CASE STUDY: Lotte appeals to young people in Japan

Aim

Research showed a growing preference for soft food among young people in Japan, which has led to a move away from chewing gum. To counter this trend, Lotte developed a soft gum, Fit's, that would appeal to young people.

Execution

Working with Dentsu, Lotte developed a TV campaign featuring a memorable jingle and a dance performed by two young celebrities, model Nozomi Sasaki and actor Takeru Sato. Special attention was given to the theme song, which was intended to be as catchy as possible, and the development of a dance that would make the target audience want to copy it. The TVC was supported online with a branded dance competition - Fit's dance contest - on YouTube. Contestants were invited to perform the dance and post the video on the site. The winners were those whose video attracted the most page views during the campaign period.

Results

The campaign played a major role in launching Fit's gum in Japan and building its profile among the target audience. In particular, the site earned the top ranking worldwide for the number of page views on a sponsor's site on YouTube.

This article was originally published as part of the 2010 Top 1000 Brands report.