Capturing the Uncommitted. Can Marketers Learn from Polticians?
“Capture the undecided, and you can move markets” is the core message of the special section in the March 1, 2007 issue of Senden Kaigi, a section created in response to the victoy of Higashikokubara Hideo (formerly the comedian known as Sonomanmah Higashi) in a recent gubenatorial election in Miyazaki Prefecture.
This special section suggests that Higashikokubaru won the election by adopting the strategy used by Asahi Super Dry, whose introduction radically transformed the Japanese beer market by appealing to consumers who were not strong adherents of Kirin Lager or Sapporo Black Label, the long-dominant brands in Japan’s beer market before Asahi Super Dry’s introduction. The former comedian presented himself as lively, modern, dynamic, fun and very much a man of the people, building on the image created by his stage name Sonomanmah Higashi, whose literal meaning in Japanese is “Higashi. What you see is what you get.” The contrast with the politicians who belong to Japan’s established political parties couldn’t be more striking.
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