Asian Consumer Intellegence

Nissan will add noise to its new electric car, the Leaf, to make it sound like cars in the cult movie Blade Runner. The sound makes the cars safer, so pedestrians can hear them coming, but will also act as a powerful marketing too, making the vehicles instantly recognizable, even if they are out of sight. i.e “That sounds like a socially responsible, trend-forward driver!”
[pinktext IDEA POTENTIAL:] Nissan has taken what was a dull safety problem and turned it into a fascinating opportunity to brand the leaf as a futuristic vehicle that will garner interest from anyone it passes. A true lesson in sensory marketing.
Nissan Leaf, due for release in Japan/US/Europe in 2010. http://www.nissan-zeroemission.com

In time for Valentine’s Day, Japanese wine maker Mercian has released a new sparkling wine in its “Cafe de Paris” series, which a chocolate flavor complemented by a slight caramel nuance.
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Asahi has released a new green tea chu-hai drink, made from a blend of three types of green tea and containing 5% alcohol by volume.
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Suntory has released Calorie Chu-Hai, a chu-hai flavored by mandarins from Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and with 50% less calories than the average of other Suntory fruit juice based chu-hai drinks.
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As consumers make decisions based on heightened concerns over health, “zero” products, boasting “zero carbs,” “zero calories,” “zero sugar,” were a hit in 2008.
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Today Kirin releases to limited edition packages for its Kirin Lager brand, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary.
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Suntory will release two new limited edition canned cocktails on November 25 in their “Ginza Cocktail” line of canned sparkling cocktails.
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