Japan Product Launch for a Global Petroleum Company

When one of the world’s leading petroleum companies wanted to reenter the Japanese market with an iconic American branded line of motor oil, they selected Custom Media after a competitive bidding process.

To establish a solid foundation at the beginning of the project, we conducted market research, determined the target audience for the products, and created a brand identity that would appeal to this target audience.

This began by crafting a compelling story that evoked values that were central to the brand’s image, such as independence, innovation, and free thinking. This narrative informed all the work that would follow—from the tagline and the look of the products’ website to magazine ads and social media posts. This brand story was instrumental in helping the products stand out from the competition in Japan.

In executing our strategy, we followed a B2B2C model, which hinged on the successful brand story that we were able to create for the products. We helped the client connect with Amazon Japan as their key ecommerce partner, and then later when they were picked up by one of the country’s top auto supply chains, we provided marketing assets and promotions that boosted this activity.  

We created all the products’ branding assets, including logo treatments, and supervised the translation of the Japanese for the motor oil’s product packaging. For the website, we created bilingual content that both appealed to website visitors’ emotions and explained the advantages of the products’ features. Once the content was created, we developed an eye-catching website that combined aesthetics and technical rigor.

To help spread the word about the product line, we negotiated PR and editorial coverage in leading car goods magazines, and designed a captivating series of print ads that ran in these magazines. We also set up social media profiles to share the brand’s story, gain awareness, and engage fans and customers.

For retail operations, we worked with Amazon Japan to launch a brand store page and product pages and managed all the content and the brand’s storefront on Amazon Japan. We also set up a call center that customers could contact when they had questions.

We were about to achieve all of this—from brand story to Amazon launch—in a tight, three-month timeline.

After launch, we created a series of novelties—everything from frisbees and T-shirts to air fresheners and leisure sheets—which we used as prizes that were given away through campaigns on social media. We later moved on to an integrated promotion strategy stage that included event sponsorships, online campaigns, and media solutions, as the product began to be stocked by one of Japan’s leading auto supply stores. 

Throughout our work with the company, we worked seamlessly with their global and local teams in the US, the UK, and Japan. Bringing together storytelling prowess, stunning graphic design, and website development acumen, we helped make the launch and later brand performance a resounding success.