Contents taken from Today Newspaper 9th July
2007 (Summarized Key-Points)
Mr Johnson Tan - The Man behind "Anything" and "Whatever"
Education Level : Didn't complete his Primary School
Education
Passed Business Venture (Experience) : Digital-Enhancement Firm -
Flop
Additional Information:
Just three days after the advertising campaign was launched last
month, vandals destroyed the display and stole the aluminum cans
that decorated them, resulting in losses of $50,000.
How he came up with this unique concept
During big gatherings at home, there was always a common reply when
he asked his guest what they would like to drink and their reply
were expected : "Anything if not Whatever"
The same questions were asked over and over again, thus he came up
with this unique concept even though after discussion with his
friends, his concept was being laughed at and his friends didn't
believe him neither.
What makes you certain that customers will pay for a drink,
not knowing what flavor they are getting? What if they don't like
the taste?
1st: Arouse the curiosity pushes people to buy and try.
He having seen watched a news bulletin about how a shopping centre
in Japan conducts this annual special where they pack a lot of
stuff into a bag and customers just pay a specific amount without
knowing what is inside.
2nd: Do market research on people's preferences of
soft-drinks.
Singaporeans are known to rave about new products, but when
the fads die down, many shops hocking those goods struggle to make
ends meet. How will you ensure that your beverages do not lose
their novelty?
It depends on how you create your brand name.
We will probably work more on developing the brand instead. What we
are doing is a concept drink, and this is an idea that no one has
though of.
We ill not be complacent and keep it that way, however. We are
doing research ans will make some adjustments to the taste to cater
to more customers.
Let's talk about the advertising campaign that had to be
pulled due to vandals and thieves. Do you see it as a costly
venture that went wrong, or was the publicity garnered worth
it?
Believe it or not, within a few hours of the campaign launch, most
of the cans were either dented or hand their flaps opened, and some
displays were even completely gone!
As the situation worsened over the net two days, we gave up and
decided to pull the displays.
Even today, I'm still not sure if it's more positive or negative
for us but based on the first month sales, we sold 3.5 million cans
of drinks surpassing our initial target of 2.4 million.
Were there any concerns of criticism when the idea for such
drinks was first bandied about?
There were many people who tried to talk me out of doing it because
they thought it would not be easy for me to penetrate the soft
drink market, which is dominated by the "big boys".
I had no prior experience in beverages, but once I set my mind on
doing something, I never look back. If I believe I can work
something out, and that it could be a success, I will go all
out.
The most important thing is never say die.
