Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

In a country where disaster preparedness is serious business, Energizer Japan saw an opportunity to relaunch itself in a way never done before among well-known competitors, amid a pandemic. Energizer decided to turn this act of preparation into a story of optimism and adventure, and reinforce awareness that Energizer has the solution. “Let there be light” is a digital manga adventure of a group of characters who battle creatures of the dark using Energizer Lights, which rewarded people their own ‘Bousai Kits’ through Easter eggs and raised brand awareness. 30K+ readers. 100% of kits rewarded. Top 5 in brand category.

Background

Energizer had low brand awareness in Japan, and the pandemic disruptions made it clear that Energizer needed to innovate to engage with consumers and build brand affinity, regardless of the status of on-ground/in-store activity. During the spring of 2020, Energizer had to relook at the way it communicated with consumers, and had to innovate to be more relevant. As Japan is prone to natural disasters, disaster-proofing is a crucial drill, which results in a surge of shopping activity in the middle of the year with people spending on emergency essentials. This was a clear opportunity for Energizer Lights, but there was the added challenge of the effects and disruptions of the Coronavirus, and considering the brand’s low marketing efforts in the country, Energizer Japan had to find an innovative way to penetrate the market, engage and communicate with people, and build brand affinity.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Battery brands talk about batteries first; however, we shifted focus to our portable lights. Energizer Japan launched an interactive, HTML-animated manga series where Mr. Energizer and friends fight off creatures of the dark using their ‘Bousai Kits’ containing Energizer Lights products. Lights that turned into weapons to beat the dark and restore normalcy. Targeted episodic video trailers invited readers to keep following the series as it unfolded. And readers were given a chance to win these ‘Bousai Kits’ too through Easter eggs hidden within the manga series, which helped them prepare for the disaster season. This was communicated through a social campaign, while retail branding redirected shoppers to the online experience and rewards.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

There's an existential issue for Japan, which is surviving natural disasters. It's a constant threat that affects the Japanese's daily lives of being prepared in case disaster happens. The idea of always being at the ready is reinforced every year, in a "disaster preparedness month", especially for those who haven't experienced one before. By positioning our portable lights as tools to fight off the darkness in the Manga series, we placed Energizer as part of the preparedness drive. This was achieved through the adventures of Mr. Energizer and friends highlighting the different products and their features in various worst-case scenarios, which both educated and engaged masses all around.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We turned our portable lights into adventure tools, by developing a story, "Let there be Light", that would take people on a journey around Japan following a sudden crisis, and created characters that everyone could relate to. It's a group that overcomes the darkness when they discover that their Energizer Lights ‘Bousai Kits’ are the answer, told in an html-animated manga series. Each product had a special power, thereby highlighting its USP, while the importance of being prepared with ‘Bousai Kits’ was emphasised in a creative way. Readers could win limited edition ‘Bousai Kits’ themselves by finding and clicking on hidden badges embedded in the manga series, and then registering online. Targeted animated, episodic video teasers and social posts were used to drive engagement and awareness without excessive spends, while retail branding directed shoppers to the online experience and rewards.

List the results (30% of vote)

The increase in awareness, engagement and branding impacted overall sales. We achieved 30K+ recurring readers 4.4 million social media reach 47% increase in market sales reaching the top 5 brands in the category and 50% drop in cost to sales ratio We gained 1,359 new touchpoints due to increase in retailer confidence We even ran out of Bousai Kit rewards. And a second series is on its way.

Please tell us how the work was designed / adapted for a single country / region / market

As disaster preparedness and prevention is part of the Japanese way of life, and manga is a predominant form of entertainment in the region, our story was built around these disasters unfolding in the form of creatures from the dark, using the manga genre. This allowed us to feature all Energizer Lights products in a way that not only grabbed attention in the sea of competitor brands, but also entertained, engaged and converted people. By not going down the traditional route – corporate, lifestyle imagery with basic messaging – we were able to stick out more, and with our digital platform, it was even more possible to engage with people and grow brand affinity.