The first selection meeting was held in February. On February 19, JR Tokai released the music video (full version) for the “Meet me, and we will change today.” campaign music video (full version) was released. Both the music video and the 30-second TV commercial feature a scene in which a passenger tries to eat ice cream in the train, but the ice cream is too hard and the spoon bounces back. The following day, February 20, the first “ice cream new product selection meeting” was held at JRCP headquarters. The meeting consisted of a “meeting of the parties concerned and explanation of the selection meeting,” “tasting of ice cream flavors,” “selection of packaging and package,” and “exchange of opinions. The participants were three Shinkansen attendants from JRESC (two from Tokyo and one from Sendai), three Shinkansen pursers from JRCP (one from Tokyo and two from Osaka). And a person from Tokyo Meiraku, which is in charge of ice cream production. Prior to this, the selection of candidate flavors was narrowed down, taking into consideration the availability of raw materials and other factors. In other words, at the time of the first selection meeting, the decision to use “Zunda” had already been made. However, that was not the only reason to launch the product.
Packaging and related goods were also considered. At the first selection meeting, three package proposals were presented. It is natural that the general requirements are “to give the buyer an image of what is inside at a glance” and “to appeal to the buyer. However, the Shinkansen train is used in a unique and unprecedented way, where people take pictures with a spoon on the ice cream and post them on social networking sites. What kind of packaging would “look good” in such an environment? What kind of package would “look good” in such an environment? The second of the three proposals, an illustrated version, was well received, and the decision was made to use it as the base. From there, several new proposals were made, and after the second selection meeting, the final decision was made. At the second selection meeting, sales talk and related goods were also discussed. The participants were from the front lines of sales, and it was evident that they were enthusiastic in their discussions. Zunda is well-known in the Tohoku region, but not so much in the Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka areas. The other side of the coin is that it is a novelty, and there was some discussion about the differences in regional characteristics. For people in the Tohoku region, “Zunda-dashi” would be understood, but for people in other regions, is it possible to explain from “This is edamame paste (……),” or is that enough to convey the texture and characteristics of the product? Some also suggested that we should try to promote the fact that this is the first time that JR East and JR Tokai have teamed up. In the field of in-train sales, ice cream is not always purchased as a stand-alone item, but is often paired with a beverage. On the Tokaido Shinkansen, coffee is the top-selling beverage. This raises the question, “Would this ice cream flavor go well with coffee? The first selection committee actually selected the best ice cream flavor for the first round. In fact, at the first selection meeting, after tasting the ice cream, some participants said, “I wonder if this flavor would go better with tea. In fact, at the first selection meeting, some people said, “I wonder if tea would go better with this flavor. Then, what about spoons to be developed as related goods? In fact, there is another restriction. The colors of the spoons themselves can be changed, but the colors of the vehicle and logo are restricted due to the manufacturing process. The staff members in charge of the project were determined to come up with an attractive design in the face of these restrictions. There was also a lively exchange of opinions regarding the sales of the spoons. For example, “Since this is a collaboration between JR East and JR Tokai, why don’t we cross-sell the spoons to each other? Another commented, “It would be better to sell single items so that customers do not have to carry more baggage. After covering the two selection meetings, I was struck by how much consideration goes into the development of a single product before it is launched. This is probably obvious to those who are actually involved in the business of manufacturers in various fields, but from an outsider’s point of view, it was a fresh surprise.
© Source travel watch
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