14 theSun | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2009

media & marketing

Save with
Tesco’s ‘The
Hakuhodo’s Big Freeze’
by Liew Shan Verne
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

‘sei-katsu-sha’ WHETHER you are planning to have a

quiet afternoon meal or a blazing BBQ,
everything you need to cook up a storm
is available as Tesco has launched a new
promotion called The Big Freeze which
offers fantastic deals and great savings

philosophy
by Eva Yeong
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
HAKUHODO Inc, Japan’s second largest adver-
tising agency, views AdAsia09 as an opportunity
to expand its reach to support its global business,
especially with its many partners and clients in
Asia.
“The arrival of IT changed everything in
the media environment, our relationship with
clients and media content. It would be good
to exchange information at AdAsia09 and we
look forward to taking part,” said Hakuhodo Inc
corporate public relations division executive
manager Matsuhiko Ozawa.
Established in 1895, Hakuhodo has presence
in about 17 countries and regions, with Hakuho-
do Malaysia being its first and oldest subsidi-
ary outside of Japan, said Hakuhodo Malaysia
managing director Toru Watanabe. The secret to
its success is the sei-katsu-sha philosophy which
it has held on to since the 1980s in helping its
clients connect with consumers.
According to Ozawa, sei-katsu-sha which
means “living person”, is different from the
Japanese word for consumer – shohisha – which
limits the person to the act of consuming or buy-
ing. The sei-katsu-sha insight expresses the ho-
listic person, including an individual’s lifestyle,
preferences and behaviour.
Watanabe said the sei-katsu-sha insight is very
important today especially with rapidly chang-
Watanabe (left) and Ozawa at the
venue of AdAsia09, Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre last Tuesday.
ing lifestyles and
advertising agencies
need to analyse con-
sumption patterns,
lifestyles and life
plans of its consum-
ers.
“People are not
living only for
consuming and it is
something we have
to analyse deeply,”
said Watanabe, add-
ing the sei-katsu-sha
concept has given Hakuhodo an edge over other
companies.
With the economic situation – Japan’s
advertising expenditure in 2008 fell 4.6% to
¥6,692 billion (RM251 billion) from the year
before – Ozawa said it is even more important
to stick to its philosophy to excel. Although the
economy has affected both Hakuhodo and its
clients, Ozawa said its insights will help them
help their clients and to support them.
“I believe we can recover together with our
clients,” he said.
Ozawa and a team from Tokyo were in Kuala
Lumpur to visit Kuala Lumpur Convention
Centre where AdAsia09 will be held from Oct
22 to 24 as well as to make preparations for its
presentation during the congress.
Yutaka Tezuka from its research and devel-
opment division will be presenting the topic
“Creating Engagement: New Perspectives from
sei-katsu-sha Insight”.
Hakuhodo is the Gold sponsor of AdAsia09
and has been a supporter of the congress since
it was first held in Taiwan in 2001.
on frozen products.
The promotion sees hundreds of
new and existing frozen food products
being offered at great prices. Customers
will be spoilt for choice with offers as
low as RM2 per frozen item.
“You can basically cook a meal for
your family for as low as RM2 as we
offer a great selection of frozen food
for RM2 each or at 20% discount from
the normal price,” said Tesco Malaysia
marketing director Neil Adams.
Adams said the ease in preparing a
meal with frozen food products coupled
with a great range of products to choose
from are some of the reasons that more
and more customers are opting to buy
frozen foods products.
“We have noticed an increase in
sales of our frozen food products as
more and more customers choose to
buy frozen food, so we have stepped
up our offerings to meet the demands,”
added Adams.
Adams said Tesco is focused on
working to stretch the customers’ ring-
git by offering great promotions such
as The Big Freeze and lower everyday
prices particularly during festive sea-
sons, so families have more money to
spend for the festive season and travel
back to their homes.
“The best way Tesco can help cus-
tomers is to work as hard as ever to
keep the cost of their shopping as low
as possible,” added Adams.
Among the frozen products that
Tesco offers are a good selection of
sweet & savoury pastry pieces such as
its mini Danish garlic butter pastry and
mini sardine puff which retail at RM6 for
a pack of 12.
Also available are a range of burgers,
murtabak, fish balls, Ayamas chicken
nuggets, assorted Tesco Choice pizzas
with flavours like sambal ikan bilis and a
selection popsicles or ais krim potong.

Joining hands to fight child trafficking

by Liew Shan Verne
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

THE BODY Shop has released

a Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand
Cream campaign to raise funds
that will be used to combat the
proliferation of child trafficking.
Retailing at RM39.90 each,
RM30 will be forwarded to
non-governmental organisa-
tions (NGOs) such as Ecpat
International, Tenaganita, Nur
Salam and Protect and Save The
Children (P.S. The Children).
NGOs have the skills, knowl-
edge and expertise to work with
the issue, while corporations
can fund their efforts, explained
The Body Shop managing direc-
tor Datin Mina Cheah-Foong at
a media forum titled “Stop Sex
Trafficking of Children & Young
People” recently.
Malaysia faces several cases
of child trafficking every year,
but has convicted only one
individual for the crime since
it adopted the UN Convention
of the Rights of Children (CRC)
with reservations in 1995.
A 2009 joint-report by Body
Shop and Ecpat International,
titled “The Protection is in Our
Hands”, found that of all traf-
ficked individuals, 86% were
below 18 years of age while 79%
were eventually moved into the
(From left) Tenaganita coordinator Aegile Fernandez,
Foong, Ecpat regional officer Kritsana Pimonsaengsuriya,
Nur Salam general manager Dr Hartini Zainuddin and
P.S. The Children training and education director Noreen
Preusser at the launch on Aug 20.
sex industry for pornography or have been recovered from traf-
prostitution. ficking or the sex trade.
The Soft Hands Kind Heart The cream is sold at Body
Cream is part of the The Body Shop stores worldwide to ad-
Shop’s Stop Sex Trafficking of dress the UN’s estimated 1.2
Children & Young People cam- million children trafficked each
paign, organised with Tenagan- year, and will be attached with
ita, Nur Salam, P.S. The Children an information booklet to raise
and Ecpat International. awareness on the issue.
The campaign seeks to ad- “If people can find it in
dress child trafficking by raising their hearts to join us in this
preventive awareness among campaign we can bring hope
at-risk communities, legislating to this generation of vulnerable
legal frameworks to protect children and young people, and
exploited children, and funding make a difference through posi-
rehabilitation for children who tive change,” added Foong.