MT EX CHENGDU

TitleMT EX CHENGDU
BrandKAMOI KAKOSHI CO.
Product / ServiceMASKING TAPE
CategoryD01. Brand Environments
EntrantIYAMADESIGN Tokyo , JAPAN
Entrant Company IYAMADESIGN Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency IYAMADESIGN Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Koji Iyama Iyamadesign Inc. Creative Director
Koji Iyama Iyamadesign Inc. Art Director
Takenori Sugimura Iyamadesign Inc. Designer

Brief Explanation

In the initial round of meetings, ‘Kamoi Kakoshi’ commissioned us to design patterns, POPs and the packages for ‘mt’. They did not have a clear vision for marketing strategy as they have never dealt with such a woman-targeted products. So when we gave a presentation on holding a promotional exhibition, they were a little skeptical about it.

The Brief

‘mt’ is a derivative product came out of masking tape which is usually used in construction site. As it is made by Washi, it can be cut by hand easily and peeled off without any marks. Handicrafts lovers enjoy decorating their personal belongings and room interiors with it. ‘mt’s maker ‘Kamoi Kakoshi’, which holds the largest market share of Masking Tape, launched ‘mt’ as a sundry product in 2008 and about 600 kinds of tapes have been released since then. ‘mt’ sparked the Washi tape boom in Japan and it has been spreading overseas.

How the final design was conceived

When we were given a commission to design for ‘mt’, we saw a great potential in it. Although ‘mt’ had broad utility, it would not be accepted by customers if it was not displayed in a comprehensible fashion. So we presented our client to hold a promotional exhibition that customers can experience ‘mt’ fully. Actually it was a challenging because we had never seen the kind of exhibition before and there were no similar products to ‘mt’ in the market. So we planned a unique exhibition ‘mt ex’ to introduce the character. Since the first exhibition in 2010, ‘mt’ has held many similar events at home and abroad. The entry work is ‘mt ex’ in Chengdu. The space was located in a commercial area that had been redeveloped recently. The building was built round a historical old temple, so we imported the traditional colors and patterns in producing the exhibition. We created the traditional Chengdu-patterned tapes and decorated the façade. Thousands of mobile ornaments were hanged from the high ceiling. We provided a trial space where customers could use the products freely. Coin-operated lottery machines were placed and customers could get the limited edition tapes. ‘mt’ taped Mini Cooper ran around the town.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

For each promotional exhibition, we provide limited edition tapes customers only get at the site. At Chengdu site, so many customers came to get the tapes that they had to wait in line. The pictures of the exhibition diffused through SNS and the reputation spread by word of mouth. The aim of this exhibition was to show customers how to use and enjoy ‘mt’, we tried to amuse customers with multifaceted approaches. As a result, the exhibition became topical event and succeeded in gathering a surprising number of people. It led to increase ‘mt fans’ and develop the market in Asia. ‘mt’ created a new category ‘Washi Tape’ in a sundries market. ‘Kamoi’ took advantage of this boom and improved their sales. The competitive products followed after ‘mt’ were also enjoying large sales.