The YKK Group is a Japanese group of manufacturing companies. The initials YKK stand for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushiki gaisha ("Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation") The company is known to the wider public internationally thanks to their branded zippers, which play an import role in the sporting goods and outdoor industries. Until now, YKK has enjoyed a quasi-monopoly, the rest of the market being divided among a multitude of Chinese companies.
YKK has a famous philosophy, Mr. Yoshida called his philosophy the Cycle of Goodness. It means that "No one prospers unless he renders benefit to others." According to his philosophy, Mr. Yoshida believed he must manufacture only useful, high-quality zippers that would benefit, or enhance, the end-use goods in which they were installed.
Objective of the campaign:
- To raise brand awareness.
- Protect the values of the brands.
- Prevent counterfeits from damaging the values of the brand.
- Quality assurance and protection of the confidence of the customers i.e. creating Brand Recognition, which will ultimately lead to increased sales and brand equity for YKK zippers.
Ideation and Exploration:
The concept was to perform re-branding of the zippers by showing the various qualities that YKK zipper holds. The qualities of the zippers were executed in comparison to animals. Qualities like endurance, longevity, loyalty, waterproof etc.
Elephant – endurance
Cheetah – speed and precision
T-Rex – longevity (since the cretaceous)
Dog – loyalty
Fish – waterproof
Bear – adaptability/ weather proof
Monkey – grip, flexibility
Panda – black/ white/ Asian
Final execution:
1. Hoarding Ad
2. Magazine double spread Ad
3. Advotorial
4. Newsprint Ad
5. Magazine Ad
6. Poster Ad
7. Newspaper Insert
8. Magazine Insert
The primary goal of this campaign was to create better awareness along with a more efficient penetration into the small to large markets. YKK has been the biggest and longest players since decades in the global market. It has been following a philosophy called "the cycle of goodness" which means no one prospers without rendering benefits to others. This thinking has become the basis of the YKK business and they have been achieving greater heights since then. Animal traits could safely be called the simplest and the most relatable concept for all kinds of audiences to comprehend and were also used to add a raw appeal to the superiority of the brand in comparison to their competitors. The animal traits used are almost literally same as the product specification illustrated viz. the elephants trunk for endurance, the cheetah for precision and so on.
