Brief Explanation

NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET was already well established as a strong coffee. After 7 years of unmistakable advertising, the brand wanted to expand its conversation with a ‘Strong Man’ who would be the embodiment of everything the brand stood for. Enter NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET- PHAI MANH VIET – an original reality TV series conceptualized by the teams working on the brand. This show gave contestants a chance to participate in a contest filled with challenges that sought to uncover the most daring, witty and confident man. Packaging inserts, digital support, and PR helped take the promotion to people and we received thousands of entries to be part of the show. After a strenuous filtering process, the final 10 contestants put themselves through the real test of being a ‘Man among Men’. A cash prize and a lead role in the next TVC completed our offering as the definitive male brand in Vietnam.

The Brief

NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET had long established itself as a strong coffee for men. While the strong coffee aspect was always clearly visible, our protagonist never stood out for his qualities. The brand wished to create a ‘Man among Men’. A role model who would symbolize machismo in Vietnam! And this objective bode well with the key insight we uncovered – Vietnamese men would never let up a chance to prove that they are ‘the Man among Men’. Our strategy was to build on this core insight an enable the entire nation to see every aspect of this mythical strong man.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

In its debut season, NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET-PHAI MANH VIET finished with a rating higher than heavily invested and long-standing popular properties like Vietnam Idol, The Voice, etc. Zing biggest local online entertainment channel broadcasted our show for free Return on overall investment – 170% Total earned PR - $35,000 Brand health measures, from Q4 2014 to Q1 2015 - ‘Stimulates body and mind’ scores increased by 8 points on the index (16%) ‘Real coffee experience for men’ were up by 8 points (16%) Brand awareness and purchase interest, which were already optimistic, went up 5 points on the index (10%)

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We realized that none of the existing content gave us the leverage we sought to establish this ‘Strong Man’ for NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET. With a rigorous online and on-ground selection process, we went from thousands to 500 to finally 10 contestants who would fight it out and BE THE MAN that Vietnam needed. The show was a 10-episode elimination contest featured on a popular national TV network HTV, and a prime-time spot put our show alongside other popular shows such as Vietnam Idol and The Voice. Over the 10 episodes, our contestants performed various physical and mental challenges to prove how witty, daring and confident they were. On the brand’s social media page, fans poured out their support for their favorite contestants. Eventually, the winner emerged on the final episodes holding aloft a trophy, cash prize and a contract to feature as the lead on the next NESCAFÉ CAFÉ VIET commercial.