Case Study: Santy achieves 870% social footprint growth for Pocky with NetBase Quid

Netbase Social Listening Helps Santy Uncover Delicious Opportunities For Pocky

When Japanese snack brand Pocky hired ad agency Santy to expand its small, niche presence in the U.S., the challenge was to grow its social footprint, introduce the product to new audiences, and identify the right channels and competitive benchmarks in an immature market. Santy used NetBase social listening to research existing consumer attitudes and conversations to avoid assumptions and find where and how Americans were already talking about Pocky.

NetBase revealed surprising insights—Tumblr was the largest source of conversation, consumers referred to Pocky as a “candy bar” (prompting benchmarking against Kit Kat), and 11/11 Pocky Day was a prime engagement moment—so Santy adapted creative messaging, partnered with like-minded brands and influencers, and launched a large-scale Pocky Day campaign. The data-driven approach produced strong results: an 870% increase in social footprint, a 4x rise in brand conversation on Pocky Day, and a 133% increase in potential impressions.

Santy

Adam Pierno

Director of Brand Strategy and Planning