The Campaign

From olden times, the Japanese have used Hanko, a name stamps, instead of hand written signature to prove their identity. Since the color red symbolize longevity in Hanko and also symbolize endangered species, Hanko was thought to suit this project. A new design solution was proposed by bringing Japanese culture and donations together. The idea was to invite people to make Hanko that incorporated endangered animals (Red List Animals). When one enters their surname at a special site, their name stamps appears with a collaboration endangered animals. One can share their stamps on SNS or purchase the actual Hanko. Part of the sale was donated to WWF for environmental protection.

Creative Execution

The design patterns of the name stamps extended to more than 22,000, which covered 90% of Japanese surnames. The high availability encouraged a large number of participants. For the designs of the endangered animals, 111 types of design were created. Since people were curious about the animal that would be paired with their name, this opportunity designed a new way for them to encounter endangered animals. And the product, the name stamps that resulted from this, were high quality stamps that used environmentally friendly material that has cleared WWF environmental standards. They were not just interesting designs, but authentic pieces that took the environment into consideration from all directions.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Japanese name stamps, a symbol of identity, became a symbol for donations and changed the perceptions of the Japanese. In just 2 days, donations reached 1.5 million JPY. And 3 weeks after the start, over 8.3 million people had participated, and 11 thousand stamps had been delivered. From the media point of view, a unique medium with only 9 mm in diameter, grew into media that generated a large movement, through usage and shares by the participants. From the PR viewpoint, with zero advertising budget, the ad equivalent of exposure totalled over 70 million JPY, and donations amounted to 6.6 million JPY. And the biggest value, is that the endangered animals have been added into the Japanese people’s wish for longevity.