Recently, a friend linked me these youtube videos of commercials in Japan for an oil company with English subtitles.

The 2nd video in particular, I thought was somewhat similar to the idea of the Kitto Katsu Message. It’s tying back to the Japanese values of personalized messages and the dedication to passing exams to advance in education. Then, there’s also the Japanese bento boxes prepared especially by mom.

Source: http://www.thecreativerankings.com/campaign/family-ties-message-bento-box

Tokyo Gas, for whom this commercial was made, is in fact a utility company. So what does it have to do with exams and bentos?

I also went onto their company website, and there, they have a section on Corporate Social Responsibility. In fact, under this section, they talk about their focus on education and children as the leaders of tomorrow (with an accompanying bento game about each bento’s impact on the environment).

I realize that they may perhaps be trying to associate their company brand with ideas of tradition and family ties and away from the cold, distant big oil company feel. So next to corporate social responsibility, I’d say this is really about brand associations, especially the brand personality. It shows that Tokyo Gas isn’t just about buying (increasingly expensive) oil to fuel your car, Tokyo Gas is also about family, love, support, and closeness. After watching this commercial, I’m sure consumers already get a warmer feeling towards this brand. These two commercials (one from the father’s perspective and one from the mother’s), I believe, really touch the values of Japanese culture and daily norms. This may in fact help build brand awareness and loyalty, leading to greater brand equity. I also love how they did a commercial for each parent’s perspective as well as partly the child’s perspective in both. I think it really helps appeal to both genders and age groups (potential and current customers) of their target market – likely all driving adults in Japan.

And as finals are coming up, these came up at a rather appropriate time for me. Ganbatte!

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http://8tokyo.com/2010/10/05/the-tokyo-gas-commercial-compilation-of-bento-mails/

http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/tv-commercials/tokyo-gas-family-ties-message-in-a-bento-box-14242755/

http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics/great-question-whats-difference-between-lunch-box-and-bento

Like the professor mentioned in class today, the last step of the personal selling process, following up, is a very important step. The way I think of it is that it sets the aftertaste for whatever experience you just had. The follow up (or lack of follow up) often wraps up and reinforces the experience, and likely first lasting impression of the product or service. In some cases, that’s yourself as in when applying for a job.

It’s like the limp hand shake. You don’t want the last feeling a customer gets to be that of fingers sliding down your palm.

This is also a crucial step for ensuring that the customer doesn’t have post-purchase dissonance.

For example, certain mobile service providers have had records of poor customer service. For example, my friend recently had issues with switching her phone from under her mother’s name to her own for Fido. Unfortunately, when she called in, the customer representative gave long, vague answers as to what she needed to do to switch the names. In the end, the customer representative messed up and didn’t switch it. However, my friend was under the impression it was switched until the bills came. The representative never made sure that the customer’s need were satisfied with regards to the product and service. In terms of customer relationship management, it certainly was not reliable, assuring, or empathetic. From the beginning, Fido also never checked to see that the customer, my friend, was satisfied with the product, the phone that was mailed to her. She received the wrong colour for her phone but there was no easy way to deal with the issue and as she was busy, she never got to address it.

So I recently added another product to my Packaging page (tab above). BOXED WATER.

Out of all the plastic bottles on a shelf, a carton of water like that would certainly stand out, and with the clean and bold font design, it is very identifiable.

Source (left to right): http://uncultured.com/tag/clean-water/; http://maryt.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/; http://packagingworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/boxed-water.html

In terms of storage, use, and consumption

Yes, boxed water carries water just as effectively as round plastic bottles do. It’s also just as easy, I would say, to drink out of one. However, I think a big difference is how easy it is to carry around. Especially if this were to be marketed in Vancouver. Given the trend towards being environmentally friendly, people have been gravitating towards using reusable water bottles more such as the Sigg ones. So many of the times when we buy plastic water bottles, it is for on the go use. We know, especially from the experiences of dropping one, that plastic water bottles are fairly durable. When we open our bags, we won’t be unpleasantly surprised by leakage from a hole in the bottle or rather a hole in my bag from a corner on the bottle. It may sound silly, but I wonder how well my bag and the Boxed Water would treat each other. Otherwise, I would have no other qualms choosing this over any plastic bottled water.

Retail-wise, the packaging will stand out amongst all the round plastic or glass bottles generally on the shelves. It’s just as easy to display, and likely much easier to pack, store, or transport. And in very bold clear letters, it also conveys the brand position as well information about the company and the package design. There are also cost efficiencies in the production: the cartons are folded when transported to the water source.

Price Sensitivity

At the same time however, there is an indirect substitute in buying reusable bottles. This as well as all the water bottles substitutes available out there are certain to increase price sensitivity, or in other words, price elasticity of demand for Boxed Water. Their site, unfortunately, does not indicate how much each carton generally costs, but I wonder if it is cheaper or more expensive than other packaged water.

Finally, a last, stray comment- what about a bamboo water holder? In the olden days, I believe some people used to use bamboo to carry their water.