Dole Japan: BANANA TROPHY

Credits & Description:

CLIENT DOLE JAPAN
PRODUCT DOLE BANANA
ENTRANT DENTSU Y&R TOKYO, JAPAN
TYPE OF ENTRY COMMUNICATION DESIGN
CATEGORY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
TITLE BANANA TROPHY
PRODUCT/SERVICE DOLE BANANA
ENTRANT COMPANY : DENTSU Y&R TOKYO, JAPAN
ADVERTISING AGENCY : DENTSU Y&R TOKYO, JAPAN
YUKI FUSE DENTSU YOUNG/RUBICAM INC. CHIEF PRODUCER/PLANNING DIRECTOR
SHOICHI YAMAKAWA DENTSU YOUNG/RUBICAM INC. ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
NAOKO GOTOH DENTSU YOUNG/RUBICAM INC. ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
RYUSEI YOSHIMOTO DENTSU YOUNG/RUBICAM INC. ACCOUNT PLANNER
GEORGE SO SUGITOMO DENTSU INC. CREATIVE DIRECTOR/PLANNER
NAOKI MORI DENTSU INC. AGENCY PRODUCER
NARU KUDO DENTSU TEC INC. AGENCY PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
MAI SHIBATANI DENTSU INC. ART DIRECTOR
NAO OTANI DENTSU INC. COPYWRITER
NORIKO OSUMI DENTSU INC. PLANNER/COPYWRITER
YOSHIAKI SHIOTA DENTSU INC. PRODUCER
TAKASHI OKADA EAST CREW INC. EVENT DIRECTOR
TAKESHI KOBAYASHI/AYAKA YAMAGUCHI DENTSU EVENT OPERATIONS INC. EVENT DIRECTOR
HAJIME KUWASHIMA IRET INC. TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
ERIKO SHIOYA/MASARU NISHIOKA DENTSU TEC INC. DESIGNER/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
JUN KAWASHIMA/KENT MORI PUZZLE INC. WEB DIRECTOR/WEB DESIGNER
RYUICHI HASEGAWA/TAKAMICHI SAITO/WATARU ABE PUZZLE INC. EDITOR/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/MARKUP ENGINEER
KENJI MURAMATSU/SHOICHI SUWA/KEN NOBUHARA/MASASHI TOMIHARA TAIYO KIKAKU CO./LTD. PRODUCER
TAKESHI IZUMIDA/JUNICHI KATO TAIYO KIKAKU CO./LTD. DIRECTOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER
SAORI KIRYU/KANA OKUI/NOZOMI YOKOYAMA PLATINUM INC. PR PLANNER
DENTSU TEC INC. ADDITIONAL COMPANY
DENTSU EVENT OPERATIONS INC. ADDITIONAL COMPANY
Brief Explanation
Bananas are a commodity fruit in Japan. There is nothing special about it. So the challenge was to have the runners remember the brand Dole and the meaning of sponsoring TOKYO MARATHON 2014. And to create a new connection with the runners and the fruit.
Describe the brief from the client:
Japan’s largest marathon race is TOKYO MARATHON 2014 with over 36,000 runners. Dole sponsored this race, but wanted to be remembered as not just a plain fruit. Dole’s banana is extra sweet, delicious and most importantly the best nutritious energy supply for all marathoners. Dole wanted to brand the banana, the ultimate of all bananas.
Description of how you arrived at the final design:
When the runner crosses the finish line, the TOKYO MARATHON official RFID on the marathoners shoe will be detected by a special “BANANA TROPHY” web system. Which automatically sends a “JUST FINISHED TOKYO MARATHON 2014!” post onto the runners’ facebook. The runners’ friends can congratulate their finish and all the feedback is collected through the web, which automatically transforms into the “BANANA TROPHY” in real-time at the finish line. The trophy had the marathoners’ name, finish time and cheers from facebook friends printed directly onto the Dole banana, by linking the web to a specially constructed printer using edible ink.
Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market:
Buzz like “The banana too precious to eat!” swept the web and was shared 720,000 times. The “BANANA TROPHY” was broadcasted even on the national news. Media cost was zero, but the total coverage was worth over 1,100,000 USD. The news reached more than 28,000,000 people grasping the hearts of all runners and more. A national market survey showed that, 95.3% changed their impression of Dole to extremely good 83.5% strongly considered buying “Dole’s banana” Sales went up 115% the next month onwards, and Dole became the most unforgettable banana not only to the runners, but to the whole nation.