Behind every buzzworthy topic is a “proposal”!? What kind of proposal did a PR planner infer from the scenes behind a trending campaign—and complete through pure “imagination”? | PR Method: Extra Edition
Hello, everyone. This is Kameyama, a planner at SUNNY SIDE UP.
This article is not part of the PR Method series; rather, it is an explanatory piece from a planner’s perspective for the first time in a while.
I will be providing my own commentary on campaigns by other companies that have recently caught my attention.
It is unfortunate that these are not SUNNY SIDE UP case studies, but I intend to use this jealousy as motivation to create even better campaigns.
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The commentary below is written purely based on my imagination, without knowledge of each company’s circumstances or background. As it may differ significantly from the facts, I would appreciate it if you would read it with the understanding that this is simply one possible way of looking at things.
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By the way… until now, I have written the following articles.
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What were the April Fools’ trends in 2021? Four ideas a PR planner took note of!
What were the “real trends” of 2020? Buzzwords Awards as seen by a SUNNY SIDE UP PR planner!
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■ NISSIN FOODS / Cup Noodles “Cup Nyadles” are just too cute!!
Image source: https://www.asahi.com/sdgs/article/14421021
https://www.kayac.com/service/client/1732
This campaign won Bronze in the Branded Communication Division, Category C (PR) at the 2021 ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS.
《 Campaign Overview 》
On “Cat Day” (February 22) in 2020, NISSIN FOODS’ Cup Noodles ran a campaign on Twitter that went viral. It has now garnered as many as 120,000 likes.
開け口が二つ・・・？
と思わせて「カップニャードル」#猫の日 pic.twitter.com/eSXNrh9ekV— カップヌードル (@cupnoodle_jp) February 22, 2020
Later, on “World Environment Day” (June 4) in 2021—the 50th anniversary of Cup Noodles—the company announced that it would commercialize Cup Nyadles.
発売50年を機に、カップヌードルの底に付けていた「フタ止めシール」を廃止することにしました。これで年間33トンのプラスチックが削減できます。じゃあどうやってフタを止めたらいいの？っていう方、動画をご覧ください。#世界環境デー #環境の日 #順次切替予定https://t.co/fC9WjivvJV pic.twitter.com/hXHex38wwF
— カップヌードル (@cupnoodle_jp) June 4, 2021
While the action itself was a realization of the 2020 “Cat Day” Twitter campaign, the background was explained not as “because it went viral,” but as a reduction in plastic due to the discontinuation of lid-seal stickers.https://www.nissin.com/jp/news/9604
From PR planner Kameyama’s perspective, I was impressed by how well they explained the background of the action—it was very PR-minded—and I would like to comment on that point.
《 Presenting a viral campaign as meaningful social action, not corporate play 》
At NISSIN FOODS, it seems they had been considering discontinuing the lid-seal stickers for some time. And from about a year and a half before this campaign was realized, they were thinking about how to discontinue them in an environmentally conscious way—while not simply removing them, but also finding a way to express something uniquely NISSIN. https://www.asahi.com/sdgs/article/14421021
From here on is a hypothesis, but perhaps they realized that making the lid into two parts would eliminate the need for a sticker—and that adding NISSIN’s playful touch would make it look like cat ears. If so, they may have chosen “Cat Day” in 2020 as a proof-of-concept prototype test.
Animal-themed content has long been a popular genre for attracting attention, whether in TV commercials or on social media. Combined with the timely hook of “Cat Day,” the wordplay of “noodle → nyadle,” and a concrete visual, it became a campaign that went viral on Twitter (and apparently many people online also hoped it would be commercialized).
In response to that positive reception—and because 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the product—it seems they moved quickly toward commercialization.
What is important here is that when they announced it in 2021, they did not primarily promote the idea of making it “cute” by adding cat ears; instead, they emphasized “contributing to solving social issues by discontinuing plastic stickers.” (while still expressing the cat-ear feel in the video, of course).
As public interest in the SDGs has grown, companies have been seriously incorporating social contribution activities into corporate communications. However, rather than merely adopting them, this was an excellent campaign that elevated the effort into a corporate activity that also reflected NISSIN FOODS’ identity.
❶ A social contribution perspective through discontinuing plastic stickers
❷ The realization that switching to a double lid to eliminate the stickers makes it look like cat ears (a playful touch)
With these two elements in place, they first tested the concept as a prototype campaign on social media—rather than commercializing it immediately—to gauge reactions. Then, based on the results, they proceeded to make it concrete. I felt this communication design was extremely skillful and clearly rooted in PR thinking.
■ IKEA Japan / I tried to come up with a proposal plan for “Tiny Homes: Small room, big ideas.”
Image sources: https://www.ryutsuu.biz/strategy/n112472.html
https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2111/22/news108.html
Official page: https://www.ikea.com/jp/ja/campaigns/ca00-tiny-homes-pub616dcf20
It is a recently announced campaign, and it has become such a hot topic that it was immediately covered on television as well.
《 Campaign Overview 》
This campaign involves IKEA fully coordinating a compact 10㎡ property in a prime central location with IKEA furniture, then renting it out at the extremely low price of 99 yen.
《 Creating a proposal on my own 》
After reviewing the published campaign, I—an entirely unrelated PR planner—expanded on my imagination regarding the challenges IKEA may be facing and the intent behind this campaign, and tried to put it into a proposal document.
As noted at the beginning, this is something a planner with no knowledge of the facts has come up with on their own. As it may contain many statements that differ from reality, please read it with that understanding.
In closing…
It is enjoyable to look at campaigns that have become a topic of conversation and infer what is happening behind the scenes, isn’t it?
As a planner, I believe it serves as training in campaign planning, so I study by learning from other companies’ campaigns every day.
That concludes this blog post.
Please look forward to future blog posts from myself and other team members!
