Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

To be able to hail a taxi right when it's needed is one of the key services a taxi company can provide its customers. A digital device was developed for easy use by everyone, providing a brand experience like no other.

Background

While current smartphone-based taxi-hailing apps are very useful, the reality is that the elderly are not very familiar with smartphones themselves. In response, Sanwa Kotsu set upon itself to “Be a taxi company closer to the elderly, as they have the greatest needs for taxis”.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

By blowing the "Taxi Whistle" with your mouth just like a whistle, a smartphone app is activated through Bluetooth and sends a call to Sanwa Kotsu to dispatch a Taxi to wherever you are, at any time. Since it only requires to be blown, taxis became easy to reach not only for the elderly who are unfamiliar with smartphones, but also for those visually challenged who cannot use a smartphone, as well as foreign visitors who would have difficulty explaining their present location.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Through distribution to senior citizen facilities, local governments, tourist associations and child facilities free of charge, it reached the elderly, physically challenged, tourists, and children, and led to the acquisition of new passengers. Furthermore, being featured on SNS and WEB news broadened recognition.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

In October 2018, upon presenting the device through a crowd funding site it immediately achieved the target amount. It created a buzz nationwide through SNS and WEB news, which spread overseas onto foreign sites. We also had giveaways at events such as 2018 Xmas events in the sales area and at elderly facilities.

List the results (30% of vote)

Thanks to its unique design and mode of operation, "Taxi Whistle" quickly created a buzz. Ever since being headlined in the IT news on one of Japan’s largest portal sites,Yahoo!, it has featured over many media such as TV and radio. As a result, we succeeded in differentiating Sanwa Kotsu from other companies and improved its recognition.

Please tell us about the brand in relation to the locality or market where the product/service is distributed

There are around 16,000 taxi companies in Japan, ranging from small to large. Amid such competition, Sanwa Koutsu wished to stand out from the crowd by doing something different. Sanwa Koutsu wanted to set itself apart from the others and raised its name recognition by creating a unique taxi hailing device, the "Taxi Whistle" which can be used by anyone, simply by just blowing a whistle.