Uniqlo is a clothing store chain from Japan that was promoting the opening of their store in San Francisco. To do this, Uniqlo created an online game featuring a youtube-famous fat cat named Maru. Maru is loved by both San Franciscans and Japanese, so they chose him as a sort of spokesman. San Franciscans could go online, click on a box and watch Maru jump in it. If you picked a winning box, you could receive a free Uniqlo jacket or even ride in the Uniqlo blimp.

The target audience for this is young, mostly females but also males in their teens or early 20’s. Basically a demographic interested in trendy clothing and also up on viral youtube videos.

The story they are telling is that they are a fun and current company, interested in reaching out to their new customers in a different way.

The emotion they are conveying is definitely more lighthearted and fun-loving. Also, a little quirky and accessible.

Using a cute cat, Maru, is a sure-fire way to connect emotionally to their younger youtube loving audience with this game. It shows they are interested in their customers and willing to thing outside the box (pun intended) to engage with their audience.