Background

Our campaign was designed to rebrand a product to reach a previously underserved market segment, while also enhancing and improving the brand's visibility and image in market segments where the product has a strong, established presence. The product, Pocky, is a confectionery that has been Japan’s top-selling chocolate snack for decades. It has a stick-like shape that makes it easy to share, and has long been a 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 (aged 20–39) have historically been weak, and our brief was to reach out to this target group and reinterpret the social bonding experience in a new way. In addition, the brief called for us to achieve results economically, without the expense of an above-the-line media campaign.

Describe the strategy

Our creative idea was to reimagine Pocky sticks, which are traditionally packaged and sold at supermarkets and convenience stores, and reposition them as a fashionable gift item for social media-conscious young adults. To support the repositioning effort we designed a new packaging system for use exclusively at upscale shops and sales outlets. Instead of the photorealistic product images that are typically featured on confectionary packaging, we created matte-finish packages decorated with stylish and iconic graphic artwork in different colors for each of the seven flavors offered. We also created multi-package gift boxes in a variety of sizes and colors, posters, gift catalogs, and a series of movies for display at the point of sale, on a branded microsite, and on social media.

Describe the execution

Since the product is a snack food that is familiar to everyone in Japan, our movies focus on the stylish new packaging and gift boxes that were developed to support the repositioning effort, highlighting their visual appeal and attractiveness as fashion-forward gift items. We animate the packages to the tempo of originally composed music in a series of short movies that are whimsical and upbeat in tone, with each film depicting a different stage in the products' journey to the consumer. From factory production lines, to point-of-sales gift boxing and placement in a presentation-ready tote bag, the packages dance eagerly toward their goal.

List the results

With simple package design and effective use of point-of-sales promotional materials, web movies, and 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 able to expand into 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.