The Tokyo Marathon is a day for runners to showcase months of hard work, preparation and training, but it is also a day for Dole to showcase their banana as Japan’s #1 banana.

The “Gokusen” is Dole’s “ultimate” banana. According to Adweek, Dole donated 91,000 of the Gokusen to the marathon runners, but this year Dole wanted to make them extra special. Immediately after a runner crossed the finish line, their time would be posted on their Facebook page, garnering “likes” and comments from friends. This feedback, as well as their marathon time, would be printed onto the banana using edible ink. 200 participants were lucky enough this year to receive the “banana trophy.”

Dole’s marketing strategy was a booming success. The Gokusen was “shared” on Facebook over 720,000 times and even aired on the national news.

I think Dole was extremely tactile in the development of their unforgettable marketing campaign. They successfully advertised their product through nationwide platforms, reached their target segment of everyone in Japan, and managed to differentiate their product as the supreme banana (justifying a price two times that of regular bananas). The media cost for Dole was $0, but the publicity was worth over $1,100,000.

The next banana going into my banana guard will definitely be the Gokusen.