Chocotatsu campaign from Tirol

With all of the 30th anniversary campaigns lately (space invaders, slime, to name a few), it would take a lot to catch our eye. Tirol must have been thinking just that when it launched its “Chocotatsu” campaign as a lead up to the 30th birthday of it’s iconic chocolate square next year. “Chocotatsu” merges the words “choco” (the common word for chocolate in Japan) and “kotatsu,” the traditional heated table that most Japanese households pull out for winter. True to its name, it is just that: a kotatsu in the guise of a Tirol chocolate square, the original coffee nougat variety to be exact.

300 lucky(?) winners will be chosen by lottery from applicants who send a postcard with the correct answers to a quiz about Tirol chocolate. All of the quiz answers (to questions like “how old will the Tirol chocolate square be next year?”) can be found on the campaign website. Another 10,000 winners will receive a “necobag,” an ecobag with a cat emblem (cat is “neko” in Japanese).

Individually sold Tirol chocolate are typically found near the cash register in convenience stores and are just about the only thing you can get for less than a dollar (¥21 to be exact). New seasonal flavors are constantly released, with recent years seeing upwards several new ones a month.

Pictured above is the line-up thus far for this year. The newest is a pumpkin flavor in honor of Halloween available from mid-September.

Tags: Campaigns, FMCG, Marketing, Tirol
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage

Smart Vendor car vending machine in Shibuya

Yeah, there’s something about us and automatic goodness today…

We’ve seen plenty of interesting vending machines all over Japan, even for outright marketing, though the recent Smart Vendor in Shibuya Station might just take the creativity award home.

Holding a full-size Smart Car, the faux vending machine has two choices (coupe and cabrio), and a convenient slot to insert the amount you need (about $20k). Of course, this is a concept only, but is a nice extension of their already creative vending machine idea that fits right into the Japanese love for instant gratification on-the-go. Besides, could you do this with any other car without it seeming like a big joke?

Pushing the button on the vendor won’t exactly pop out a car, but it does dispense a branded tube containing pamphlets on the new models, dealer information, and a sheet of Smart Car stickers featuring the available colors.

Now the big question: Will the Smart Car become a hit in Japan? One would think “yes” because of limited space, but cutting the car in half still won’t give us anywhere else to park unless the parking spaces are cut in half as well. However, with rising gas prices and a burgeoning Eco movement in Japan, it just might make the dent it wants to.

The Smart Vendor’s time in Shibuya Station is now over, but you can catch it in three more spots around Japan in the next month.

Get some vending machine love from our new piece at PingMag
More info at PlaySmart.jp

Tags: Marketing, Promotions, Shibuya, Smart Car, Vending Machines
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage

McDonalds testing IC card “Kazasu Coupon”

After nearly a year in development, McDonalds Japan has finally released it’s innovative new Kazasu Coupon (Contactless Coupon) loyalty and payment program, beginning with 175 stores and expanding gradually to its 3,800 nationwide stores by 2009.

Kazasu Coupon uses Felica RFID technology installed in most modern Japanese phones to create the first program of this type, allowing customers to choose their meals, redeem coupons, and pay for purchases all with their mobile phones. This is similar to CMode, the (underutilized IMHO) vending machine payment/coupon system from Coca-Cola, but with a far greater reach and selection.

To join, customers must download an application to their phones and register via mobile web, allowing them to choose the coupons they like. When making their purchase at McDonalds, the coupon is redeemed by placing the phone near the RFID reader at the register, instantly adding the item to the order. To complete the order, payment can also be done using NTT Docomo’s iD mobile wallet.

Below is a video from IT Media showing coupon redemption followed by payment.

Kazasu Coupon has the potential to be a powerful CRM program for McDonalds, allowing them to target coupons and campaigns directly to customer’s mobile phones according to their preferences and purchase history.

While this is still in a testing phase, Kazasu Coupon will likely include more interactive features and downloadable content once it becomes a full-fledged loyalty program (I predict “Club Mac” as the name), and will focus on CRM directly to the pockets and pocketbooks of their customers.

McDonalds press release

Tags: CRM, Felica, IC Cards, Marketing, mcdonalds, Mobile, RFID, ToRuCa
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage

Camel Crush cigarettes tested in Japan?

When we first blogged about the new Kool Boost cigarettes featuring an internal “powerball” infused with menthol, we though it was brilliant. Smokers can add more menthol by squeezing the filter to break the capsule, thus releasing the mentholated goodness.

Now it seems that RJ Reynolds is slowly releasing a stateside version of their Camel brand with the same capsule inside the filter. The Camel Crush are currently being tested in select markets back in the U.S.

It would be interesting to know the degree as to which this innovation was tested in Japan. The U.S. Patent application explains its origins, but Japan may just be (for better or for worse) the ideal testing ground for FMCG such as tobacco.

Back in the U.S., people will actually ask someone for a cigarette and then decline it when it’s the wrong brand, but Japanese are far more willing to switch brands for any number of reasons: Cool packaging, freebies, product modifications, limited editions, etc. Sure, the older generation of salarymen stick to their Mild Sevens, but young people treat cigarettes like they do any other FMCG. After all, who wants to drink the same brand of coffee their whole lives?

This attitude makes Japan a great testing ground for many products, but also a deceiving one. If smokers abroad aren’t open to switching brands for any type of FMCG, it’ll take more than a menthol ball to win them over.

Tags: Innovations, Marketing, Tobacco
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
Other categories: Technology & Gadget Trends, Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Press coverage