The Campaign

DOLE signed up to become a sponsor for TOKYO MARATHON 2015, and wanted to promote their nutritious Runner’s Bananas, aimed specifically towards the marathoners. But the banana market in Japan is competitive and crowded. Recently the running world has changed dramatically with “wearable” tracking devices. And to finish a full marathon, recording running data is essential nowadays. Especially the upcoming Apple Watch was causing a stir. So we combined this insight with the Runner’s Banana, to create a device no runner could ignore. WEARABLE_BANANA The worlds’ first edible wearable! By using a real DOLE banana, the marathoner’s race time, heart rate and real-time cheers from Twitter were displayed on the banana peel. Supporting the marathoners to cross the finish line. Runners attached this new WEARABLE_BANANA device on their wrist and actually ran the whole marathon. And of course the marathoners ate the WEARABLE_BANANA after they crossed the finish line, providing not just race data but also potassium and energy! Proving that DOLE bananas is the perfect solution for recovery from race exhaustion. Comments from the runners, “It’s everything a runner needs!” “And it’s amazingly delicious!” was broadcast on multiple national TV programs, and creating a crowd at the race. The web went bananas! “Forget the Apple Watch!” “The World's First Smartfruit!” spread to 178 countries! Media impression was worth over 4,400,000 USD, reaching more than 45,000,000 people in Japan alone. Sales of the DOLE Runner’s Banana shot up to 193% more than before the race, all owing to the WEARABLE_BANANA.

The Brief

The goal of the project was to create buzz around DOLE Runner’s Bananas, among the marathoners running TOKYO MARATHON 2015. And to make runners realize DOLE banana as a nutritious sport related energy supply, in an over crowded banana market in Japan, all through organic PR. The objective was going to be measured by the target population reach in Japan through total worth of media sum. The growth of DOLE banana sales was going to be a secondary measurement.

Results

Runners attached the WEARABLE_BANANA device on their wrist and actually ran the whole marathon. And of course the marathoners ate the WEARABLE_BANANA after they crossed the finish line, providing not just race data but also potassium and energy! Showing that the WEARABLE_BANANA is extremely functional and practical, and DOLE bananas are the perfect solution to recover from race exhaustion. Comments from the runners like, “The cheers on the DOLE banana kept me going!” “It’s everything a runner needs!” “And it’s amazingly delicious!” was broadcasted on multiple national TV programs. The web went bananas! “Forget the Apple Watch!” “The World's First Smartfruit!” spread to 178 countries! Media impression was worth over 4,400,000 USD, reaching more than 45,000,000 people in Japan alone. The brand image of DOLE increased to 167% target audience survey. Sales of the DOLE Bananas shot up to 193% more than before the race, all owing to the WEARABLE_BANANA.

Execution

WEARABLE_BANANA The worlds’ first edible wearable! First cut open a real DOLE banana, and remove the fruit. Then insert thin micro LED chips, batteries and a slightly smaller DOLE banana back inside the peel. The marathoner’s race time, heart rate and real-time cheers from Twitter were displayed on the banana peel. Boosting and supporting the marathoners to cross the finish line. The device was actually used during the TOKYO MARATHON race held on 22nd February 2015. The WEARABLE_BANANA was made fresh in the morning and strapped around the runners’ wrist just before the marathon started. But owing to security reasons we were only limited to two devices to be used live by the government, though we made more.

The Situation

TOKYO MARATHON is the largest marathon race held in Japan, with over 36,000 runners participating from around the world. DOLE signed up to become a sponsor for TOKYO MARATHON 2015, and wanted to promote and brand their nutritious Runner’s Bananas, aimed specifically towards the marathoners. Runner’s Bananas can be digested quickly and has more potassium and citric acid to recover from race exhaustion compared to other bananas in the market. This helps the marathoners recover faster after the race.

The Strategy

DOLE wanted to stand out as a banana brand in the running world, and targeted specifically towards the marathoners at TOKYO MARATHON 2015. The target audience was mostly new. Most runners know of the DOLE brand name, but not their sports bananas aimed for marathoners, high in potassium and citric acid. The campaign was relevant for the marathoners to be able to notice and actually taste the Dole banana at the race. Dole was able to directly reach and attract their target audience on the spot, and maximizing the news to reach further through TV and other media channels. Recently the running world has changed dramatically with “wearable” tracking devices. To finish a full marathon, recording all running data is essential. And the news of the new Apple Watch was soon to be released in early 2015. So we combined this insight with the DOLE banana.