Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The purpose of the campaign was to make a lasting impression of the 'Kincho' brand with consumers, during a particularly inconsistent time. We developed a sort of 'circumstantial' or 'specialized' mechanism that allowed the reader to select which ad they felt was most appropriate at that particular time. This, together with the copy, "We don't know what to do anymore", made up the crux of the ad and was published in major newspapers. As a result,the honestness of the ad struck a chord and the word spread quickly. We succeeded in both strengthening the brand's image and increasing sales.

Background

Kincho' has long been known for its sense of humor. However, the launch of this product campaign directly coincided with the rath of Corona and the subsequent state of emergency.　We recognized that the world was collectively thinking the same thing - 'No one knows what will happen tomorrow.' With this in mind, we had to figure out a way to communicate effectively and empathetically while still maintaining the brand's famous sense of humor.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Be ridiculously honest.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our chosen medium was the newspaper. Why? In the world's current state of affairs especially, newspapers are often riddled with particularly serious headlines, and should a decidedly lighthearted or humorous ad be placed among these it is sure to stand out. Furthermore, we took advantage of the inconvenient lag that one faces when advertising in a newspaper; we allowed the reader to select the ad most relevant to the state of the world at the time of publication, and explained this unique set-up with the straightforward copy, "We don't know what to do anymore."

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

From grim and serious to a full recovery from Covid, we thought up a total of 6 hypothetical situations and created an ad for each. It was newspaper meets the QR code. With this combination, the reader could quickly and easily find themselves looking at an ad tailor-made to the state of the world at the time. Next, we promoted the ad on social media platforms, utilizing the uniquely straightforward, "We don't know what to do anymore", and through this we were able to reach a wide range of consumers, far exceeding the newspaper readership.

List the results (30% of vote)

Reactions to the ad were overwhelmingly positive. Many of the responses even praised the brand specifically, saying things like "Kincho's done it again."The number of Kincho-related tweets amounted to over 9 million.Incoming orders greatly exceeded our expectations by over 200%.