Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Whiskas, the No.1 kitten food brand in Japan wanted to consolidate the position as an authority of “kitten”. Pre-existing brand assets were SKU varieties of kitten-foods and a web-contents that provides cat-nursing info. We took this and created a new touchpoint where owners could not only engage with the brand but one that speaks to, and seamlessly help the kitten owners’ daily life: We invented a “Voice-AI trainer for kitten parents”, applying a VUI platform by Google. The idea of becoming a “guiding voice” for new cat parents through the use of VUI was a groundbreaking application of its technology.

Background

Majority of cat owners become one “unexpectedly” as evident from findings: “Saved a cat from the streets--- 35.4%”, “Received a cat from a friend---21.6%” (Japan Pet Food Association). Many try their best to care for these kittens but find themselves overwhelmed. Complicating matters further, finding tailor-made info online is exceptionally hard. Apart from the parents, we also desperately wanted to mitigate a dire social issue in Japan. Annually, 70,000 cats are put down due to owners who give up on them out of lack of cat raising literacy, or selfish reasons. We believe that the more people know the reality of raising a cat and can readily receive help through their cat-parenting journey, the more kittens we can keep out of the shelter.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Create a “Voice-AI trainer for kitten parents” to support both the kitten and their parents.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We targeted Cat-novice owners who unexpectedly, and unprepared became a kitten owner, and are facing difficulties finding the right info for their beloved kitten. To seamlessly fit into, support, and enhance their life with kittens ---even when they are tied up tending to the needs of their kitten --- we developed a voice-AI powered training app for kitten parents called “Meow Navi” by applying the existing VUI platform, Google assistant & Google Home technology. (When used with Google Home it works “only with voice”, but when used with Google assistant, visual images are also available, with data logged in the user’s smartphone. We support both.) Spring was the perfect timing for the launch, as due to the timing of the heat season many new kittens, and consequently their parents are born this time of the year.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

With professional vet support, we’ve simulated the various conversational patterns/flows and designed the service to give age-by-week appropriate advice. We included tailor-made feeding advice in our app, because “calculating the food amount according to kitten’s growth day by day”, are crucial to the kitten’s development and disease prevention. With the kitten’s current weight, the app calculates the daily appropriate food amount, then notifies the owner if their kitten’s weight is appropriate for his/her age. For kittens it’s crucial for the owners to properly and habitually monitor their kitten’s health conditions. It lets the parents know if the number of times Peed/Pooped today is normal for cats of the same type & age-of-week leading to early disease detection. We also programmed to give parents regular advice based on the changing growth stages such as cat diseases, and tips on vaccination, and foods that are toxic for cats.

List the results (30% of vote)

“Meow Navi” drew attention as a rising challenger in the Cat×IOT field. Just after a month of release, it was featured not only by cat medias but also by IT news outlets, major and national online medias, as well as Financial news platforms. Although our paid exposure was limited, we succeeded in obtaining $1.3M USD in AVE media exposure--- worth 10 times more than our total media cost.