| Philosophy | We developed a robot who was not only capable of a high level of breath analysis, but who also presented this information through a range of entertaining gestures so as not to hurt the feelings of those being tested. We then took Mr. Sniff on the road and analyzed the breaths of people across Japan.Execution:The project was advertised through TV ads, while Mr. Sniff’s technical specifications were published on our website. We also uploaded streaming music videos that featured numerous dancing Mr. Sniffs in an attempt to create hype for the robot. These efforts helped us maximize the number of volunteers who came out for a breath test at one of the many stops—both planned and spontaneous—we made at supermarkets and public locations across Japan.The project attracted over 6,800 volunteers who came in for breath tests. It was covered in a total 56 TV programs and newspapers, as well as on 288 websites, which provided us with a combined advertising value of $34060. As a result, 96.7% of those who had heard of the project said that they had become more aware of their breath quality. As a result, 12.4 million people were able to learn about the project, and 96.7% of them said that they had become more aware of their breath quality. The project also turned out to be a successful branding strategy, with ACUO products enjoying a 3% boost in sales compared to the same period from the previous year, despite a slump in the gum market that has seen sales drop by 26% over the last ten years.The Situation:We developed a breath-analyzing robot, Mr. Sniff, who helped break the social taboo in Japan of talking about breath quality and increase awareness of oral hygiene.The Strategy:We targeted Japanese people of all ages for this project. Mr. Sniff was primarily developed to circumvent the social taboo of pointing out the quality of someone else’s breath—as well as the difficulty of noticing the quality of one’s own breath—but the fact that the robot resembles popular actor Tori Matsuzaka gave it an instant familiarity and likability. As a result, it was relatively easy to find volunteers willing to have their breaths analyzed.The Case study titled Mr.Sniff was done by Dentsu Inc. Tokyo advertising agency for product: Acuo Gum (brand: Lotte Co.) in Japan. It was released in Mar 2016. |