JWT Japan Brings Kraft 100% Parmesan to a Younger Generation

J. Walter Thompson Japan helped Morinaga Milk Industry & Co. introduce its Kraft 100% Parmesan to a new generation with an activation, “300 PARMESAN Collection”, designed to entice consumers to sample Kraft Parmesan in a variety of tasty yet unexpected dishes.

Kraft 100% Parmesan is already the leading powdered cheese in Japan, but is bought mostly by older consumers who use it in pastas and salads. The campaign aimed to get new consumers to use the product in new way by positioning Kraft Parmesan as “a seasoning that will make every dish a fancy meal.”  The target: trend-conscious young women.

J. Walter Thompson placed a 4.6-metre-tall interactive vending machine shaped like a Kraft parmesan bottle, on a green-carpet runway at Ebisu Garden Place in Tokyo on September 29.  The vending machine dispensed 300 free hot lunches in Kraft Parmesan jars.  Ten different lunch dishes were on offer, including Japanese udon noodles with eggs and parmesan, tomato stew with pork, mushroom and Parmesan Cheese, and savory French toast with parmesan.  

The activation was promoted with banner ads and a teaser video, which gives the brand’s image a young, fashionable refresh. The online video was placed on fashion-related blogs and sites, driving consumers to a campaign microsite which features over 300 recipes using Kraft Parmesan - and invited women to the activation.   

Consumers who took part in the tastings spread the news over their social channels, helping raise the profile of the brand as unexpectedly versatile, stylish and fun. The campaign was also featured on over 30 TV news programs, over 50 newspapers and magazine and over 1,293 online news sites. 

“The goal was to reposition Kraft Parmesan Cheese from a classic brand loved by older consumers into one that younger consumers would want to talk about, share and try. The whole campaign was designed to be fun and unexpected – and it certainly got people talking,” said Kohei Kawasaki, Senior Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson Japan.