Why is this work relevant for PR?

NIKKEI BLEND is a coffee with a taste that changes in real time as stock prices fluctuate, and it was created as a way of arousing people’s interest in the economy. By translating the changes in the economy into a daily cup of coffee, we prompted people from all walks of life to adopt a different attitude towards the economy by helping them perceive it as something that is relevant to them.

Background

This present age is full of information and the economy is becoming increasingly irrelevant and unrelatable to the general public. However, research shows that people with a higher level of economic literacy have a heightened sense of moral responsibility about social issues which in turn, contributes to creating a happier society. NIKKEI is Japan's top financial newspaper with a 140-year long history and we took on the challenge of arousing people's interest in the economy. If we make the economy relevant to more people and improve their economic literacy, surely we can contribute to the creation of a better society.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We focused on the Nikkei Stock Average, a stock market index calculated by the NIKKEI and one of the most important and up-to-date indexes of the Japanese economy. However, fluctuations in the Nikkei Stock Average are irrelevant to the general public. But what if this index was linked to our daily lives? We realized that many people, even those who don't read the morning edition, always start their day with coffee. Using this to our advantage, we created the NIKKEI BLEND, the world's first coffee with a taste that changes as stock prices fluctuate. Based on real-time Nikkei Stock Average data, the coffee gets more bitter as stock prices rise, and more sour as they drop. We also developed a system that converts the data into logos in real time. The project literally gave people a taste of the economy and piqued their interest.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

As Japan's top financial newspaper, our goal was to get more people interested in the economy. Thus, the target was the general public which felt that the economy was something that was irrelevant to their daily lives. In order to accomplish our goal, we focused on the Nikkei Stock Average, one of the most important and up-to-date indexes of the Japanese economy. By acquiring data on the Nikkei Stock Average and incorporating it in real time into something that is relevant to the lives of many, we strived to get people from all walks of life to become interested in the economy. The overall experience was structured in a way so that participants could be led to a more detailed source of economic information. Their curiosity would open the door to a whole world of information which we determined would make them even more actively involved in the economy.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Real-time data on the Nikkei Stock Average was acquired through one of NIKKEI's unique information sources. Together with our algorithm that automatically produces a coffee that gets more bitter as stock prices rise and more sour as they drop, our specially-developed coffee machine equipped with five motors, controlled how the five different coffee beans were blended to produce more than 1000 flavors. A stand was set up in the famous business district where this coffee was handed out to passers-by. We also developed a system that converts stock price data into logos in real time, which meant that each cup had a different logo depending on when it was poured. People could scan the logo with the NIKKEI AR app to read NIKKEI's most up-to-date economic news and watch commentary videos by journalists. The result was a system which allowed curious participants to discover why their coffee's taste had changed.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

The NIKKEI BLEND coffee stand had a huge queue for days on end. It became a place where people from all walks of life gathered to discuss economy-related matters. The project itself became a hot topic around the country as the first of its kind to link the Nikkei Stock Average with people's taste buds. With a reach of 25 million people, 96% of participants claimed that it was an innovative project, and 70% said that they were more interested in the economy. By incorporating this unrelatable topic for many into a daily cup of coffee, even people who had never shown an interest in the economy began posting about the latest stock prices on social media. Economic fluctuations became a familiar and relevant topic thanks to a coffee with a taste that changes. Through the project, people were literally able to get a taste of the economy, and the NIKKEI BLEND managed to contribute to the improvement of Japan's economic literacy as well as demonstrate new possible ways of transmitting information.