In Japan, branded entertainment and content have been mainly driven by the clients’ preference for advertising that mainly communicates conventional product information and produces a quick sale promotion effect. Consequently, there is still a large gap between entertainment contents that functionally engage consumer participation and Japanese-style branded entertainment with a focus on product information-centric advertising. In order for Japanese consumers to be more receptive to branded entertainment, how much freedom of content expression can be exercised is the key issue.

The campaign objective is to re-establish a connection with the young target who had enjoyed eating KAJU GUMMY (gummy candy brand) as children, but have been drifting away from the brand. While the target-brand relationship is conventionally a short-lived transaction with selection based on flavor and price, this campaign seeks to forge a friendship between the brand and target. With this aim, an anime character who personifies the product was created, and an experiential platform that immerses users in the world of their anime friend was developed.

For the young targets who have only experienced one-way expression of feelings for a character, this platform let them “chat” in real time with the character via TV and SNS over a period of one month, during which they formed a friendship with the character (=product). And with the aim of expanding the circle of “friends”, the story design features missions that the character can only overcome by getting approximately 10,000 tweets from his real world friends (and hopefully introduced friends).

Among young Japanese, 1 out of 4 is an anime fan. Anime is a ¥5bn industry in Japan. For this target, manga and anime are a shared cultural touch point. In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, during the World Cup and other defining events, a growing trend among the target to use SNS and a desire to feel a sense of unity (belonging) with their generation has been observed. Based on this, we exploited what seems to be a constant hunger among young people for opportunities to connect with large numbers of their peers.

By engaging the young target in a brand experience over a period of about 1 month, the execution helped build a friendship between the target and the product. Over the total campaign (original + 2 sequels), sales increased a total of $8,750,000. Compared to the previous campaign sequel, sales increased 134%. Compared with the beginning of the campaign, the number of Twitter followers increased 209% during a period of a little over a year. Immediately after the TVCM aired, the campaign key word was No. 1 in Google’s word ranking. The TV drama during which the TVCM was aired enjoyed a 0.4% increase in average viewer ratings. Also compared to the drama’s average viewer ratings immediately prior to the TVCM airing, the average post-TVCM viewer ratings increased 1.4%.