A very Japanese approach to marketing a Kit Kat

Regulars to this blog will know my interest in all things Japanese, marketing and confectionary, and particularly the recent trend to reinvent (I would say 'sex up' but that does not have a very academic chime to it ?)  long standing stalwart brands, such as the Snickers bar and even old faithfuls from days gone by like the traditional custard cream biscuit.  

I have an inkling of looking into retro sweets, you know, those old fashioned boiled sweets you used to buy loose from a big jar, like strawberry bons   bons, pontefract cakes and mint imperials.  It seems sales of these products grew significantly last year (nothing to do with Wolworth's demise I suppose ?).  My old favourite 2p priced liquorice stick is now retailing at an eye watering 25p, supposedly because suppliers are hard to find according to our local olde worlde sweet shop.  

Imagine my delight when Hayata-san, over to visit Royal Holloway before putting in an application for the full time MBA programme, presented me with a gift set of unusually tailored Kit Kat special editions.  Since my last visit to Japan, when we picked up sakura, green tea and wasabi flavoured gift packs using our last Yen currency at Narita airport, the clever marketing people in Nestle' Japan have taken the ideas further and developed a wider range of options.  Some leverage an interesting flavour, so chilli draws from the ancient Aztec {savoury} dish that sees chilli and chocolate blended together for the adventurous palette. Strawberry cheesecake uses a white chocolate coating and biscuit infused with red goo.    Both have got to be winners with a clear appeal of dare and hedonistic pleasure.  Others that purport to regional Japanese differences allow for a Tokyo product to boast its own geographic credentials, and fit effectively in the Japanese gift giving culture that seeks to venerate an element of the local culture.  

Hurrah ! say I.  In a world that is increasingly homogenious, seeing a global brand localise in such a manner is genius innovation and that just has to be congratulated.  

Not forgetting that the simple and relatively cheap, packaging adaption (four large bars are wrapped together using a four colour, gloss printed, cardboard sleeve) repositions a generic and ubiquitous fmcg item into a bundle that makes it suitable to give as a gift for family or in a business context.  Added value, marketing premier league style !

Arigato Hayata-san !    

Embracing Group Working

The ability to build and retain a network is a crucial life and business skill.  This takes time and can be arrived at through a variety of different avenues – naturally through department, organisation and industry ‘teams’ but also from University alumni groups, shared sporting or music interests, hobbies, career oriented associations or common shared experiences. Perhaps (some way down the track) even other parents at your childrens’ schools.

In some cultures, organisations and roles the ability to work in a variety of both formal and informal groups and to develop deep and wide networks is an essential capability, the lack of this kind of political connectedness resulting often in failure. 

University is a relatively safe place where you are encouraged to take risks and learn from success, failure and anything in between.  It is unusual to see a group that has worked hard failing an assignment, thus the cost of failure is very low.  The chance therefore exists to take risks and learn from them. 

 

There is great social value attached to the group based skills of being able to pull favours, ask for help, get special consideration comes from (often) enduring relationships built up over a long time and multiple interactions across a wide network. 

Think of building and maintaining long term relationships with every opportunity. Spend time strategically when working in groups getting to know one another, do not mistake group work as tactical, functional activity of low importance.

Possible perceived problems with group working

• Nothing to learn from others  (good luck on your desert island !)
• Hard to co-ordinate (yes – they can be)
• Risk of plagiarism (not everyone understands this fully)
• Risk of low mark (but also the potential for a higher mark)
• Being put in groups (anxiety of working with unknown entities, challenge of getting everyone together sufficiently)
• Self-selecting groups – making ‘safe choices’ rather than looking to experiment (and have a richer learning experience)
• Personality conflicts (we don’t get on, we worked together previously – they didn’t add much value/turn up/pull their weight)