Kikkoman was well known for its soy sauce, but not so much its other products—60 in all, including its Panko Bread Crumbs and Ponzu Sauce.
To communicate Kikkoman’s diverse product offerings and drive immediate trial, the brand targeted “foodies” —people who are always looking for new ways to experiment with food; those who seek new recipe ideas and inspiration through magazines, friends, blogs, grocery aisles, online or TV. The firm set a goal of distributing 110,000 online coupons in just 48 hours and was looking to achieve a 20% redemption goal. In addition, it wanted to elevate Kikkoman to be a Master Chef-worthy ingredient by introducing two of the company’s products on The Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef.”
In a December 2011 episode, a key time period when foodies are searching for new holiday recipes, two of Kikkoman’s products were revealed as the secret ingredient in the “Elimination Challenge” where two Master Chefs went head-to-head to stay in the competition. Once the ingredients were revealed, each viewer had the chance to immediately download one of 150,000 $3 coupons, essentially making the product free. But they had to act quickly—the coupons were only available for 48 hours.
As soon as the secret ingredients were revealed, a promotional campaign launched, including TV billboard ads on the featured show, which drove consumers to www.foodnetwork.com for their coupons, and banner ads on www.foodnetwork.com. Public relations outreach and social chatter on Facebook and Twitter generated excitement and momentum of the giveaway. A full-page print ad leveraged the audience of Good Housekeeping magazine, inviting readers to tune in to the show and review the products online. The sponsorship was announced on the product itself and included recipes for using both the Ponzu Sauce and Panko Bread Crumbs on bottleneck hangers.
The show’s viewers were inspired and took the desired action. Roughly 140,000 coupons were printed in 48 hours, with more than 75% redemption. The event received press across The New York Times, Reuters, PROMO and Marketing Daily.
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