MASSAGING CIRCULATION

TitleMASSAGING CIRCULATION
BrandTHE ASAHI SHIMBUN COMPANY
Product / ServiceTHE ASAHI SHIMBUN
CategoryA02. Best Use of Magazines/Newspapers
EntrantHAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Entrant Company:HAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency:HAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Media Agency:HAKUHODO DY MEDIA PARTNERS Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Takayoshi Kobayashi Hakuhodo Inc. Creative Director
Takayoshi Kobayashi Hakuhodo Inc. Copywriter
Kayo Maeyama Hakuhodo Inc. Art Director
Takahiro Sato Tokyo Ad Designers Designer
Kayo Maeyama Hakuhodo Inc. Illustrator
Mitsuki Kyo Hakuhodo Dy Media Partners Incorporated Producer
Tomohiko Sato Hakuhodo Dy Media Partners Incorporated Producer
Motoi Fujiwara Lift Corporation Producer

Results and Effectiveness

The ad created a sensation on twitter, blogs and e-zines. Within 3 days of its appearance, reports on the ad spread more than 5,000 times. Approximately 1,260,000 readers experienced the Massaging Circulation Ad. 75% of the readers responded positively. The ad is displayed at the Japanese Newspaper Museum, NEWSPARK. And subscriptions stopped falling for a whole month.

Creative Execution

On Labor Thanksgiving Day, a commemoration of Japan’s work force, we unleashed our strategy: The Massaging Circulation Ad! We printed a diagram of upper back acupressure points on a four-page ad. With the diagram showing exactly where to press, anybody could deliver a professional massage. Cut out… slip on… and knead. Easy enough for anyone to deliver a great massage. The cut out section also served as a letter of gratitude. The Massaging Circulation Ad connected families in ways digital media couldn’t.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The Asahi Shimbun enjoys the second largest circulation in the world, but its place in the home has been taken over by the so-called “four screens”(TV,PC,Phone,Tablet).Circulation has declined. Our challenge: Revitalize the paper’s image as a valuable home media. We had to find a way to make families care about newspapers again.