Weranuj Ariyasriwatana
Strategic planning manager, McCann Erickson Thailand
Thailand's ready-to-drink green tea market has experienced amazing growth -- from 6.5 billion baht (US$158.5 million) in 2004 to 10 billion baht in 2005. Competition between the 20-plus brands of green tea is fierce. Moshi, which launched in June 2005, has managed to gain 10 per cent market share, behind Oishi, Unif, and Zencha. Moshi is the first non-beer product from Boonrawd Brewery, which aims to position Moshi differently from other brands that have emphasised health benefits or Japanese authenticity. An additional advantage as a latecomer to the market for Moshi was that essential information about green tea had already been communicated by its competitors. Targeting the 16 to 24 year olds, Ongoing Work positioned Moshi as 'the drink of happiness'. Moshi's Japanese heritage was communicated through its mascot, Moshimaru, an eccentric, fun-loving and well-intentioned shogun-type character. While other brands stressed functional benefits, Moshi stressed emotional benefits. Ongoing created an entire back-story for Moshimaru: born in Shisuoka, famous in Japan for its tea plantations, his mission originates from a Zen-like philosophy, which focuses on methodology rather than the results. This often creates unintentional amusement. For example, a group of teenagers is stranded on safari when their jeep breaks down. Moshimaru helpfully tows the broken-down vehicle to safety -- but leaves the teens behind to fight the lions off. At a live event, Moshimaru hauled a badly-behaved customer out of a cinema to cheers from the rest of the audience -- who emerge later to see the man tied up and being made to apologise to everyone by Moshimaru. Handing out giveaways and souvenirs, the character lived up to the brand's promise, 'Humankind's happiness is Moshi green tea's mission'.
Ian Stewart CEO, The Filter Group Ian Stewart CEO, The Filter Group
On the one hand, we see brands connecting with their young consumers using expensive flagship and concept stores; advertising campaigns where the world's best photographer shoots the world's most glamorous model for the world's most influential magazine; and ever more elaborate events, shows and PR campaigns. And then there is groundbreaking innovation from Japanese icon fashion brand Comme des Garcons. Comme has shunned all that is conventional by opening 'unretail' stores in dingy, unusual locations without signage, advertising or PR. It relies on word-of-mouth (and a cool website, www.guerrilla-store.com) to attract customers to its 'seasonless' clothing. And just when the discovery process is in full swing, it closes the store and moves on. A couple of months to a year and it's all gone. Having cracked the formula in edgy global cities like Berlin, Barcelona, Helsinki, Ljubljana and Warsaw, Asia is on the radar with shops having alread On stores in dingyck within days. Consumers love the experience so much that more mainstream brands like Target and the likes of Levi's, Vacant, and Peroni have explored similar short-term guerilla retail tactics. No doubt others will follow. Trend, fad or the birth of something more significant? At this stage, probably all of the above. Consumers get to discover something new (fad) and exclusive (trend), as Comme minimises cost while maximising sales and hype (significant in this competitive world). According to Comme des Garcons, it's the shunning of success by closing the stores at their peak which has in fact brought success. It also says that the need to not get too comfortable is a key driver behind the idea -- a great definition of creativity in marketing.
Ryan Barton Director, strategic planning, Northeast Asia, Ogilvy & Mather Japan Japan is the developed world's fastest growing market for HIV. The target of this deadly virus is increasingly the same as MTV's: young, beautiful, condomless Japanese who like to have sex with their friends. When it comes to affecting this target's lethal behaviour, conventional safe-sex advertising fails. Why? Youth marketers preach trendy new media to reach this cynical audience, but deliver little more than television. Enter MTV's recent World Aids Day campaign, created by a hot boutique called alien-eye. The work is a powerful exception to anti-HIV advertising and an emerging alternative to the empty promise of youth marketing. First, the idea formed inside a media insight, not after a media buy. Manga is hot, readily available and full of synergistic content -- that is, graphic sex. Alien-eye didn't buy a wrap-around, it persuaded renowned manga artist Ebisu Yoshikazu to secretly alter an existing strip, inserting MTV's message -- thus, the horny comic book hero insists on a condom because "the world is struck by Aids and you can't just shag anyone". Next, the message was spread through a street medium, via Rikimaru Toho, who performs manga in the Japanese kamishibai (picture-storytelling) style outside the crowded Shimo-Kitazawa clubs. Alien-eye convinced him to perform Yoshikazu's altered manga during his nightly readings. They filmed him. And shot the young crowd's reactions. Back at the studios, creatives plugged every frame of the infected manga into After Effects and edited in Toho's reading to create a new alien mutation. They digitised and pumped out different versions through the internet, keitai, PSP and television (tamed for commercial broadcast on MTV). A hardcore health crisis got true viral solutions.
Valerie Cheng Creative director, Arc Worldwide, Singapore
The Virgin brand never fails to entertain us with interesting unique campaigns. The Virgin Mobile and the Parental Enlightenment Kit (www.enlightenmentkit. com), created by Mother New York and The Barbarian Group, was designed based on a familiar approach -- with a refreshing angle. The big difference: the target audience becomes the creator and seller of the product to their financial provider -- their parents. The website was created with the aim to arm youths (the target) with armour found in the Parental Enlightenment Kit to create their own guerrilla marketing campaign to sell the idea of owning a Virgin mobile phone to their parents. From corporate-like PowerPoint presentations to personalising their T-shirts to campaign for the cause, every component of the site was well thought-through and brilliantly executed. What scores really high on the cool quotient is how the site avoids using the clichéd tell-a-friend interface for the viral email component and decides to inject a little updated twist to the old-school way of launching the desktop mail programmes such as Outlook to send an email -- in this case, to the targets' parents. Involving a little ingenious programming, the twist here comes in the form of the chosen message automatically being entered into the Outlook message area versus the more typical automatic entry of the intended recipient's email address. Touches like these help maintain the essence of the concept without falling into the trap of using technology for technology's sake. The fact that the site did not rely on pretty pictures to attract the youth like many brands, instead focusing its efforts on building the content and copy of the site was pivotal to its success -- reinforcing the theory that content is king for the web.
Theirry Halbroth Director, integrated services, M&C Saatchi, Greater China
BR> True brands don't die, despite any ups and downs. In the overcrowded, saturated jeans market, Levi's has been able to regain its buzz and shine by realigning itself with the youth market. Its perfectly integrated 'Stay True' campaign does not tap into novelty, but simply makes use of its best asset, the 501, the universally-known, legendary, 'true' jeans. Asking its audience to stay true to themselves and enjoy life instead of trying to parade around in designer jeans to emulate some celebrity image or attitude, it has reached the heart of the youth audience. This is a fresh approach in this fashion segment, dominated by designer jeans (with price tags hardly any teen/ young adult can afford today). With integrated implementation across key youth communication channels, the clever mix of online tools combined with targeted outdoors and print titles has proven effective in getting the message across to the audience, resulting in outstanding sales results. I especially liked the humble creative approach using the music platform and hero character, Japanese street fashion icon Hiroshi Fujirawa, in a totally non-provocative way. No defiant look or rebellion message, no provocation, contrary to what can be found in other brands' core messaging. Instead, a simple statement that talks straight to the heart -- keep it cool, keep it real, stay true. This creative platform proves that simplicity works and that staying true to the brand DNA is essential to keeping it alive. In the world of fashion, classics are here to stay, and for Levi's, evolution has certainly proven to work better than revolution. Let's hope Levi's stays true to its brand from now on.
BR>
BR> Prathan Suthap National creative director, Grey Worldwide India
When I was growing out of my teens into adulthood, the one ambition that I stoked every night was getting a bike. Two incredible wheels that would catapult me into a dream full of adoring women and open roads full of freedom. However, there was one condition to that dream. My bike wouldn't be a Bajaj. It had to be one of those new Japanese bikes that were just about vrooming into India. Bajaj was a big no-no -- despite the Kawasaki tie up that it had. Bajaj was so passé. So scooter. So devoid of aspiration. Cut to 2005. If I were a teenager today, Bajaj would very much be part of my youth arsenal and very much on my life's radar. Over the years Bajaj has taken a U-turn from being just India's largest scooter brand to perhaps India's most exciting motorcycle brand. It realised its internal sloth, accelerated itself in the last five years to assume top of class in almost every aspect of the market while fighting mega Japanese brands which have otherwise ubiquitously ridden over most local motorcycle brands across the world. It has preserved its Indian spirit and pedigree, constantly building on pride while understanding the pulse and trends of Indian youth, way ahead of anyone else in the marketing and advertising industry. It has changed the rules in distribution, mortgage options, retail strategy and plotted an effective interface with youth through concept showrooms. It has anticipated the future of young India -- their dreams, their fatter wallets, their lifestyles and their better roads. It has never loosened its grip on a consumer who would get bored with typical brand-building attempts. Bold in its advertising and not shy to support a launch with a fortune, efforts like these are larger than life. Legendary. And in view of this sustained effort, any other campaign that may have caught my eye across last year fades into nothingness.
Thailand's ready-to-drink green tea market has experienced amazing growth -- from 6.5 billion baht (US$158.5 million) in 2004 to 10 billion baht in 2005. Competition between the 20-plus brands of green tea is fierce. Moshi, which launched in June 2005, has managed to gain 10 per cent market share, behind Oishi, Unif, and Zencha. Moshi is the first non-beer product from Boonrawd Brewery, which aims to position Moshi differently from other brands that have emphasised health benefits or Japanese authenticity. An additional advantage as a latecomer to the market for Moshi was that essential information about green tea had already been communicated by its competitors. Targeting the 16 to 24 year olds, Ongoing Work positioned Moshi as 'the drink of happiness'. Moshi's Japanese heritage was communicated through its mascot, Moshimaru, an eccentric, fun-loving and well-intentioned shogun-type character. While other brands stressed functional benefits, Moshi stressed emotional benefits. Ongoing created an entire back-story for Moshimaru: born in Shisuoka, famous in Japan for its tea plantations, his mission originates from a Zen-like philosophy, which focuses on methodology rather than the results. This often creates unintentional amusement. For example, a group of teenagers is stranded on safari when their jeep breaks down. Moshimaru helpfully tows the broken-down vehicle to safety -- but leaves the teens behind to fight the lions off. At a live event, Moshimaru hauled a badly-behaved customer out of a cinema to cheers from the rest of the audience -- who emerge later to see the man tied up and being made to apologise to everyone by Moshimaru. Handing out giveaways and souvenirs, the character lived up to the brand's promise, 'Humankind's happiness is Moshi green tea's mission'.
Ian Stewart CEO, The Filter Group Ian Stewart CEO, The Filter Group
On the one hand, we see brands connecting with their young consumers using expensive flagship and concept stores; advertising campaigns where the world's best photographer shoots the world's most glamorous model for the world's most influential magazine; and ever more elaborate events, shows and PR campaigns. And then there is groundbreaking innovation from Japanese icon fashion brand Comme des Garcons. Comme has shunned all that is conventional by opening 'unretail' stores in dingy, unusual locations without signage, advertising or PR. It relies on word-of-mouth (and a cool website, www.guerrilla-store.com) to attract customers to its 'seasonless' clothing. And just when the discovery process is in full swing, it closes the store and moves on. A couple of months to a year and it's all gone. Having cracked the formula in edgy global cities like Berlin, Barcelona, Helsinki, Ljubljana and Warsaw, Asia is on the radar with shops having alread On stores in dingyck within days. Consumers love the experience so much that more mainstream brands like Target and the likes of Levi's, Vacant, and Peroni have explored similar short-term guerilla retail tactics. No doubt others will follow. Trend, fad or the birth of something more significant? At this stage, probably all of the above. Consumers get to discover something new (fad) and exclusive (trend), as Comme minimises cost while maximising sales and hype (significant in this competitive world). According to Comme des Garcons, it's the shunning of success by closing the stores at their peak which has in fact brought success. It also says that the need to not get too comfortable is a key driver behind the idea -- a great definition of creativity in marketing.
Ryan Barton Director, strategic planning, Northeast Asia, Ogilvy & Mather Japan Japan is the developed world's fastest growing market for HIV. The target of this deadly virus is increasingly the same as MTV's: young, beautiful, condomless Japanese who like to have sex with their friends. When it comes to affecting this target's lethal behaviour, conventional safe-sex advertising fails. Why? Youth marketers preach trendy new media to reach this cynical audience, but deliver little more than television. Enter MTV's recent World Aids Day campaign, created by a hot boutique called alien-eye. The work is a powerful exception to anti-HIV advertising and an emerging alternative to the empty promise of youth marketing. First, the idea formed inside a media insight, not after a media buy. Manga is hot, readily available and full of synergistic content -- that is, graphic sex. Alien-eye didn't buy a wrap-around, it persuaded renowned manga artist Ebisu Yoshikazu to secretly alter an existing strip, inserting MTV's message -- thus, the horny comic book hero insists on a condom because "the world is struck by Aids and you can't just shag anyone". Next, the message was spread through a street medium, via Rikimaru Toho, who performs manga in the Japanese kamishibai (picture-storytelling) style outside the crowded Shimo-Kitazawa clubs. Alien-eye convinced him to perform Yoshikazu's altered manga during his nightly readings. They filmed him. And shot the young crowd's reactions. Back at the studios, creatives plugged every frame of the infected manga into After Effects and edited in Toho's reading to create a new alien mutation. They digitised and pumped out different versions through the internet, keitai, PSP and television (tamed for commercial broadcast on MTV). A hardcore health crisis got true viral solutions.
Valerie Cheng Creative director, Arc Worldwide, Singapore
The Virgin brand never fails to entertain us with interesting unique campaigns. The Virgin Mobile and the Parental Enlightenment Kit (www.enlightenmentkit. com), created by Mother New York and The Barbarian Group, was designed based on a familiar approach -- with a refreshing angle. The big difference: the target audience becomes the creator and seller of the product to their financial provider -- their parents. The website was created with the aim to arm youths (the target) with armour found in the Parental Enlightenment Kit to create their own guerrilla marketing campaign to sell the idea of owning a Virgin mobile phone to their parents. From corporate-like PowerPoint presentations to personalising their T-shirts to campaign for the cause, every component of the site was well thought-through and brilliantly executed. What scores really high on the cool quotient is how the site avoids using the clichéd tell-a-friend interface for the viral email component and decides to inject a little updated twist to the old-school way of launching the desktop mail programmes such as Outlook to send an email -- in this case, to the targets' parents. Involving a little ingenious programming, the twist here comes in the form of the chosen message automatically being entered into the Outlook message area versus the more typical automatic entry of the intended recipient's email address. Touches like these help maintain the essence of the concept without falling into the trap of using technology for technology's sake. The fact that the site did not rely on pretty pictures to attract the youth like many brands, instead focusing its efforts on building the content and copy of the site was pivotal to its success -- reinforcing the theory that content is king for the web.
Theirry Halbroth Director, integrated services, M&C Saatchi, Greater China
BR> True brands don't die, despite any ups and downs. In the overcrowded, saturated jeans market, Levi's has been able to regain its buzz and shine by realigning itself with the youth market. Its perfectly integrated 'Stay True' campaign does not tap into novelty, but simply makes use of its best asset, the 501, the universally-known, legendary, 'true' jeans. Asking its audience to stay true to themselves and enjoy life instead of trying to parade around in designer jeans to emulate some celebrity image or attitude, it has reached the heart of the youth audience. This is a fresh approach in this fashion segment, dominated by designer jeans (with price tags hardly any teen/ young adult can afford today). With integrated implementation across key youth communication channels, the clever mix of online tools combined with targeted outdoors and print titles has proven effective in getting the message across to the audience, resulting in outstanding sales results. I especially liked the humble creative approach using the music platform and hero character, Japanese street fashion icon Hiroshi Fujirawa, in a totally non-provocative way. No defiant look or rebellion message, no provocation, contrary to what can be found in other brands' core messaging. Instead, a simple statement that talks straight to the heart -- keep it cool, keep it real, stay true. This creative platform proves that simplicity works and that staying true to the brand DNA is essential to keeping it alive. In the world of fashion, classics are here to stay, and for Levi's, evolution has certainly proven to work better than revolution. Let's hope Levi's stays true to its brand from now on.
BR>
BR> Prathan Suthap National creative director, Grey Worldwide India
When I was growing out of my teens into adulthood, the one ambition that I stoked every night was getting a bike. Two incredible wheels that would catapult me into a dream full of adoring women and open roads full of freedom. However, there was one condition to that dream. My bike wouldn't be a Bajaj. It had to be one of those new Japanese bikes that were just about vrooming into India. Bajaj was a big no-no -- despite the Kawasaki tie up that it had. Bajaj was so passé. So scooter. So devoid of aspiration. Cut to 2005. If I were a teenager today, Bajaj would very much be part of my youth arsenal and very much on my life's radar. Over the years Bajaj has taken a U-turn from being just India's largest scooter brand to perhaps India's most exciting motorcycle brand. It realised its internal sloth, accelerated itself in the last five years to assume top of class in almost every aspect of the market while fighting mega Japanese brands which have otherwise ubiquitously ridden over most local motorcycle brands across the world. It has preserved its Indian spirit and pedigree, constantly building on pride while understanding the pulse and trends of Indian youth, way ahead of anyone else in the marketing and advertising industry. It has changed the rules in distribution, mortgage options, retail strategy and plotted an effective interface with youth through concept showrooms. It has anticipated the future of young India -- their dreams, their fatter wallets, their lifestyles and their better roads. It has never loosened its grip on a consumer who would get bored with typical brand-building attempts. Bold in its advertising and not shy to support a launch with a fortune, efforts like these are larger than life. Legendary. And in view of this sustained effort, any other campaign that may have caught my eye across last year fades into nothingness.
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