NATIONAL VOTE FOR CRACKER VS PEANUTS RATIO “DOES IT REALLY MATTER?”

TitleNATIONAL VOTE FOR CRACKER VS PEANUTS RATIO “DOES IT REALLY MATTER?”
BrandKAMEDA SEIKA
Product / ServiceKAMEDA NO KAKINOTANE
CategoryG01. Local Brand
EntrantKAMEDA SEIKA CO.,LTD. Niigata, JAPAN
Idea Creation ADK MARKETING & SOLUTIONS INC. TOKYO, JAPAN
Idea Creation 2 ADK CREATIVE ONE Tokyo, JAPAN
Media Placement ADK MARKETING & SOLUTIONS INC. TOKYO, JAPAN
PR ADK MARKETING & SOLUTIONS INC. TOKYO, JAPAN
Production ADK CREATIVE ONE Tokyo, JAPAN
Production 2 QUARK TOKYO Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Kenji Tamagawa ADK Marketing Solutions Inc. Creative Director
Reiko Abe ADK Marketing Solutions Inc. Strategic Planner
Seiya Akahoshi ADK Marketing Solutions Account Manager
Masao Ando A-Bridge Casting
Masakazu Aoyama ADK Mariketing Solutions Account Executive
Maya Fujihiro Quark Tokyo Production Manager
Keiichi Fujisawa ADK Marketing Solutions Inc. Creative Producer
Satoko Furusawa ADK Creative One Graphic Designer
Masahiro Hara A-Bridge Casting
Akira Hayasaka KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD. Sales Planning Department Manager
Yoshiyasu Ichikawa ADK Wonder Records Planner
Akino Iizuka Creators Group Mac Graphic Designer
Shintaro Ike ADK Marketing Solutions Account Director
Souichi Ishii Freelance Film Director
Takuma Iso Quark Tokyo Producer
Makoto Jyukuroki Freelance Lighting
Shuji Kabamoto ADK Marketing Solutions Web-Director
Takuso Kanno ADK Creative One Planner,PR Director,Promotion
Yuki Kiyomiya ADK Marketing Solutions Account Executive
Seika Maekawa ADK Creative One Graphic Designer
Hiroaki Maji Quark Tokyo Production Manager
Shojiro Miyata ADK Creative One Planner
Kenichi Nagamatsu 55 inc Photographer
Noritomo Nagashima TBS SPARKLE Director
Kenji Nakata Creators Group Mac Graphic Designer
Shinji Nakata Freelance Cinematographer
Shohei Okamoto ADK Creative One Art Director
Makoto Sasayama Makoto Planning PR Director
Souichi Shimada ADK Creative One Promotion
Shota Shimizu ADK Marketing Solutions Inc. Planner
Saori Shinpo ADK Creative One Promosion
Keisuke Yoshida ADK Creative One Promotion

Why is this work relevant for PR?

KAKI NO TANE by KAMEDA, is a traditional rice snack with a 53-year history. The cracker to peanut ratio of 60:40 was a 40-year tradition. To challenge this, a national vote was conducted. People flocked to participate in the very trivial election. Media covered the vote, and the frenzy was like a mayoral election of a famous Japanese city. KAKI NO TANE used to be seen as an outdated snack, but the campaign raised popularity, and people made purchases to verify whether they liked the crackers or the peanuts more. This trivial election provided brand experience.

Background

With a 53-year history as Japan’s No. 1 selling rice snack, Kameda’s KAKI NO TANE was experiencing stagnant sales. Since its sales was 20 billion JPY, contributing to 70% of the total sales of Kameda Seika, even a 1% growth in the product’s sales would lead to enormous profit. But because of its long history, the product had little to be talked about and was losing its appeal.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The idea was to make a big thing out of a trivial issue of the ratio between crackers and nuts in a package, by conducting a national vote about it. This was based on the customer insight, that there were some who like the peanuts more, and some who preferred the crackers, and the campaign used this as stimuli. A small, trivial issue created a great deal of buzz, because it was a creative idea that challenged what was previously considered totally normal.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

The strategy was to focus on the ratio between the rice crackers and the peanuts that make up a bag of the snack. Research showed that consumers had various opinions on the ratio. Some wanted more crackers, and some wanted more peanuts. And because of the 53-year history, many showed they were quite particular about the ratio. The current ratio was snack 60 to peanut 40 ( in terms of weight). A national vote was conducted on this trivial issue, and this became the core of the promotional idea.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

A campaign site was created and a vote for the ratio was conducted on Twitter. People could also vote using postcards. The very trivial issue of the peanut to cracker ratio was conveyed in the TVC as well. A popular Japanese talent with a gender-natural image, appeared in the campaign. This simple idea of asking about something as trivial as the ratio between the peanuts and the crackers of Kameda’s KAKI NO TANE snack, turned into a huge campaign. In the end, the ratio that came in first in the vote, became the ratio of the product. It was a testimony to the fact that people wanted their preferred ratio to become No. 1, and enthusiastically joined in the campaign. Another trivial fact.

List the results (30% of vote)

During the campaign, sales grew 111.4% compared to the previous year. SNS impressions reached 1,853,801,046, which was 1861% of the goal. Media exposure was the equivalent of 1,911,943,251JPY (17,459,865.77USD). And this news ranked number 19 among the 2019 news read by non-Japanese. As a result of the vote, KAKI NO TANE by KAMEDA changed the cracker to peanut ratio from 60:40 to 70:30 for the first time in 40 years.

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

Kameda KAKI NO TANE is a Japanese rice cracker snack with a 53-year history. It can be found in almost every store, and fans will always buy them. It has high awareness, but had become nothing special, which is a common issue for traditional food items. Kameda’s KAKI NO TANE needed to be talked about, to raise interest again among consumers. The plan was to conduct a national vote on the ratio of the peanuts and crackers that make up the bag of the snack – something that doesn’t really matter that much. But because this was a trivial matter, the campaign was received enthusiastically.

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