2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

When we started working on the new Nescafé campaign for the Middle East, we had a simple but powerful insight: “everyone one of us wakes up for a reason”. While researching, we discovered that in Okinawa, Japan, the world's cradle of longevity and well-being, this concept is so relevant that it gets translated into a specific term: "ikigai". Knowing your ikigai, there, means living a longer, healthier, happier life. This was a powerful story to tell and own as a brand, and an integral success factor for the campaign was that PR needed to seed the idea of “ikigai” and create conversation pieces around the importance of awakening your purpose. Through online publications and media outreach, we used unbranded content to create curiosity about the Ikigai philosophy. Then we aired an online branded documentary we shot in Japan to tell the story of the Okinawa people. The video ended asking viewers “What do you wake up for?”, inviting them to engage through #IWAKEUPFOR, promoted through an integrated campaign, both online and offline and special stunts, like a twitter vending machine rewarding those passing by with free coffee in a customized cup using their tweeted hashtag. We kept building a consistent brand voice with another documentary, shot in Brazil, about what the people who produce Nescafé wake up for, reflecting the brand commitment for the campaign and a better quality of life in the region. And it all started with a simple, but powerful question: "What do you wake up for?"

The Brief

Fuel a conversation about Ikigai and the importance of knowing one’s purpose to engage audience. We created content and stories around “what do you wake up for?” to link back to what (only) a stimulating cup of NESCAFÉ coffee can start (the new global selling line is: It all starts with a NESCAFÉ”). We want to own morning starts, and create a compelling reason for a cup of NESCAFÉ coffee to get the morning started right.

Results

The campaign launches on February 24, so there are no tangible results yet. Client is heavily supporting it and we’ve received extremely positive reaction from the Nescafé global Business Unit which are considering the campaign to be rolled out as a global NESCAFÉ campaign.

Execution

With the story of Ikigai, we launched an integrated campaign, inviting people to answer the question “What do you wake up for?”, join the conversation about the quality of life and take a few minutes to focus on awakening their purpose with a cup of NESCAFÉ coffee. The integrated campaign was composed by: • Online documentary about ikigai • 6 individual story portraits of Okinawans • PR and social media focused around the importance of awakening your purpose every morning • Online campaign to drive video views • A specially designed retargeted content to engage viewers with new content • Outdoor & Radio to created brand visibility and drive engagement with the hashtag • A twitter booth activation rewarded passerby with free coffee in a customized cup using their tweeted hashtag • A documentary about what the people who produce NESCAFÉ wake up for

The Situation

Everyone knows NESCAFÉ Red Mug. 70% of homes have a jar. The challenge is low consumption; only 20% of consumers “had a cup yesterday”. So, we needed to give people a reason to have their morning cup of coffee every day. Coffee is a category dominated by social currency. People choose a coffee brand like they choose many other brands they love; with their heart. And while NESCAFÉ has been the world’s favorite coffee for 75 years, the challenge is to keep it that way.

The Strategy

Although this is a story about Okinawans, it’s a universal and simple truth that anyone in the world can appreciate and relate to. It is a true story, before being the perfect insight for a coffee brand, and It only makes it even more interesting to the people in this region the fact that the story is from Japan, as it is a growing trend - especially in KSA - to look to the Far East for “secrets” related to beauty, health, food and well being.