Brief Explanation

First of all, we think that the idea of holding a competition that any women who are older than 30 years old can apply to and the winner will became a Papico idol in the most famous Japanese idol group was very unique. It was not just an idea but also was very effective as a promotion; each process of the competition we held: the call for entry TV-Commercial, the competition, and the announcement of the winner and the press conference got huge attention from Japanese nations and became a sensation. We could say that this turned out the promotion that used a competition most effectively and successfully in the history of Japanese promotional industry.

The Brief

Many Japanese enjoyed Papico, the frozen sweet in their childhood, and considered it as a children treat. To change the notion, we needed to appeal to the grownups. We started the campaign, to create the grownup idol over 30 years old. With the cooperation of the already popular akb48, the big audition was held to find the grown up idol of over 30. Thousands of women participated the audition, and a mother of 2 children was chosen. The new member of akb 48 became the star and papico represented by her, became the popular frozen treat among adults.

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

'Mrs. Idol' became a sensation---42 reports from TV, 56 reports from newspaper or magazine, 1200 web reports. $15,320,295 million dollars worth of promotional costs. Papico got huge attention as 'Mrs. Idol' got. People talked about the audition, and got excited by the campaign. Most importantly, the message: 'Adults can be pop idols, Adults can enjoy Papico' spread throughout Japan, and many of adult customers restarted to enjoy Papico like they used to in childhood again.

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

April--- The Call for Entry: The call was on news papers, magazines, and a TV-commercial. It surprised many Japanese nations because the call was for women who are older than 30 years old. Mid April---- The Competition: Not only people who applied to the competition but everyone was excited about it so much that we could tell by Twitter and Facebook. May 15th---- The Announcement of the Winner: We held a press conference; so many medias were there to report this sensational competition's result. June 14th---- 'Mrs. Idol''s First Live Concert: Fans loved her and she became a top idol. June 14th〜August----- 'Mrs. Idol' appeared in live concerts and autograph sessions, thus thousands of fans came. She also appeared on many TV programs daily. August 31st---- The 'Graduation' Concert: The place was full of fans and medias. It was lamented by everyone, she ended her 4 month period of activity.