In a recent post on Facebook, a user posted pictures of Meiji’s brand activation activity held this Sunday, January 13 at the Karachi Eat Festival 2019. The first picture shows a sizable crowd around Meiji’s stall trying to get pictures with local actor ‘Saleem Sheikh’, and another picture that shows a banner that reads, ‘Come to meet Saleem Sheikh at Meiji’ Stall’.
The user who posted the pictures wrote, ”The world of marketing and advertising has reached new plateaus in 2019… but this brand team seems to be stuck in a time warp. I can just picture the brand managers high-five-ing each other at this epic activation idea…”
Organizations use brand activations to create awareness about new products and use innovative methods to do so, often using celebrities, singers, and sportsmen to generate more crowds. In line with their brands’ personalities, they also hire celebrities to act as brand ambassadors.
While the original post used sarcasm to draw attention to the campaign, it also received opposing feedback from people who thought the campaign managed to do what brand activations are supposed to do – create awareness about the product and pull crowds.
Meiji is a Japanese company based in Tokyo that produces milk products, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, chocolate, whey protein, infant formulas, beauty supplements, and nutritional formulas.
The idea of using Saleem Sheikh as the focal person to attract crowds at the local food festival drew ire from many on the post. Some suggested that the level of creativity in marketing in the country had reached a saturation point, while others suggested the company had done what it wanted – attract crowds to its stall.
Another user in the comments wrote, “Even if marketing has reached so-called “plateaus” in the world and this brand chooses a traditional approach what’s wrong in that? If their desired audience is there and they’re getting attention where they need to so there’s nothing wrong. Also, i don’t get the idea of criticizing a university near “baloch colony” how can you demean an educational institute about it? I think it’s pathetic to bring your point of view across this way.”
Did Meiji pull off a successful campaign, or was this a failed attempt? Let us know in the comments.
