Midori Brandbook Criação: Apo Bordin, Sydel Sakuma e Vicky Chang

1. MIDORI
A Little Brand Book by Apo Bordin
Sydel Sakuma
Vicky Chang

2. What is the business context in which the brand is operating?
Few people have heard of the green, melon-flavored liqueur. Less have actually had it and some
CONTENTS don’t even know if they’ve had it in a green drink. If people have tried it, they have a very narrow
perception of what Midori is and how it can be drank. Basically, this leaves us with a night-time or
themed party-type drink and a very limited amount of consumers.
Creative Brief
Objectives What can advertising do?
Change misconceptions and give Midori a different time, place, and experience to be associated
Problems with. No longer will it be thought of as girly, too sweet, or just as the ‘Midori Sour’.
Research Methodologies Who is the audience?
The Worker Bee- Social Butterfly
Summery of Research Their equation to life: Monday through Friday=Work, Weekend=Fun time with friends!
Their social circle: Find them hanging out with a close group of friends, but also finds that ‘the more
Best Interview Quotes the merrier’.
What they want: To have as many good times with friends as possible and create ‘those’
Target
memories that are talked about for years.
What stresses them out: Knowing the have to start the week all over again tomorrow.
Target Archetype
Meet up with them: A few relaxing drinks at Happy hour during the week after work with co-workers
Target Archetype Images or friends or restaurants, clubs, and brunch with buddies during the weekend.
Want to laugh with them? Check their texts the day after a party.
Insight
Brand Value
Brand Image (Mood Board)
CREATIVE BRIEF
Big Idea Apo bordin
Sydel Sakuma
Personality & Tone Vicky Chang
Solution
2010 Marketing Initiatives

3. What are the most insightful things we know about them?
They try to balance social time with work time, the two main things always high on their to-do
list. Times with friends are important because they directly relate it to how much fun they will OBJECTIVES
have. These interactions with others are key to their social existence and meeting up, hanging
out, or partying it up is definitely worth celebrating over. Same is true for the happy hour, the
Sunday brunch, or the going out on a Saturday night, as well as any other moments where their
groups of friends get together for some socializing and drinks.
What do we need to communicate? - Re-brand to change consumer perceptions
Midori is the taste of everyday celebrations.
- Reposition to have a wider range of clientele
Why do people believe it?
- Introduce/Re-introduce to potential drinkers as a social, not just ‘night-time’ drink
These people have many reasons for raising a glass in ‘cheers’ everyday, essentially, everything
and anything has the potential to be a celebration. So, besides just embodying a celebratory
and festive personality without being over zealous or fake, the feeling should be a genuinely
welcoming and casual tone, just like friends talking to one another. Build a brand that can
people can relate to in their everyday lives; the ups, the downs, and the everyday ‘cheers’.

4. Low brand recognition: Few people have heard of the green, melon flavored liquor. Less have
actually had it or know if they have had it.
Narrow perceptions: If they have, they mostly think of ‘Midori sours’, obscure specialty shots,
girly sorority sisters, or sugar-induced headaches. Basically, night-time, party-type drinks.
All of this leads to a limited amount of consumers.
PROBLEMS
- Online survey
RESEARCH - Man on the street in different neighborhoods: Near col-
METHODOLOGIES
leges, Downtown, Financial District, Pacific Heights.
- Yelp online questionnaire
- Facebook online questionnaire
- One on one interviews with bartenders, waiter/ess, bar
owners: Harry’s Bar, Ace Wasabi, Fishbowl, Tonic
- One on one with the target consumer: 9 professionals
- Focus group: 6 people, 3 students, 3 professionals
- Ideal Drink Drawing exercise
- Alcohol Grouping Card exercise

5. Best Interview Quotes
Why do you drink? Or like most about drinking?
“It is a social lubricant” Bethany B.
“Get loose, relaxing, fun after the week” David F.
“Catching up, relaxing, talking with friends” Rachel S.
“Letting loose and having fun, dancing, making bad choices and learning from them” Ashley W.
“How social it is” Yvannia P.
When would you drink a light, vibrant, refreshing drink?
“Weekend brunch, early afternoon” Scott D.
“Happy hour or first drink of the night” Susanne S.
“Good at any time of day” Marissa B.
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH “With friends in happy hour, try something new” Rachel S.
“You could drink it all the time” Waioli S.
Why and when these people drink “With food and friends’ Scott D.
- Drink to let loose: At night, clubs, bars, weekends
- Drink to end the day: Happy hour, night time, weekdays, Fridays What about specialty drink menus or talking with bartenders?
- Drink to do something with friends: Happy hour, brunch, lunch, dinner, late night, “I always try things off the specialty menu” Rachel S.
weekends, any free time “I sometimes try new ones if friends or bartenders suggest ones for me” David F.
- Drink because it’s the weekend: Not working is enough reason to go out, celebrate “I will ask bartender about specialty drinks” Scott D.
because it’s free time, time to relax or have fun “Sometimes I’ll try the one the bartender is pushing” Bethany B.
- Drink to do what everyone else is doing: Anytime, with co-workers, friends, acquain-
tances, etc. Do you talk about your experiences after?
- Drink to celebrate: Special occasions, any time during the weekends, afternoon or “OF COURSE!” Yvannia P.
night on weekdays, the day being done, just going out, seeing friends “It’s not so much about the drinking anymore but more so about the experience” Vien T.
“Yep, the day after. That’s what its all about” David F.

6. Target
The Worker Bee- Social Butterfly
Their equation to life: Work Monday through Friday = Weekend is fun time with friends! Because
five days a week they are just trying to make it through the day or to TGIF. The weekend is the time
to grab life by the balls and spend some quality fun time with people who enjoy the same things:
laughing, great conversations, good food, and great drinks.
Their social circle: Find them hanging out with close group of friends, but thinks ‘the more the mer-
rier’. They are the instigator of holiday get-toegthers and organize the mustache-themed parties.
They make friends wherever they go, find them chatting up the bartender about a drink or discuss-
ing dog breeds down in Chrissy Fields, they are open to new things, new friends, are generally curi-
ous and adventurous.
What they want: Have as many good times with friends as possible, so good that it becomes ‘one
of those’ memories. The ones that start out ‘hey, remember the time…’ are talked about for years
to come, and every time you go to the place it happened, you instantly remember what happened
there. ‘Those’ memories.
Professionals
What stresses them out: Knowing the have to start the cycle all over again tomorrow. Sunday nights
meant that they have to wait another 5 days before Friday comes around again. And the opposite
sex, of course, is the all time stress winner.
Want to meet up with them? A few relaxing drinks at Happy hour during the week after work with
- Drink at happy hours to relax from the day
co-workers or friends; restaurants, clubs, and brunch with buddies during the weekend. But no mat-
- Mostly everything from beer, to wine, to cocktails and mixed drinks, never shots
- Meet with friends or co-workers ter where they are or who they are with, every occasion deserves a good celebratory ‘cheers’ before
- Drink on the weekend simply because not having to be at work is enough of an excuse for a celebration they partake.
- They will go out with friends on Friday and/or Saturday, but usually go for brunch or lunch drinks while they eat,
because they can go home early due to work the next day Want to LOL with them? Check their texts the day after a party, the pictures tagged on Facebook
- Sometimes have a beer or glass of wine at home, by themselves with dinner to relax and loosen up after the day (before they un-tag them) from the bbq last weekend, or just listen to them talking about the most
- Drinking is more of a routine thing, they usually order the same drinks per time of day or type of place, or will drink some-
recent adventures or war-stories with their friends and co-workers. Re-telling and/ piecing together
thing similar (in strength and status) to their group.
those stories are almost as fun as the actual time itself.
- Color doesn’t matter to either gender
- Taste matters more to females than males
- Seem to be more wine and beer drinkers than mixed cocktails
- More likely to go out to breakfast/brunch/lunch for drinks than others

7. Young Professional in SF
TARGET ARCHETYPE
Lindsay is a 28 year-old professional living in San Francisco. In her free time, she loves to
listen to her iPod, shop online, and of course, hang out with friends. Because of her job,
she does not party during the week too often; however, she does enjoy the relaxing happy
hours she attends with his coworkers. She loves the fact that at a bar, nobody has titles.
She finds that, in those moments, a light drink really helps her decompress from a stressful
day. It’s a perfect excuse to kick back, loosen up, and get to know the other members of the
company better. She most likely asks for suggestions on drinks, try what someone else is
getting, or she’ll check the menu to see the specials of the day and of the bar.
Despite not going to clubs very often, if a good DJ or a particular event is in town, Lind-
say will make sure to be there. That’s when she calls, plans, and organizes “the group” with
friends. She’ll make sure that the night will be ‘epic’, so the “Reserved for Lindsay +8” sign
and a bottle of Vodka will be ready and waiting for them at the table once they get there.
She’s gonna celebrate the night with an initial toast and from then on it will be a blur of fun.
The day after she’ll look at the drunk texts and off-the-wall questions received from friends,
she will laugh even harder when she checks her sent texts! Lindsay will make sure to check
her Facebook page to make sure no compromising pictures have been tagged, luckily most
are of the night’s toast.
Even the next morning, she can’t stop laughing when she thinks about friends getting a lit-
tle too enthusiastic on the dance floor. She’ll relax all day, even though it will be a short one,
but she’ll try to gather a few people for a sunny brunch to laugh over the last night. And
to help recover from it, some light, fresh drinks and some breakfast will set them straight.
Sunday will be soon over, and the day after she’ll be back in the office, with her “entry” title,
again, and then she’ll be waiting for as the clock ticks closer to 5:30, looking forward to
Monday’s happy hour.

8. TARGET ARCHETYPE IMAGES
INSIGHT
Getting to know our target, we realized that to them, hanging out with friends is directly
related to a good time, whether its relaxing, having fun, or letting their hair down. They are
busy people, so any time with company is a time worth celebrating.
We wanted to own a notch and space on their drinking time line. They shoot tequila when
you want to take the party from 0 to 60, a martini to feel sophisticated and classy, and beer
is always a favorite at ball games. So thanks to our research we saw a potential position for
Midori in drinking occasions that weren’t already defined by competitors.

9. BRAND IMAGE: MOOD BOARD
BRAND VALUE
Midori, developed by Suntory, was launched in the United States in 1978. And what better way
to say “I’ve arrived!” than with a party at Studio 54 (the world famous nightclub).
By reading this we first thought it could have been a great point to start off with our strategy;
however, we soon realized that such a fact was not a resonant memory for the most of our
demographic. With its closure in 1986, Studio 54 could only leave a culture value to those who
lived it, but not for the following generations.
We then focused on characteristics of the drink itself, such as its vibrant color, the fresh appear-
ance, and the light personality.

10. BIG IDEA
PERSONALITY & TONE
Thanks to our research, and the creation of our archetypes, we defined the new brand positioning
and developed the big idea:
Midori is the taste of everyday celebrations.
The personality should embody a celebratory and festive quality without being over
Who says we can only celebrate new years, engagements, and at black tie events? And it doesn’t
zealous or fake. And the feeling should be a genuinely welcoming with a tone casual, like
necessarily need to be with champagne to make it festive. We should be able to commemorate and
friends talking to one another.
enjoy all the times and occasions we want. It could be as daily as getting off work, a relaxing Satur-
day morning, or knowing that what the night has in store for you is good; whatever, as long as they
are celebrating with Midori, it still means its all worthy of a triumphant ‘cheers’.
You decide what’s worth celebrating.

11. SOLUTION MARKETING INITIATIVES FOR 2010
Social Marketing:
- Create events and e-vites on social communities for promotions and events
Our research has led us to realize:
- A place to post new recipes, mixes, photos, videos, and experiences with Midori
- A light, refreshing drink has high drinkability potential in many different times and situations
- Contestants can upload pictures or videos drinking Midori to potentially be in one of their
- These people want to escape and create good times
next advertisement
- People love a reason to ‘celebrate’ and be social
- All of this leads us to enjoying, soaking up, and commemorating the these times
Sponsored events:
- Gallery/restaurant events: royalt.com
So, let’s take advantage of what our target is already feeling.
- Midori nights at supper clubs, everyone who wears green gets in free, and all Midori drinks
are on special
- They have many reasons to celebrate: getting off work, TGIF, it’s a Saturday afternoon, or its Sun-
- Cosponsor events with Skyy Spirits
day morning and they are re-hashing what happened the night before.
- Sponsor flights promoting select Midori drinks according to destination
- It doesn’t have to be birthdays, weddings, or a promotion to celebrate. More often than not,
there are un-expected or smaller things in life that need celebrating just as much as milestones
Promotions:
do.
- Special codes are given to Midori drink orders to play next song on jukebox or DJ playlist
- 1 free bottle a month to participating bars/lounges/clubs that put this drink on their spe-
We decided to follow an approach that will allow Midori to gain such primary moments in our
cialty cocktail menu
targets social experiences. Early or opening drinks have previously been undefined by alcohol
- Midori+Champagne bottomless brunch specials
brands. These spaces are the gaps we want to fill in. Decompressing from a long day, trying to
- Restaurants to offer the weekly featured complimentary drink to customers before their meal
loosen up, or starting the festivities early with a drink, we want our target to see Midori as the
- Bottle/table service comes with free round of Midori+Champagne
drink to celebrate the special little moments that still make a big difference in their everyday lives.
- Specialty Midori ‘house drinks’ for charity events at clubs/lounges/bars

12. Cheers!!
Vicky Apo Sydel