Category: Best use or integration of digital media
Advertiser: GOOGLE
Product/Service: GOOGLE+
Agency: GROUND
Creative Director/Planner: Satoshi Takamatsu (Ground Tokyo)
Producer: Tatsuro Aono (Ground Tokyo)
Producer: Yu Kimoto (Ground Tokyo)
Producer: Tatsuya Ishikawa (Ground Tokyo)
Media placement: Press Conference - Event - 8/12/2011
Media placement: Online - YouTube channel - 20/12/2011
Media placement: Online - Live on You tube Channel - 22/1/2012
Media placement: Online - You Tube/ Hangout on Google + - 3/3/2012
Media placement: Online - Live on You tube Channel - 23/3/2012
Media placement: Online - Youtube/Hangout on Google+ - 1/4/2012
Media placement: Press - Press - National News Paper - 4/4/2012
Media placement: Press - Press - National News Paper - 4/5/2012
Media placement: Press - Press - National News Paper - 6/5/2012
Campaign Description
A new social media Google+ needed to boost the numbers of users in Japan. However, with Facebook, Twitter, and Mixi already dominating the market, Google+ was facing a huge competition. A strategy to win the unique Japanese audience was a key.
Effectiveness
AKB48 is a Japanese pop idol group comprised of 243memners born in Akihabara, the centre of Otaku culture.
They began as pop idols you can go see, and they weren’t celebrities who appeared on TV but you watch them perform live, and can shake their hands in a small theatre. However, as their popularity grew, AKB48 became pop idols you could never see.
Our mission was:
To create a new system that would allow AKB48 members and fans to keep and grow their engagement.
Transform AKB48 into a pop idol group of this new smartphone, SNS era.
We proposed a new way of being for AKB48, that is, a pop idol group that ‘Sings, Dances, and Shares’.
All the 243 members started to share their joy, sadness, ideas, and problems on Google+ with their smartphones provided. Their posts were translated into 6 different languages daily so fans around the world could also get involved
This activity instantly created a buzz, and not only the AKB48’s Google+ followers increased rapidly but also their activity on Google+ triggered various other activities extending the possibility of Google+.
Google+ is an online service offering a wide range of convenient functions, but it needed unique contents only available on Google+ to go against big SNS such as Facebook and Twitter and increase the number of members on their service.
We needed to create a buzz and increase the recognition of this service, Google+. More importantly, get new Google+ users with attractive content.
AKB48 could communicate better with fans and also between members themselves with Google+.
Implementation
The concept was simple: maximize the attractiveness of posts.
We broke new ground by developed branded posts made possible by the collaboration between the client, agency, and celebrities.
We proposed collaboration between Google and AKB48, a unique pop idol group comprised of 243 members, launching a project:
‘Every member is connected to every fan’.
All the 243 members of AKB48 began to upload comments on Google+. They uploaded texts, photographs, and movies and shared their joy, sadness, ideas, and problems.
Outcome
The campaign drew unprecedented interest, and featured on many media, off and on line.
AKB48’s followers reached 10m. That’s more followers on Google+ than any celebrity around the world.
The 15m+1s they received far surpass those of President Barak Obama and Lady Gaga.
Using smartphones and Google+, AKB48 made a transformation from pop idols you can go see into pop idols that share every aspect of their lives.