The Campaign

The Japanese idiom, ishin-denshin, expresses a form of interpersonal communications through unspoken, mutual understanding. Compared to other cultures, Japanese people rarely use words to express gratitude or love. This tendency has increased as more families spend less time together. Our survey found 84.7% of Japanese people have never told family members, “I love you.” Reasons included, "not used to saying it," "too shy to say it," and "(We've been together so long) my love for them is implicit, thus it goes without saying." However, one in two respondents actually wanted to "express their love in words." Panasonic focused on how expressing love affects the body by measuring changes in body temperature produced by verbal expressions of love.

The Brief

67.3% of the video’s watchers felt they wanted to express their love to family members and 26.0% actually did. Average visitor time on the product website rose 244%. The project increased Panasonic's brand image 13.3% (originally, 73% of consumers had a positive image). Interests in purchasing Panasonic air conditioning units rose 21.6%. Panasonic plans to present these results at an academic conference in May 2016. The video has reached 8 million views in its first month (SNS shares included). Total media exposure reached 355, with 253,536,209 media impressions. These results were also featured on Taiwanese and European TV. Clinical nutrition specialist, Professor Fumiko Takao, in the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Clinical Nutrition at Hiroshima International University described the project as a "meaningful experiment." A municipal employee publically expressed her gratitude to her colleagues. The project sparked a social phenomenon.

Execution

Six families participated in this experiment. One member from each family knowingly took part and surprised the others by reading out a letter expressing their love. The interaction was measured using infrared thermography. And results showed a 0.8°C rise in body temperature on average. The experiment was released on video on day traditionally recognized as the coldest in Japan; upon release the video received widespread attention from media and influencers. A week later, we measured the effects of the video, and used this attention for further promotions. Online media exposure included social network comments by Asia's most popular YouTubers, celebrities, athletes and business people, garnering even broader media attention. To generate greater buzz, Panasonic posted messages from family members who had participated in the experiment every day for the week up to Valentine's Day.

The Situation

Home appliance manufacturer Panasonic, which aims to provide a more comfortable living environment, felt it also needed to warm family relations as part of its brand mission. Thus, Panasonic conducted the first-of-its-kind experiment to measure changes in body temperature produced by verbal expressions of love. The experiment showed body temperatures rose by an average 0.8°C. After a video of the experiment was released, 67.3% of respondents felt a desire to express their love to family members; one in three men actually did so. Average time per visit to the product website rose 244%, and Panasonic's brand image rose 13.3%.

The Strategy

The experiment showed body temperature rose an average 0.8°C. In 2016, this first-of-its-kind experiment was made into a documentary video and uploaded to YouTube on the day traditionally recognized as the coldest in Japan, January 21. The PR team distributed press releases to all mainstream media announcing the video’s release. It was the perfect day for expressing love, as families and couples yearned for bodily warmth. We also launched a campaign to express your love to family members on February 14, Valentine's Day, the most relevant day to the expression of love. The campaign prompted many people to actively express their love. This campaign targeted men and women in their late 20s - early 40s, the core buyers of air conditioning units.