"Character × Technology" improves every customer touchpoint!

Are you using that character effectively?

Today's marketing isn't just about selling products or services; it's the era of the " dual funnel," built on long-term communication with users.

Managing increasingly complex communications within this dual funnel requires vast resources, leaving every company grappling with balancing efficiency and quality. This is where "Character × Technology" becomes an effective solution.

Dentsu Inc. has released its " Character CX Solution," which creates high-quality customer experiences (CX) by combining characters with technology.

What are the strengths of characters in CX design? What challenges does integrating technology solve? Members of Dentsu Inc.'s Character CX Solution team discuss its appeal.

<Table of Contents>
▼"Our character should be able to do more..."

▼Technology is ultimately a "booster" that generates love and warmth

▼An era where the "meaning of creating characters" is rigorously questioned

▼In the metaverse, characters leap out without any action!?

"My character should be able to shine more..."

From awareness to loyal customer conversion, the dual funnel contains various customer touchpoints (contact points). The "Character × CX" initiative streamlines the CX at these points, creates a unified feel, and enhances the quality of the CX itself.

Itonori: Modern marketing is shifting toward the "dual funnel" concept, which focuses on maintaining long-term communication with users. Within this framework, determining the optimal CX for each customer touchpoint is a common challenge for many companies.

As an art director, I've created characters like "Ponta," "Nanana," and "Kimezo." I believe the combination of "Character × Technology" can be highly effective in designing CX within this dual funnel. That's why our team launched Character CX about six months ago. First, please introduce yourselves and share the feedback you've received on Character CX over these past six months.

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Shimokura: I'll start. Since joining the company, I've been assigned to creative roles, working as a copywriter and CM planner. For Character CX, I'm primarily involved in planning the overall strategy as a communication planner, while also tackling individual project planning.

Currently, Character CX Solutions is receiving far more inquiries than anticipated. We get requests from within the Dentsu Group, direct inquiries from clients, and significant interest from overseas. The variety of consultations is broad, reaffirming the strong global demand for character utilization.

Tashiro: I usually work as a copywriter and communication planner. I also have experience in data analysis, so I handle creative analysis work. At Character CX, I'm involved in client project planning, development, and data analysis. I also frequently act as a project manager for creating character strategy packages usable in SNS initiatives.

Regarding the response, I was surprised by how many people struggle with character utilization. Traditional character usage often centered around the artist, making it somewhat dependent on individual skills. Now, with this "team" providing multidimensional support, I feel it's become easier for those facing challenges to seek advice.

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Axe: I currently work as a Creative Technologist at Dentsu Lab Tokyo, a division leveraging technology and experiential creativity. I plan technology-driven experiences and sometimes implement them myself. For the Character CX Solution, our mission is to use technology to create unprecedented character deployments and customer touchpoints.

Tashiro: Mr. Ono is the heart of Character CX, handling the "technology" side of Character × Technology.

Axe: Oh, no, no... I'll do my best (laughs). Regarding the response, I've received a lot of positive feedback from both inside and outside the company saying, "You're doing some interesting things," which makes me really happy.

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Kirimoto: My usual role is as a Digital Creative Planner, designing landing pages and banners, and managing the PDCA cycle for digital ads. For Character CX Solutions, I work as an Art Director designing characters and planning new ways to utilize companies' existing characters. I've always loved characters; back in university, I even made my own animations. When I joined the company in 2021, I mentioned in my self-introduction that I "wanted to create characters," which led to me joining this team.

Regarding feedback, many clients express, "We have popular characters designed by renowned artists, but we're not leveraging them effectively." While I enjoy visualizing cute characters, I realized that for companies, the crucial part is "how to operate them." I'm still learning that "how to make them work." Internally, since people now know about this team, I get more requests like, "We want our brand personified."

Itonori: Exactly. Releasing this announcement really boosted our internal recognition. We've collaborated with teams like " Character Talker " and " Kiku-Hana" before, but by positioning our Character CX Solution within Dentsu Inc.'s diverse technology solution outputs, we're now getting requests for technology solutions sparked by our characters. Conversely, we also get work from the technology solutions side, creating great synergy.

By integrating Dentsu Inc.'s unique technology solutions—like "Character Talker," which enables lively, real-time communication matching human speech and expressions, and "Kiku-Hana," an AI chatbot engine excelling in natural language processing—with characters, we can deliver high-quality CX.

Shimokura: As Mr. Tashiro mentioned earlier, the key factor was establishing a "team" structure to handle characters. We have Mr. Itonori and Mr. Kirimoto, who excel at character design; Mr. Tashiro, skilled in digital planning; Mr. Ono, capable of handling technology from planning to implementation; and myself, with expertise in sports and entertainment. Our strength lies in being a diverse group with distinct specialties, functioning as one cohesive team.

Itonori: Hearing everyone speak, it's clear there's a strong demand to leverage characters effectively. Specifically, I believe this means utilizing characters within the "CX design at each touchpoint of the dual funnel."

Tashiro: Many clients see potential in their characters not just for the "awareness" or "purchase" phases, but also for building relationships with users afterward.

Shimokura: Companies genuinely love their own characters, and they feel that consumers love them too. That's precisely why there's such a strong expectation: "Our character should be able to do so much more."

Itonori: Listening to various companies' concerns, I realized they're seeking "the right way to use characters and a clear path for their deployment." Using characters haphazardly leads to inconsistent communication across media channels, lacking coherence, or even doing unnecessary things. Experience consistency is a challenge in the dual-funnel era even without considering characters; companies seem to be struggling with increasingly complex user communication.

Tashiro: So with Character CX, Dentsu Inc. leverages its strength in providing "end-to-end support from upstream to downstream" to deliver consistent experiences.

Technology is ultimately a "booster" that generates love and warmth.

Shimokura: In today's era, using technology greatly expands the possibilities for character utilization. Axe, as a creative technologist, where do you think the key points for leveraging technology lie?

Axe: In my view, it's not necessarily about using cutting-edge technology. Even if it's outdated tech, the key is using it to "move people's emotions."

Shimokura: So it's not about technology being the starting point.

Axe: Exactly. I constantly ask myself: "How can we give technology warmth?" and "What kind of technology fosters human connections?" I believe it's crucial for technology to function as a booster that generates "love" and "warmth" for characters from both companies and users.

Shimokura: Interesting. The word "technology" can feel a bit cold, but you're saying it exists to amplify those "human-like aspects" like love and warmth.

Itonori: That's right. Both Charatalker and the AI chatbot using Kiku-Hana use technology to give characters a human touch. By the way, while it's true that technology can bring characters to life, there's also the reverse aspect: "characters bringing new possibilities to existing technology." For example, digital signage has been somewhat stagnant these past two years due to the pandemic. But by combining it with characters or other technologies, we can pioneer interesting new applications.

Related Article:
Characters Talk to You in Real Time on Outdoor Large-Scale Displays! What's the Appeal?
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Axe: That's the experiment using Dentsu Inc.'s "Charatoaker," where the "Ponta" character displayed on digital signage addresses passersby and communicates in real time. We offer this as "Charatoaker LIVE" within our Character CX Solutions. It's an example of how combining technology with existing media allows clients who already have characters to create new communication touchpoints as customer engagement opportunities.

Tashiro: So, this could also be a breakthrough for companies thinking, "We have interesting technology, but we don't know how to use it or communicate its appeal." Using characters to convey that technology could be the solution.

Shimokura: It's about helping new technology debut in the world in a relatable form. Whether it's "we have a character but aren't using it effectively" or "we have technology but aren't leveraging it well," Character CX can offer various ideas for both scenarios.

An era where the "significance of creating characters" is rigorously questioned

Tashiro: While we're discussing using characters to spread current technology, Character CX Solutions handles not only utilizing existing characters but also creating new ones. Yes, since we're a character team, we also created the "Character CX Solution Character." It's called "Kusutto-chan." Mr. Kirimoto designed it for us.

Kusutto-chan

Itonori: Shall I share how Kusutto-chan came to be?

Kirimoto: The name "Kusutto-chan" comes from the sound of "CX" – we wanted a name that evokes a chuckle, creating smiles and warmth (laughs). With this image in mind, we explored several design directions. The direction using "C" and "X" motifs was chosen. From there, we incorporated the team's feedback to adjust the face, proportions, color palette, and more. Finally, Itonori-san refined it to completion.

Tashiro: Seeing the development process laid out like this, it's interesting how much the appearance changed from the initial concept (laughs). It's the same when we develop characters for clients. We design considering not just whether they'll be endearing, but also factors like "ease of movement when 3D-modeled" and "usability," thinking through all potential customer touchpoints.

Shimokura: Character creation methods have changed recently, haven't they? Since we want them used across various customer touchpoints, we often design them from the start with SNS usage in mind, or deliberately avoid fixing voice actors to specific people.

Kirimoto: Exactly. The "purpose of creating a character" is being rigorously questioned too. No matter how cute they look, do they genuinely create a good experience? We have to justify whether we need to create them right now.

Tashiro: Exactly. Characters aren't just for big campaigns; they're also effective for driving immediate conversions and profits. We have data showing that placing a character on a banner significantly boosts metrics. While there's accumulated, non-quantifiable knowledge about what kind of character suits which brand, it would be great to also validate the purpose of creating them through data.

In the metaverse, characters might just pop out without any action!?

Shimokura: Axe, our technology lead, how do you see the potential of "Technology × Characters" expanding in the future? For example, the metaverse is a hot topic lately. Companies are surely considering how to handle CX within the metaverse.

Ono: While the metaverse still has many challenges, major companies both domestically and internationally are intensely focused on developing "MR glasses" (headset devices providing virtual reality or augmented reality like VR/AR). I believe it will establish itself on a significant scale.

For instance, imagine walking around town wearing MR glasses and having characters appear to greet you the moment you see a product or ad. While AR already lets characters appear when you point your smartphone at something, the big difference is achieving that world without needing any action—no smartphone operation required. I also think MR glasses themselves will become less bulky and cumbersome, unlike VR goggles.

Tashiro: Thinking about it this way, so many ideas come to mind. For our Character CX Solution, we plan to collaborate with XRX STUDIO to offer it as "Character VR." Going forward, I believe every company will be judged on their content capabilities—specifically, "What will they put in the metaverse?" This is one area our team is eager to challenge ourselves in.

Beyond that, we want to create packages that make it easy to implement optimal character utilization on various social platforms already deeply integrated into daily life, like Twitter and LINE.

Itonori: Many companies already have appealing characters. Often, simply creating the "right media funnel" for them can solve problems. Then there's the "data" aspect Kirimoto and Tashiro mentioned earlier. It's easy to focus on engagement metrics like affection when a character is cute, but it's equally important to verify how that contributes to products or services.

Kirimoto: Since I handle PDCA for landing pages, I want characters to directly contribute to the numbers. Modern digital ads aren't just about simple targeting; they're becoming more precise at delivering the optimal ad to each individual. By combining that with the strengths of characters, I believe we can achieve visible, measurable improvements.

Axe: That's great! This ties into what I want to achieve with technology. I think a character's strength is giving products and services a "human touch." Take stock charts or financial products from banks and securities firms—they often feel impersonal. If we can translate that impersonality into a character's warmth, it could make them feel more approachable to a wider audience.

Kirimoto: Characters also resonate well with younger audiences. Using them for products and services like finance or insurance, which can be hard for young people to relate to, opens up possibilities. For instance, just pairing an AI chatbot with a character can significantly lower the barrier to entry.

Shimokura: Absolutely. Using characters for complex products targeting younger audiences seems like a powerful tool.

Characters have often been used as pinpoint, sharp initiatives, but I believe they can actually be integrated across all customer touchpoints. Of course, we'll continue traditional character usage, like pinpoint initiatives, but we also want to challenge ourselves with larger campaigns and initiatives as a team. If you have any challenges or ideas regarding character utilization, please feel free to contact us.

Contact us about Character CX Solutions

Dentsu Inc. Customer Experience Creative Center
　　　　　　　　Itonori, Shimokura
　　　Email: charactercxsolution@dentsu.co.jp

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