Energizer had low brand awareness in Japan, and the pandemic disruptions made it clear that Energizer needed to innovate to engage with consumers and build brand affinity, regardless of the status of on-ground/in-store activity. During the spring of 2020, Energizer had to relook at the way it communicated with consumers, and had to innovate to be more relevant.

As Japan is prone to natural disasters, disaster-proofing is a crucial drill, which results in a surge of shopping activity in the middle of the year with people spending on emergency essentials. This was a clear opportunity for Energizer Lights, but there was the added challenge of the effects and disruptions of the Coronavirus, and considering the brand’s low marketing efforts in the country, Energizer Japan had to find an innovative way to penetrate the market, engage and communicate with people, and build brand affinity.

Battery brands talk about batteries first; however, we shifted focus to our portable lights. Energizer Japan launched an interactive, HTML-animated manga series where Mr. Energizer and friends fight off creatures of the dark using their ‘Bousai Kits’ containing Energizer Lights products. Lights that turned into weapons to beat the dark and restore normalcy.

Targeted episodic video trailers invited readers to keep following the series as it unfolded. And readers were given a chance to win these ‘Bousai Kits’ too through Easter eggs hidden within the manga series, which helped them prepare for the disaster season. This was communicated through a social campaign, while retail branding redirected shoppers to the online experience and rewards.

An increase in preparedness is seen every September in Japan, and a part of it is being equipped with reliable portable lights. It's a national drive, supported by public announcements and guidance.

Our range of portable lights caters to various demographics – from home utility, professional use, outdoors trekking, etc... – and these all overlap when preparing a disaster survival kit. Our audience was wide, but they had one thing in common, which is to have at least one reliable source of lighting in case of emergency.

We switched our usual communication channels to online to avoid any interruptions in engaging with consumers during the pandemic, and launched "Let there be Light", a digital manga series.

In it, we positioned our portable lights as tools to fight off the darkness, and placed Energizer as part of the preparedness drive, raising awareness of the brand through our lights.

Starting in "disaster preparedness month", and for a full year after, we turned our portable lights into adventure tools by developing a story, "Let there be Light". It takes people on a journey around Japan following a sudden crisis, using characters that readers can relate to. It's a group that overcomes the darkness when they discover that their Energizer Lights ‘Bousai Kits’ are the answer, told in an html-animated manga series.

Each product had a special power, thereby highlighting its USP, while the importance of being prepared with ‘Bousai Kits’ was emphasised in a creative way. Readers could win limited edition ‘Bousai Kits’ themselves by finding and clicking on hidden badges embedded in the manga series, and then registering online.

Targeted animated, episodic video teasers and social posts were used to drive engagement and awareness without excessive spends, while retail branding directed shoppers to the online experience and rewards.

The increase in awareness, engagement and branding impacted overall sales.

We achieved

30K+ recurring readers

4.4 million social media reach

47% increase in market share

reaching the top 5 brands in the category

and 50% drop in cost to sales ratio

We gained 1,359 new touchpoints

due to increase in retailer confidence

We even ran out of Bousai Kit rewards.

And a second series is on its way.