Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

The work is relevant to this category because our design decisions were primarily driven by strategic, rather than aesthetic, considerations. Our goal was to redefine the role that an established Japanese confectionery brand plays in social bonding and interpersonal relationships. While previous strategies had focused on appealing to teens and adolescents, for whom the social interaction of sharing snacks offers a low-stress way to bond with their peers, our challenge was to develop a strategy that effectively targeted adults between the ages of 20 and 39, where sales were weakest.

Background

Pocky sticks have been Japan’s top-selling chocolate snack for decades, and are a particular favorite of teens and adolescents because the social interaction of sharing snacks offers a low-stress way to bond with their peers. But sales to young adults have historically been weak, and our brief was to find a way to activate the brand experience for this target group by reinterpreting the social bonding experience in a new way. In addition, the brief called for us to achieve these results economically, without the expense of running an above-the-line media campaign.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Our greatest challenge was, in fact, the brand's already well-established image as an everyday snack food loved by generations of children and adolescents. For our campaign to successfully make the product appealing to style-conscious young adults, we had to find a way to make consumers see the product in an entirely new light. But we had to achieve this goal without undercutting or eating into the product's existing market share in the 18-and-under market segment. The product's long-running success provided a strong foundation on which to build, but by conventional wisdom, it was not a foundation that was conducive to the goal we wanted to achieve.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

To develop our strategy, we began by examining the elements that contributed to the brand's long-running appeal to children and teenagers. We realized that the cultural aspect of "sharing as a means of social bonding" was an integral part of the product's appeal. Our breakthrough insight was that we could reinterpret this experience in a way that appealed to social media-savvy young adults, and achieve our goal of reaching that target group without undercutting the brand's existing appeal to adolescents. This insight led us to develop a creative strategy that transformed a snack food traditionally sold at supermarkets and convenience stores into a stylish gift item that could be sold at fashionable stores and gourmet food shops. If properly executed, this strategy would not undercut existing brand appeal in any way. On the contrary, it would enhance the brand's appeal in all age groups.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

To appeal to the sophisticated design sense of adult consumers, we deliberately chose not to use the photorealistic product images that are typically featured on confectionary packaging. Instead, we created matte-finish packages decorated with stylish and iconic graphic artwork in different colors for each of the seven flavors offered. We also designed multi-package gift boxes in a variety of sizes and colors, and created a branded microsite and newspaper inserts to suggest innovative ways to create mix-and-match gift assortments. In addition, we created posters for in-store use, and a series of movies that were displayed at the point of sale, on the branded microsite, and disseminated on social media.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

With simple package design and effective use of social media we raised the brand's profile and increased sales in what had previously been the product’s weakest target segment (adults aged 20–39). In addition, by designing new gift boxes and promoting the product as a fashionable gift item, we were also able to expand sales to seniors, and expand into upscale new sales channels that offered much higher unit sales per customer than supermarkets and convenience stores. What’s more, we were able to achieve these results economically, without using any above-the-line advertising.