TOKYO MARATHON SPECIAL BANANA

TitleTOKYO MARATHON SPECIAL BANANA
BrandDOLE JAPAN
Product / ServiceLAKATAN BANANAS
CategoryA01. Event & Field Marketing
EntrantDENTSU Y&R Tokyo, JAPAN
Entrant Company:DENTSU Y&R Tokyo, JAPAN
Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency:DENTSU Y&R Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Yuki Fuse Dentsu Young & Rubicam Chief Producer/Planner/Interactive Director
Jiro Hayashi Dentsu Young & Rubicam Planner
Naoko Goto Dentsu Young & Rubicam Account Planner
Shoichi Yamakawa Dentsu Young & Rubicam Account Director
Toshiki Takahashi Dentsu Young & Rubicam Director
Masumi Yamada Puzzle Producer
Yuji Sato Puzzle Assistant Producer
Eiji Tanigawa TAIYO KIKAKU co. Movie Director/Planner
Junichi Kato Camera
Ryuichi Hasegawa Puzzle Movie Production Manager
Katsuhiro Niwa Puzzle Movie Production Assistant
Shoichi Nagashima Pyramid Film Inc. PTHREE Editor
Akihiro Morita TAIYO KIKAKU co. Mixer
Yoko Hata Aiim co. Music
Mineko Nakagawa Puzzle Web Planner/Copywriter
Yuko Morimoto Puzzle Web Production Manager
Kenji Takamatsu Puzzle Web Designer
Masaru Hatano Puzzle Web Designer
Kei Yamada Puzzle Flash
Isao Sato Dentsu Public Relations Media Relations

The Brief

We discovered the growing popularity of attempting marathons by the Japanese public, and successfully linked this to awareness of the Lakatan Banana by promoting this banana as an ideal sports food for marathon runners. Our goal was to increase sales by making more people feel that buying Lakatan Bananas at a higher price than other bananas was an inspired and inspiring choice.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Dole introduced its new Lakatan Banana as “The Tokyo Marathon 2011 Banana,” grown under the strict supervision of a newly created “Chief Quality Officer”. While ripening, the bananas were made to listen to inspiring music selected through a poll of successful marathoners. This was produced as an on-line movie. A dedicated website created a social media hub for sharing secrets for completing the Marathon, while providing a ‘fortune-telling’ service for the big day. To create buzz among runners, 100,000 bananas were distributed at preliminary competitions, sports shops, Japan’s first banana vending machine and along the course of the Marathon.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Sales of Lakatan Bananas increased by over 150% year on year, which helped Dole to secure greater shelf space in stores, a key contributor to overall sales success. A higher number of Tokyo Marathon runners completed the whole course, with the completion rate increasing by from 94.5% in 2010 to 97.4% in 2011!

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We focused on the growing passion for marathon running by: 1.Tapping the established affinity between runners and bananas, a recognized sports food for running. 2.Establishing that Lakatan Bananas have 1.5 times the amount of Citric Acid, a key ingredient in sports drinks, than other bananas sold in Japan. 3.Arranging for Dole to sponsor the Tokyo Marathon, an event where 35,000 runners compete, and many others are spectators (only 1 in 10 are able to successfully apply to run).