CASE STUDY: Axe raises both laughs and profits in Japan

Background

Axe was successfully launched in Japan in 2007 amidst instant buzz.

The brand's growth post launch however was stunted for two critical reasons.

The tongue-in-cheek product message (“Axe will make you popular with the ladies!”) was struggling to culturally resonate as intended for the shy Japanese target. Secondly, a vast number of competitor products launched as Axe hit the market and they got the cultural formula right by using popular actors to attract attention and create relevant meaning.

Aim

Following the competitors by paying top dollar for top male talent in the segment would have been the obvious and easy solution for Axe.

The TV market in Japan is at a critical transition point as broadcast stations get squeezed by new players in the new competitive media environment and pummeled by the global recession. In the past the broadcasters controlled the game and laws required TV stations to clearly separate programs from commercials, making branded entertainment on TV almost impossible. But today, broadcasters are actively seeking new ways of thinking and innovation to bring new life to their challenged channel.

Axe decided to use its local relationship with TBS to push the envelope on what it thought was possible with branded entertainment in Japan. It decided to explore what could be done if it collaborated with the most popular comedy show in Japan.

Execution

Comedy show Lincoln captures the M1 segment most efficiently in Japan. The comedy show airs every Tuesday at 10pm for one hour. Ratings average 11.4 per cent among the male 15 to 24 audience, compared with the primetime average of 4.2 per cent.

The format of the show sees eight of the most popular comedians among the M1 segment rouse laughter through trying out various challenges in each episode. The amount of air time the eight comedians have on their regular TV programmes totals approximately 20 hours per week.

In the first broadcast, 90 per cent of the one hour prime time programme was dedicated to the Axe collaboration. Viewer ratings exceeded expectations and the collaboration was featured several times after the initial broadcast.

Japan’s largest portal Yahoo and the largest SNS, mixi, introduced the collaboration as its top news. The programme was reinforced with three TVC executions including PR, shopper marketing and digital activity.

Results

The TV programme was viewed by 18,282,322 people.

When including TVC broadcasts, the campaign reached 103,773,272 people and target reach (M15 to 29) climbed to 76 per cent.

3,980 POP boards and 64,300 swingers were set up.

The campaign was introduced in approximately 300 blogs in a week.

In the first week, sales reached 137% in comparison to the previous year.

Overall market share increased 7.2 per cent as a result of the campaign.


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