Mondelez challenged us to develop a non-traditional, pre-emptive campaign to establish Oreo as the original black and white biscuit.
Through innovative media tactics, our campaign aims to create a new image for Oreo as a symbol of togetherness for young women across Japan. This image will embody Oreo’s traditional themes but in a contemporary light, creating a space for Oreo in the snack market.
Each aspect of our campaign appeals to a broader audience, including the loved ones of our target consumer. Our campaign accentuates the Oreo’s original, timeless design to use as leverage against Yamazaki’s copycat brand. This plan book details how we will accomplish our communication and business goals, making Oreo an irreplaceable ingredient to every joyful moment.
Establish Oreo as the original black and white biscuit to be shared in moments of joy and togetherness.
Make Oreo the official kitchen staple to be used as a quick snack or as the major ingredient in popular, everyday treats.
Using secondary research, we worked to uncover how the average 25-to-35 year-old Japanese woman lives. We hope to reveal what our target audience most values in the snacks they eat and what draws them to and from purchasing Oreo. We determined Oreo’s place in the consumer market to build Oreo a new evocative image, making it the go-to delicious treat.
Oreo originated within the company Nabisco in 1912 and made its way to Japan in 1987. Starting in 1970, Mondelez had a licensing agreement for Nabisco products with Yamazaki. In 2016, this licensing agreement expired, and now Mondelez is the sole producer of the Nabisco Oreo biscuit.
Oreo achieves consumer recognition with the signature blue boxes standing out among the other biscuit competitors. Oreo is commonly found in large supermarkets across Japan. In popular convenience stores like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, Oreo tends to be sold in its “Oreo bits sandwiches” form.
Mondelez has applied global campaign successes to the Japanese market (e.g. Father and Son campaign, Unique Product Innovation, and seasonal recipes) to promote Oreo’s image as a traditional snack for the family.
There are 12 categories of Biscuits and Crackers in Japan. Oreo falls into the “sandwich biscuits” category, defined as two cookies with sweet cream in between. Most biscuits in the market are individually wrapped and come in value-sized bundles. Oreo, however, comes as two packages in one box. The market shows Biscuit and Cracker sales on the downtrend, while unit per purchaser is going up.1
Japanese consumers value quality, traditional brands when purchasing snacks for themselves and their loved ones. A survey revealed that 85% of 3,600 Japanese consumers prefer products made in Japan. Oreo is no longer made in Japan but has name recognition in the Biscuits and Crackers category.2
Our target consumer is young women ages 25 to 35. The ground tactics of our campaign will be implemented in the Kanto region because it is the main influencer of Japanese pop culture. The average income of women in Tokyo is 3.98 million yen per year (36,513 USD).3 An estimated 3.24 million women in Tokyo are employed.4
Research shows 68% of moms in Tokyo are working mothers.5 This trend helps us target both “career women” and mothers simultaneously in our campaign. Young working women, no matter
their lifestyle, feel more stressed than the average male.6 Many women experience the double burden of housework and outside work. They also face social pressures from parents, spouses, and in a mother’s case, other mothers.7
Oreo has a divergent relationship with the target consumer. We found that people think Oreo is “too heavy” and “not good for everyday use,” but is successful when it collaborates with other products like ice cream. Our target consumer views the Oreo biscuit as “trendy”, but avoids it because it is produced in China.8
Yamazaki Levain biscuits: Yamazaki is expected to release a copycat biscuit in December 2017 as a comeback tactic following its separation from Oreo. Yamazaki has a strong regional presence and sells products specifically tailored to Japanese tastes. It is assumed Yamazaki will use traditional media to advertise the copycat biscuit to consumers. Yamazaki wishes to “Fight back like American football” and to return to the level of success it achieved in 2015.
Fujiya Country Ma’am cookies: The well-known, traditional Japanese brand has 100 years of history as a leading brand.
Fujiya Country Ma’am cookies periodically release seasonal flavors. The biscuits are individually wrapped and sold in familyfriendly packs.
Well-known brand: Oreo has been a part of Japanese culture for 30 years.
Logo is easily identifiable: No other biscuits have as distinct packaging as Oreo. The bright blue background with big white letters and the signature black and white round biscuits catch the consumer’s eye.
Seen as a stylish brand: More than 20% of consumers think that Oreo ‘is stylish and fashionable’.9
Brand image is currently low: In particular, less than 10% of customers think Oreo is “good to eat whilst on the go’ and less than 40% find the brand trustworthy.10
No “Oreo Moment”: Unlike in the US, many Japanese people do not associate Oreo with any special family moments.
Not seen as a traditional snack: Targets prefer other Japanese biscuits, which have less of a sweet taste and lighter textures. There are many other Japanese brands crafted to appeal visually and physically.
Collaboration: There is space in the market to position Oreo as the essential ingredient for different desserts and sweets. Even if the product is not traditional, it can be incorporated in traditional and popular food products.
Trendy: Oreo has a strong Western association, which when presented correctly, can make Oreo a stylish snack to eat. It is a well-known and recognizable brand that can be propelled into the snacking spotlight.
Timing: We recommend strengthening the connection Oreo has with the holidays. There is a significant increase in biscuit sales during popular Western holidays like Halloween and Christmas.11
Pricing: Competitors offer their product at a cheaper price and present their product in family-friendly packaging.
Made in China issue: Many mothers are health-conscious and care about the ingredients and source of the products they buy. Recently, some people have been commenting on Oreo’s taste and quality after the change in production.12
Oreo’s past in the Japanese market is an imperative aspect of our campaign. Japanese consumers value authenticity when they purchase food. Oreo’s original and unique appearance will strengthen its brand awareness because, after all, Oreo was first.
Although currently Oreo is not a popular, traditional Japanese snack, it is still a fan favorite when it is mixed into other treats. Japanese people believe Oreo is too sweet on its own, but enjoy having it in desserts like icecreams and cheesecakes. Spotlighting Oreo’s main strength will help it become a kitchen staple.
Young Japanese women prefer high-quality, made-in-Japan brands. Oreo is not made in Japan and this cannot be changed, but Oreo is memorable. Its trademark bright blue colors help it stand out on the shelf, and most Japanese people see it as a trendy Western snack. A strong social media presence and unconventional exposure will show Japanese women the Oreo biscuit is timeless and stylish, no matter its origin.
Ai Takahashi is a 36-year-old housewife living in the Setagaya district with her husband and 6-year-old son. She enjoys meeting up with the other moms from her neighborhood and is an avid lifestyle blogger and Instagram user. She visits the nearby supermarket a few times a week to buy fresh ingredients and snacks for her son. She enjoys finding innovative recipes for sweets that she can bake at home.
Makoto Yamada is a 42-year-old man living in the Edogawa district. He lives with his wife and 10-year-old daughter. His time is consumed by his work in the automobile industry, and he finds relaxation on the weekends and holidays. Even through his stressful work schedule, he makes sure to save time for his wife and daughter and runs errands if need be.
Misaki Ito lives in an apartment in the Ota district. She experiences work-related stress as she is still adapting to her new job. She is not in a relationship at the moment but hopes to marry. In her free time, she enjoys relaxing at home, going to live events and undertaking DIY projects. Because she often works until late, she buys her food at the Lawson’s near her home.
Is it the black and white colors? The feeling of two biscuits crunching and then melting into creamy icing? Is it the memories a simple flash of bright, cheerful blue brings to mind?
Oreo is unforgettable. It is an iconic symbol of Western culture and family togetherness. Crunch an Oreo, share an Oreo, or savor an Oreo. The simple biscuit represents endless moments of good times and, of course, a healthy amount of snacking.
Throughout the campaign, we remind the world what Oreo has always been and make a space for it in Japanese culture.
Our video touches on the connections made through Oreo and introduces the audience to the snack’s playful side.
Our digital advertisements accentuate Oreo’s black and white colors and iconic circular shape, while placing it in scenes any Japanese person could recognize.
Social media reaches out to Oreo’s audience in a unique and engaging way, showing people it is not just about a biscuit, it is about sharing a moment. When people see an Oreo or eat an Oreo, we want them to experience that rush of contentment and satisfaction. They will not just be satisfying a craving. They will be coming home.
Oreo, joy’s irreplaceable ingredient.
A young woman is sitting on a park bench struggling to open a bag of Oreos. She is stressed out and tired, and in her hungry impatience she rips the bag open and an Oreo springs out. The Oreo flies through the air in slow motion. The woman’s eyes widen as she sees her favorite snack head towards its destruction on the ground. But miraculously, someone catches the Oreo lightly in the palm of their hand. A young man looks down at the Oreo in his hand and then smiles up at the woman. Their hands brush as he places the Oreo in the woman’s outstretched fingers. The woman breaks the Oreo and gives half of the Oreo to the man. They both blush and take a bite. VOICE-OVER
1 second (Slow motion shout)
2 seconds
2 seconds
2 seconds (Voice-over)
Murals for engagement
Enormous and fun stickers will be posted throughout Tokyo. This creates a moment for the consumer to interact with the product in an unexpected way. People can take cute photos with their friends and family and post those photos on social media. Oreo will gain buzzworthy attention through these simple and affordable stickers while also reminding consumers of Oreo’s unique design.
Edits of Oreo stacks will be wrapped around strategically placed pillars in major Tokyo subways. This tactic is eye-catching and will engage everyone who walks by. This will lead into our second subway tactic.
Small stickers of Oreo biscuits will cover walls in the subway. Passersby can take the sticker from the wall and stick it to their bags, their friends or even their phone cases. This helps the advertisement move throughout the
city and also interacts with consumers in a fun way. Underneath each sticker there will be a QR code directing the consumer to our social media pages. Random stickers will conceal invitations to the Secret Oreo Party.
The posters can be featured in subways or on the streets of Tokyo. Each poster features the Oreo in an unconventional way, focusing on Oreo’s trendy, circular shape. The colors black and white are also emphasized in each poster to remind viewers of Oreo’s trademark design. The posters feature the campaign’s tagline, reminding consumers of the entire campaign and the other media they may have already seen.
Oreo will host a secret party where famous food Instagrammers will cook Oreo sweets for people to try and copy. Oreo wall art will also be set up throughout the party venue so that people can take photos and upload them. Information on the party, such as the date, time, location and dress code, will be kept secret until a few days prior to the event. People can gain invites to the party through the Oreo wall stickers placed inside major stations throughout Tokyo. Winners of the hidden invites receive three invites to the party, and they will need to show the digital invites at the entrance. People who do not win invites will instead receive the official Oreo LINE stickers for free.
Mitsuhiro (@mizukudasai) is an avid recipe blogger and cookinggram ambassador. He has 17,100 followers on Instagram, and is very popular for his various dinner and baking recipes. He has already incorporated Oreo in some of his recipes, which are featured on CookPad.
Asami Kamioka (@asami_kamioka) is a mother and sweets artist. She has 97,100 followers on Instagram, and is very popular for her colorful and elaborately decorated sweets. Her homemade sweets range from biscuits to cakes to even smoothie type drinks.
Estimated cost : ~$200,000
Venue: Roppongi / Ebisu / Gaienmae
Dress code: black and white, with a hint of blue (blue necktie, corsage, jewelry etc.)
Different tables will feature different Oreo sweets / drinks
Participants can compete for prizes with their food, photos, and outfits
“Oreo Ambassadors” will be crowned at the event, one for Best Dressed and one for Best Recipe.
Guests can mingle and share all aspects of the event via social media.
Instagram has proven very effective in building brand awareness with users using branded hashtags to be part of the larger conversation. Humor and style will be the Instagram page’s main focus. Oreo’s account will post photos of its audience interacting with the Oreo wall stickers using #WallArt #OreoWall #オレオアートウォール.
Instagram will also be the main platform used in the Bento Box competition. Mothers across Japan can compete in a Bento Box competition with Oreo used as the box’s main theme. Competitors will have seven days to design and create an Oreo-themed bento using either the product or Oreo’s colors. They can then post images of the bento box to Instagram using #OreoBentoBox #OreoBentoCompetition #オレオ弁当コンテスト. A winner will be chosen and then will be featured on Oreo’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
With around 1.65 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, not only for personal use but business use as well. Oreo posts will target those interested in cooking by posting tutorials and recipe ideas using Oreo as an ingredient. An event page will be created for the Secret Oreo Party using the hashtags #SecretOreoParty #オ レオシークレットパーティー. People who follow Oreo’s official page will see this event and will click “like” to go to the event page and
With increasing numbers of users in their 30s and 40s, Twitter is one of the most popular social network platforms in Japan. By following Oreo’s official account, users can receive information about PR events and new products, as well as interact directly with followers. It is important Oreo creates a brand personality on Twitter to encourage consumers to continually check up on the brand. Oreo’s personality will embody the campaign’s major themes as a quirky, sassy and cute character when engaging with customers.
With more than 70 million users, LINE is the Japanese social network. Oreo can use a LINE official page to inform customers about special opportunities and to create deals specifically for its followers. Oreo’s account will release information through the messaging platform to mass amounts of LINE followers. To reach more people and to convince them to follow the account, Oreo’s account features cute and engaging LINE stamps made available to LINE followers. The new stamps will be promoted on all other social media platforms, especially Twitter. The LINE stamps will help put a face to the Oreo personality created on Twitter.
Venue: $30,000
Refreshments: $50,000
Promo: $15,000
Musicians: $45,000
Instagrammers: $5,000
Labor: $55,000
Our LINE stickers and TV advertisement will launch in October. The TV advertisement will be uploaded to all social media platforms for maximum consumer viewership. The out-of-home Wall Art will be placed around Tokyo the day after the TV advertisement stops running. Print and digital advertisements will follow to reach as many consumers as possible. Before the Secret Oreo Party, the subway stickers will go up. The Secret Oreo Party is taking place around the Yamazaki launch to pull attention away from the copycat brand. Digital advertisements and social media posts will carry the campaign to the Bento Box competition.
Our goal is to defend Oreo against the copycat launch in December by utilizing non-traditional/’buzz’-worthy tactics to achieve 10% value share by 2020. We also aim to increase the social engagements 50% more than the current amount by December 2017.
We expect to increase the brand recognition closer to 100%.
To focus on the market, we recommend launching OREO Japan on all social media platforms to establish a presence by the end of March 2018.
Twitter: Gain 30,000 followers and launch #OreoBento event on Twitter to engage with consumers.
Facebook: Gain 700,000 followers.
LINE: Gain 50,000 followers/friends.
Instagram: Gain 100,000 followers.
Direct and increase the number of visitors to social media platforms.
The secret party will ideally be covered by 5 TV stations (like FUJI TV and NHK), 10 mainstream fashion/food websites (like CookPad and Fashion Press), and 3 magazines (like VERY and ESSE).
1. Mori, S., & Uesugi, K. (n.d.). Mondelez International Japan Biscuits Assignment Brief [PDF].slide 25
2. 調査からみえる日本人の食卓 (Rep.). (2016, October). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from NHK website: http://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/ research/yoron/pdf/20161001_7.pdf
3. DODA, 女性の平均年収ランキング. (2016, March 28). August 14, 2017, from https:// doda.jp/woman/guide/heikin/2016/ area/#ranking_nav Calculated based on August 14 rate 1$=109 yen
4. 「東京の労働力」（平成 26 年平均結 果）. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/INET/ CHOUSA/2015/02/60p2q300.htm
5. ワーキングマザーの割合、過去最高の68.1 ％に. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from http://www.nippon.com/ja/features/ h00147/
9. Mori, S., & Uesugi, K. (n.d.). Mondelez International Japan Biscuits Assignment Brief [PDF].slide 58
10. Mori, S., & Uesugi, K. (n.d.). Mondelez International Japan Biscuits
7. Peter Tasker: The dark side of ‘womenomics’. (2014, August 01). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from https://asia.nikkei. com/Viewpoints-archive/Economeister/ Peter-Tasker-The-dark-side-of-womenomics
8. オレオ クッキーのレシピ 2629品. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from https://cookpad.com/search/%E3% 82%AA%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AA%20 F%E3%83%83%E3%82%AD%E3%83%BC
Assignment Brief [PDF].slide 59
11. Mori, S., & Uesugi, K. (n.d.). Mondelez International Japan Biscuits
Assignment Brief [PDF].slide 31
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