{"code":0,"data":[{"keyword":"SUB CATEGORY","content":"CONTEXTUAL INSIGHT","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ENTRANT COMPANY","content":"THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY GO, TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"TITLE","content":"SAVE ME","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BRAND","content":"FAMILYMART","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ADVERTISER","content":"FAMILYMART","is_link":false},{"keyword":"AGENCY","content":"THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY GO, TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVE DIRECTOR","content":"NAOHIRO TOGAWA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PRODUCTION PRODUCER","content":"YUKI OSHIMA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"DESIGNER","content":"MEGUMI SHIRAI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"COORDINATOR","content":"KYOKO HORI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BUSINESS PRODUCER","content":"YUKIKO TAKAMURA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PLANNER","content":"YUKI MATSUMOTO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PR PLANNER","content":"MOE ODAGIRI ","is_link":false},{"keyword":"DESIGN COMPANY","content":"J2 COMPLEX INC., TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CAMPAIGN SUMMARY","content":"In Japan, convenience stores offer a variety of ready-to-eat meals 24\/7. But this convenience has a cost. Nearly US$30,000 worth of food is wasted per store every year.\r\n
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Over 90% of Japanese people want to reduce food waste, but A DEEP-ROOTED SOCIAL STIGMA gets in the way. Buying discounted food can be seen as a loss of face. To break this, FamilyMart turned to a language rooted in Japanese culture: EMOJI. Since Japan invented them in 1999, emojis have filled the emotional gaps in our communication. We applied this visual power at the final point of purchase. Not as a discount label, but as A HUMAN PLEA.\r\n
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By giving a simple rice ball a face and a voice, we triggered A PROTECTIVE INSTINCT—as if it had a life. Suddenly, buying a discounted item wasn’t about saving money; it was about rescuing. PURCHASE RATES ROSE BY 5% on average, and in some stores by more than 10%. Around 3,000 tons of food waste were rescued and turned into revenue, equivalent to roughly US$37M annually at scale. With no additional operations and no added cost, a micro-nudge of just 2cm created A MASSIVE SHIFT.\r\n
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We then shared this impact beyond FamilyMart. We OPENED THE DESIGN TO THE PUBLIC, with new variations—free for anyone to use. The “Teary-eyed” nudge is changing everyday choices.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"INSIGHT","content":"In Japan, convenience stores offer a wide range of ready-to-eat meals—from sushi and noodles to sandwiches—throughout the day, making food accessible at any time. However, this convenience has a hidden cost. To keep shelves constantly full, stores prepare more food than they can always sell, resulting in nearly US$30,000 worth of food waste per store every year. What remains is discarded—often incinerated—adding carbon emissions.\r\n
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Awareness isn’t the issue. Over 90% of Japanese consumers want to reduce food waste. Yet the most common solution—discounts—often fails to convert that intention into action. A DEEP-ROOTED CULTURAL STIGMA gets in the way: buying discounted food can be perceived as a loss of face, implying you’re someone who tries to buy things cheaper. As a result, discount labels don’t motivate purchase; they can actually reinforce avoidance.\r\n
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For FamilyMart, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains with 16,000 stores, food waste is a constant dilemma. But conventional price discounts could not overcome the social and emotional barrier. The key insight was that the barrier was not rational, but emotional.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"STRATEGY","content":"The challenge was not awareness or pricing, but emotion. Discounts failed because they framed the act of purchase as saving money—triggering a loss of face and avoidance. \r\n
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Yet the EMOTIONAL INTENT ALREADY EXISTED. Over 90% of people in Japan want to reduce food waste, and many feel “mottainai”—a cultural sense of regret and responsibility—toward throwing food away. The problem was that this feeling was never activated at the shelf. \r\n
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Our strategy was to change the meaning of the discount at the final point of purchase. Instead of appealing to rational benefit, we AIMED TO ACTIVATE EMOTION—specifically, empathy. By reframing discounted food not as a cheaper choice, but as something that needed help, we sought to connect people’s existing feelings to action. The goal was to SHIFT MOTIVATION from“saving money”to“saving food.”","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVITY IDEA","content":"To bring this strategy to life, we turned to a language rooted in Japanese culture: EMOJI. Since Japan invented it in 1999, emojis have filled the emotional gaps in our communication, helping people instantly feel, rather than think.\r\n
We applied this visual power at the final point of purchase. Not as a discount label, but as a human plea.\r\n
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We chose a rice ball—Japan's everyday comfort food, familiar and emotionally close to almost everyone. By giving a simple rice ball a face and a voice, we triggered a PROTECTIVE INSTINCT—as if it had a life. Buying a discounted item no longer felt like cheap food, but something that needed help.\r\n
With a small message saying “SAVE ME,” the act of buying shifted from saving money to saving food. Embarrassment was replaced with EMPATHY—and AN URGENCY TO RESCUE.\r\n
Not a discount. A plea.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"EXECUTION","content":"FamilyMart replaced its existing discount stickers with a simple visual intervention. Instead of the usual price-focused label, an illustration of a teary-eyed rice ball was added with the message: “SAVE ME.” That was the only change. NO NEW OPERATIONS. NO ADDITIONAL COSTS.\r\n
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After proving the concept in-store, we shared this impact with retailers beyond FamilyMart. We OPENED THE DESIGN TO THE PUBLIC, free for anyone to use, enabling other retailers to adopt the same nudge. We also developed new design variations to fit different products and retail contexts—from bakeries to pastries—making the idea easy to replicate and scale.\r\n
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","is_link":false},{"keyword":"RESULT","content":"The campaign delivered five transformative results, directly tied to the creative strategy and execution.\r\n
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1) A BEHAVIORAL SHIFT at the shelf\r\n
The meaning of buying discounted food changed. It was no longer about saving money, but about rescuing. Social media was filled with posts showing purchases, with comments like “I couldn’t leave him there” and “Don’t look at me like that.” The emotional reframing converted empathy into action.\r\n
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2) Measurable SALES GROWTH and WASTE REDUCTION\r\n
Purchase rates of discounted items increased by 5% on average, with some stores seeing lifts of over 10%. Approximately 3,000 tons of food—equivalent to 1.2 Olympic-size swimming pools—were rescued and turned from incinerated waste into revenue: a clear shift from LOSS TO REVENUE.\r\n
Scaled across FamilyMart’s 16,000-store network over a year, this represents roughly US$37M in annual revenue impact.\r\n
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3) From campaign asset to SOCIAL ASSET\r\n
Opening the design to the public as free assets was widely praised. In the first week alone, the design files were downloaded over 5,000 times. From local shops to small retailers, the “Teary-eyed” nudge began spreading beyond FamilyMart—changing everyday choices in new contexts.\r\n
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4) BRAND IMPACT beyond sales\r\n
The campaign generated extensive media coverage, earning US$13M in earned media value. In Nikkei BP’s ESG Brand Survey (560 companies), FamilyMart jumped from 74th in 2024 to 16th in 2025, and ranked No. 1 for “Brand that consumers want to continue supporting”. The campaign transformed how FamilyMart’s role in society was perceived.\r\n
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5) Nothing but HUMAN INSIGHT\r\n
The campaign proved that even a 2CM MICRO-NUDGE can create a transformative shift when it is BUILT on A DEEPLY HUMAN INSIGHT. By appealing to empathy rather than price, a small design unlocked big behavioral change at scale.","is_link":false},{"keyword":"URL","content":"https:\/\/www.family.co.jp\/company\/news_releases\/2025\/20251022_01.html","is_link":true}],"files2":[{"name":"CS09_007.mp4","type":"mp4"},{"name":"CS09_007_DI01L.jpg","type":"jpg"}],"count":2}