How Cup Noodle Used Merchandising to Own the Conversation on National Noodle Day

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How Cup Noodle Used Merchandising to Own the Conversation on National Noodle Day

Bryan Karas

October 9, 2018

If you didn’t know already, National Noodle Day was on October 6th and millions of young people across the Internet celebrated by eating, snapping pics and sharing love stories about their dear friend Ramen.

Nissin Foods, the company behind two notorious brands – Cup Noodle and Top Ramen – decided to go all in by creating a marketing campaign to take full advantage of noodle loving Millennials on their special day.

The campaign launched a new Ecom store full of products that connect with college kids and young professionals who rely on their products for survival…

Products on the shop included branded T-shirts and hats; a Cup Noodles mug; a Top Ramen pillow; a Cup Noodles baby onesie; dog Halloween costumes; and a neon sign that reads “Send Noods” and sells for $500.

Send Noods?

Not gonna lie, I do love a good play on words. And although my college days are long behind me and the phrase “Send Nudes” is not in my vocabulary, I can appreciate a company who knows exactly who their target market is…

Now I’m not sure if frat boy Brad is actually going to drop $500 on a “Send Noods” neon light but does it really matter?

Nissin’s campaign goal wasn’t to sell a limited edition neon sign or branded apparel. It was to leverage merchandising and own the conversation on the tentpole event of “National Noodle Day.”

Similar to Burger King’s Hackvertising, this type of content is perfect to drive likes comments and shares through Social Media. And for a national CPG brand all that brand conversation equals big dollars.

Seriously…think of your 18 year old self, would you tell your friends about a Neon Sign that reads “Send Noods”?

Time to celebrate…

It feels like there’s a new social media holiday everyday but most companies who “celebrate” hardly go for it the way Nissin just did…

Most companies will simply create an image or a GIF that uses their brand in association with the “holiday” – yes, those posts will get good engagement and it shows that your brand stays on top of what’s trending but that’s about it.

The next time a social media holiday aligns with your brand try thinking about it a little more holistically. Think about how this opportunity can benefit your brand tomorrow, next month or even next year…

Here are some things you can do to take full advantage of a social media holiday:

Promote a contest to capture email addresses
Create branded clothing and swag to sell and give away
Develop a partnership with another company and publish co-branded content
Incorporate a social media holiday into your cause marketing campaign and give back to the community

How to Create Your Own Hashtag That People Will Actually Use

Every great social media marketing campaign needs a powerful hashtag to help it spread like wildfire. But getting people to actually use and promote your hashtag isn’t easy. Learn how to create a popular hashtag that helps people share your social media marketing content.