANY CONNECTS WITH NEW GENERATION |
| Brand | COFCO |
| Product / Service | GRAIN, OILS AND FOODSTUFFS |
| Category | B01. Corporate Information |
| Entrant | MEDIACOM Shanghai, CHINA |
| Entrant Company: | MEDIACOM Shanghai, CHINA |
| Media Agency: | MEDIACOM Shanghai, CHINA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Christina Guo | COFCO | Assistant of General Manager |
| Dan He | COFCO | Media Director |
| Yi Zhang | COFCO | Senior Media Manager |
| Yang Jiao | MediaCom Beijing | Managing Director |
| Sarah He | MediaCom Beijing | Business Director |
| Christina Liang | MediaCom Beijing | Planning Manager |
| Sophie Wang | MediaCom Beijing | Media Planner |
| Michelle Zhao | MediaCom Beijing | Media Planner |
| James Wu | MediaCom China | Managing Partner, MediaCom Interaction China |
| Sue Huang | MediaCom Beijing | Planning Director |
| Crystal Zhao | MediaCom Beijing | Digital Planning Manager |
| Harvy Wu | MediaCom Beijing | Digital Planner |
- In 2010, 30% of consumers increased their purchases of COFCO brand products. - Over 230,000 people followed our official microblog and reflected on special moments in their lives. - The campaign generated 2,075,530,374 impressions and 801,232 microblog postings at a time when there were only 50 million people using microblogs in China. - Key COFCO brands enjoyed a leap in awareness between 2009 and 2010, as a result of our campaign: Great Wall Wine went from 55% to 74%; Leconte Chocolate from 37% to 64%; and Jiajiakang Meat from 13% to 45%.
We created a branded micro-blog platform with SINA.com called ‘Beautiful Life@COFCO’. It was all about asking consumers who had lost their connection with the COFCO brand to build a new, emotional one. Discussion topics were set to trigger warm memories of meals, family and friends. Topics included: ‘What was your favourite dish your mum used to cook?’ and ‘Which is the best place for a first date?’ They could also upload photos of great meals they had enjoyed and share them with friends – a big trend in China. We then mobilized celebrities to add their memories to the discussions and draw more consumers to the forum. Expo visitors were also encouraged to share their memories at the event. Gradually, discussions of food in a COFCO-branded environment brought back memories of special meals that were based around great COFCO products.
A generation had forgotten COFCO. But it is a major Chinese brand, providing everything from rice to tea and wine. As sponsor of the Shanghai Expo 2010, which was themed ‘Better City, Better Life’, COFCO’s positioning for the sponsorship was ‘Better Products, Better Life’. To change perceptions of COFCO as ‘old-fashioned’, we had to make it modern and relevant to young shoppers. We created the positioning ‘Beautiful Life’ based on how COFCO products enhance life. We then pioneered the use of microblogging as a marketing platform to engage consumers. But instead of telling them about COFCO’s great products, we let them tell each other by inviting them to share emotional food memories. And part of our idea was to harness a new passion in China – sharing photos online of meals with friends.