AU UNLIMITED FUTURE LABORATORY

TitleAU UNLIMITED FUTURE LABORATORY
BrandKDDI CORPORATION
Product / ServiceWEB COMMUNICATION
CategoryA02. Creative Innovation (incl. business solutions in association with a brand or creative campaign)
EntrantHAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Entrant Company HAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency HAKUHODO Tokyo, JAPAN
Production Company TYO Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Genya Sunouchi Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Creative Director
Takeshi Fukui HAKUHODO Inc. Planner
Kentaro Harano HAKUHODO Inc. Art Director
Hirotaka Tanabe HAKUHODOInc. Account Executive
Kenji Takeda TYO Inc. Producer
Jun Mitomo TYO Inc. Planner
Naoyuki Araki TYO Inc. Planner
Yuta Tsukada TYO Inc. Production Manager
Tatsuto Nakamura TYO Inc. Web Engineer
Nobuaki Arikata kirifuda Inc. Web Engineer
ITO SOKEN Office Editor
FUMM Hackathon Team Planning
Shunsuke Aoki YUKAI Engineering Inc. Hardware Engineer
Nobuaki Ito YUKAI Engineering Inc. Hardware Engineer
Takayuki Fukatsu THE GUILD Application Engineer
Hiroki Kokubun THE GUILD Application Engineer
Yuta Uchiyama THE GUILD Application Engineer
Tetsuya Matsuda freelance Shoes Craft
Hidenobu Tanabe freelance Director
Masahiko Atsumi TOW Inc. Producer

The Brief

In order for a communication carrier (KDDI) to increase brand equity of its own company, in an environment where it is difficult to differentiate smartphones and price systems, open innovation platform “au Unlimited Future Laboratory” was opened to develop IOT products that consumers desire by themselves. “FUMM” is a wearable device that was created together by KDDI, NewBalance and consumers through the platform. FUMM is a pair of kids’ shoes created with the concept: “making the ordinary walks an adventure”. Fun sounds are played from the parent’s smartphone as the child walks. Today, people are constantly connected with the proliferation of smartphones. While evolution of technology has produced convenience as people can work anywhere, the time that parents and children spend together has become considerably shorter. KDDI developed this product to further cherish a casual everyday scene of a parent and child taking a walk. A concept model that can actually be experienced was announced and development is being advanced to turn it into a product.

As a short-term goal, the developed FUMM was announced as a concept model. “FUMM KIDS PARK” where people can actually wear FUMM and play with it was also opened. It acquired media exposure including seven TV programs, indicating successful media coverage comparable to that of a rollout of new smartphones. The survey result showed that brand preference toward au by those who are aware of FUMM increased by 25 points compared to those who are not aware of FUMM. For a communication carrier that has difficulty in differentiating itself from other companies due to the similarity of smartphones sold and services provided, it was proved that development of futuristic IOT products by consumers and external partners contributes to branding. As a long-term goal, it is currently being examined to make FUMM into a product. Furthermore, in order to grow into an open innovation brand that develops and sells innovative products, au Unlimited Future Laboratory will further develop activities.

Atmospheric pressure sensor that detects height, color sensor that detects the color of the ground, pressure-sensitive sensor that detects stepping and acceleration sensor that detects leg movement are built into the shoes. Movement of the child such as walking, jumping and climbing and the color of the ground that they are on are detected with such sensors. Fun sounds of footsteps are played along such movement from the parent’s smartphone connected with Bluetooth. Sounds of a locomotive are played along running speed and sounds of piano keys are played when climbing up stairs. An everyday walk for a child turns into a small adventure. It also has a watcher function. When the child is at a distance from the parent, an alert is displayed on the smartphone. Furthermore, a platform for FUMM will be opened in the future so that children can create games themselves. Children can create original games by making rules for “action (movement)” and “response (sound/animation)” in the website. Voices and environmental sounds recorded with a smartphone can also be used. It will also be made possible to download and play games that others created, using the ranking and search function. The au Unlimited Future Laboratory platform and product FUMM were created by us upon receiving an order from KDDI. A concept model was created through a workshop involving KDDI, NewBalance and consumers, under the management of the agency.