The Brief

This piece of work is appropriate to Direct Marketing because it is a new service that calls out to target participants to take actions by transforming "telecommunication", which is invisible, into a tangible experience.

Creative Execution

Unlike in other countries, many Japanese couples take Christmas Eve as an opportunity to have a romantic dinner. In that sense, it's more like the Valentine's Day. However, many Japanese couples in long-distance relationships cannot get together on Christmas Eve because they are too busy with work. Therefore, AU with its company theme, “connecting people’s hearts together”, offered the couples a desirable opportunity. We opened two interactive restaurants - one in Tokyo and another in Osaka, both being major cities of Japan. These restaurants connect couples living 400km apart by bringing them together to virtually one dinner table. We connected them with a mobile communication line, which transmitted video chat proceedings projected onto a life-size screen. Furthermore, by using various technologies such as AUGMENTED REALITY and MOTION SENSOR, a special experience was provided to make couples feel as if they are in one place together. This idea also proposed a challenge to the future possibilities of telecommunications.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

"Smartphone users in their 20s and 30s. These are people who enjoy contents more on the Internet rather than TV. They don’t listen to radios. They don’t read magazines and newspapers. But on the other hand, they are keen to engage with new experiences, for example by trying out new shops and stores, and to share their experiences via the social network. In other words, they are keen to enjoy contents both in the real world and online. On Christmas occasion, our contents provided them the exact benefit that they were looking for – a new experience, to be moved and inspired, and to make new memories.

Results

The restaurant was booked solid instantly. As couples, wives and husbands, parents and children experienced their dinners, this restaurant became the most talked-about place during the Christmas season. The promotion video was played more than 1 million times in one week, accompanied by great exposure on TV and WEB media. The au brand likeability went up by 13.5% among those who had contact with the video. Intent to swich from other carriers also went up by approximately 20.0%. Value equivalent to PR advertising exposure was approximately 1 million dollars. More than anything, we were able to prove that this novel way of connecting people can provide completely new memories in the minds of the participants.