I was going to blog about something truly dire, something which appalled me so much that it plumbed the direst depths of direness. But then on reflection I decided that not blogging about it was far better, far better to deny such direness the oxygen of publicity. So what, pray, can have caused me such offence and such soul-searching?A report on BrandChannel that the so-called Food Liberation Army (a group of activists against all things fast-food and corporate) had 'kidnapped' Ronald McDonald and were holding him hostage subject to receiving satisfactory answers from the fast-food giant. A bit naff you might think but not exactly offensive. Ah but it gets worse, because the whole concept is a viral film showing aforesaid RM with a bunch of hooded captors behind him in the style of a public execution video. Worse than dire.
So instead let me talk about brands. How for a brand to be successful it has to have a truth which matters and a tone of voice which resonates with a target audience.
What do you think is the most popular flavour of Kit Kat in Japan?
Yes, that's right what flavour of Kit Kat? Believe it or not, there have been over 80 flavours created to date including strawberry, green tea, golden peach, custard pudding, grilled corn, sweet potato, jacket baked potato with butter, earl grey tea, camembert cheese and, in a strange nod to my opening rant, caramel macchiato McFlurry.
The secret to the success of the Kit Kat brand in Japan is part marketing and part linguistic coincidence. Kit Kat is very similar to the phrase "kitto katsu", or good luck (Kit Kat literally means "You shall surely win!"). Because of this, Kit Kats have become a small good luck charm.
The other half of the Kit Kat success story has to do with marketing. Capitalising on the Japanese tendency to "Catch ‘em all" varieties of Kit Kats are quickly introduced and then pulled from the market to increase demand.
Oh and the answer to what's the top-selling variety of Kit Kat in Japan? Soy sauce!
This is where great branding and great marketing meet in the middle to accelerate consumer demand.
ReplyDeleteOne very similar (but not as dynamic) campaign I remember, was when Heinz "let it slip" that they were thinking of taking their "Salad Cream' off the shelves, due to the intense competition of the mayonnaise category.
So with absolutely no advertising, a contagious campaign was born with nostalgic idiots like me feeling indignant that my favourite sauce I had as a kid was an endangered species, and I was off to the shops to buy a dozen bottles!
Result; sales doubled and it's been on the shelves ever since.
make mine a camembert every time, delicious
ReplyDeletePrefer their Migrated Cheese!
ReplyDeleteCamembert cheese flavour Kit Kat? I feel sick...
ReplyDelete