SAMURAI IN MANCHESTER

TitleSAMURAI IN MANCHESTER
BrandNISSIN FOODS
Product / ServiceNISSIN FOODS
CategoryA01. Use of Promotional Events & Stunts 
EntrantDRILL Tokyo, JAPAN
Entrant Company DRILL Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency DRILL Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency 2 DENTSU Tokyo, JAPAN
Production Company UNIT9 London, UNITED KINGDOM

Credits

Name Company Position
Naoya Hosokawa Drill Creative Director
Tatsuyuki Hamada Drill Planner
Tomoyuki Hirota Drill Planner
Tomoyasu Katagai Drill Producer
Hotsumi Iguchi FLN International Project Coordinator
Takehiko Shimura Dentsu Account Executive
Hiroaki Dehari Dentsu Account Executive
Dale Healy UNIT9 Producer
Luke Fogg UNIT9 Production Coordinator
Tom Elliott A Common Future Director / DOP
Simon Reichel A Common Future Director

Brief Explanation

Outside Japan, Nissin Foods is still a relatively minor player in the food world. They want to be increase their visibility in Europe and Asia. However, they do not have the budget to run a mass marketing campaign worldwide. To increase awareness of their brand with a modest budget and to do so among young people in Europe and Asia, our strategy was to go viral on the web.

The Brief

Outside Japan, Nissin Foods is still a relatively minor player in the food world. They want to be increase their visibility in Europe and Asia. However, they do not have the budget to run a mass marketing campaign worldwide. To increase awareness of their brand with a modest budget and to do so among young people in Europe and Asia, our strategy was to go viral on the web.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The popular response was explosive! Seizing on the popularity of the initial video, a video capturing the samurai, Nissin mascot, and Manchester United players interacting with one another was also uploaded. In just one month, all the videos combined were viewed more than 8.5 million times. They were also transmitted in countries throughout Asia. Popularity spread through social networking sites, and we eventually gained over 13 million views. Nissin are seizing this opportunity to put a variety of products adorned with both players and the Nissin logo on sale throughout Asia. Compared to the same quarter last year, they expanded their share by 40%.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We decided that a guerilla performance during the halftime of a match by Manchester United with a massive fan base of more than 300 million in the Asian region alone would be the most effective approach to make an impact on the targeted younger generation, and to create brand awareness in the target region in a short span of time. Once the project was approved, and after 3 months of negotiations and discussions with the parties concerned, we were given 5 minutes during the halftime during a Premier League match—Manchester United vs. Queen Park Rangers—for our performance. With a mere one to prepare and rehearse, and without an opportunity to rehearse on-site, we successfully gave a one-off live show in front of a crowd of 75,000.