BEER-LINGUAL CAMPAIGN

TitleBEER-LINGUAL CAMPAIGN
BrandSUNTORY HOLDINGS
Product / ServiceSUNTORY BEER
CategoryA02. Activation by Proximity
EntrantMcCANN ERICKSON JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation McCANN ERICKSON JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN
Production AOI PRO Tokyo, JAPAN
Contributing SUNTORY Tokyo, JAPAN
Contributing 2 CRAFT WORLDWIDE Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Isamu Nakamura McCann Erickson Japan Executive Creative Director
Chiharu Ozaki McCann Erickson Japan Creative Management
Ryosuke Yoshitomi McCann Erickson Japan Creative Planner
Kiyoshi Kindo McCann Erickson Japan Agency Producer
Kaori Mochizuki McCann Erickson Japan Translation
Hideo Kato Suntory Business Expert Limited Creative Director
Kiyoshi Oomori SUN-AD Company Limited Creative Director
Shizuka Masuno Suntory Business Expert Limited Creative Producer
Ayaka Taniguchi Suntory Business Expert Limited Creative Producer
Satoko Takada McCann Erickson Japan Creative Director / Copywriter
Natsumi Iwasaki McCann Erickson Japan Art Director
Takayuki Kudo Freelance Illustrator
Tokihisa Shimada McCann Erickson Japan Business Director
Mayu Hikima McCann Erickson Japan Account Director
Yu Takayanagi McCann Erickson Japan Account Executive
Satoshi Nishimori McCann Erickson Japan Agency Producer
John Woodward Craft Worldwide Editor
Thidarat Nitikijphaiboon/ Asana Kaoian/ Permboon Malawian McCann Worldgroup Bangkok Copywriting (Thai)
Ko Irin / Nan Ting McCann Erickson Japan Planner
Rie Toda McCann Worldgroup Japan Executive Assistant
Katsuki Kuroyanagi AOI Pro. Film Director
Seiji Kofune AOI Pro. Film Director
Yohei Kaneko AOI Pro. Producer

The Campaign

We created a way for foreign travelers to easily order Suntory’s draft beer in traditional Japanese-style bars and izakaya pubs just by saying a unique phrase coined in English, Chinese, French, Thai, and Spanish. The phrases in the five languages mean something completely different to each other, but they all clearly sound like “I’d like a glass of Suntory’s draft beer, please (Suntory no nama biru kudasai)” to the Japanese ear. We added impact to the phrases by making them a little peculiar in meaning and succeeded in piquing the interest of foreign travelers by making them wonder whether such phrases will actually work and stirring their curiosity to try them out.

Creative Execution

When a traveler connected to the wi-fi service in an area where there are many bars and restaurants, the app automatically identified the home language of the traveler and showed the unique Beer-lingual phrase in that language. Next, the app used Google Maps to guide the traveler to the nearest establishment serving Suntory’s draft beer. There would be Beer-lingual posters and beer mats inside these establishments, so that the visitor could order Suntory’s draft beer by name even if they didn’t speak a word of Japanese.

Originally, the campaign was intended only for Tokyo, but its effective and unique approach caught the attention of salesmen and bar/restaurant owners seeking to increase inbound marketing towards increasing foreign travelers. As a result, the campaign rapidly expanded to some 1,000 establishments.

Beer-lingual is a phrase that was developed for foreign travelers visiting Japan. In order to reach travelers, we had to approach them efficiently and came upon mobile wi-fi as media that would be used by all travelers. We collaborated with Travel Japan Wi-Fi, a wi-fi app used by over 1.4 million travelers. During the collaboration period, when a traveler connected to the wi-fi service in an area where there are many bars and restaurants, the app automatically identified the home language of the traveler and showed the Beer-lingual phrase in that language.

Links

Supporting Webpage