Client: Yutaka

#SushiMe integrated PR campaign

86

earned media coverage

20

broadcast slots

27m

total reach

Yutaka are the pioneers of Japanese cuisine in the UK, bringing ingredients like sushi rice, soba noodles and katsu curry sauce to our kitchens for almost 40 years. Whilst they have national distribution in all major grocery stores, brand recognition and recall has historically been less strong.

With familiar restaurant brands like Itsu and Wagamama joining the aisles, Yutaka wanted a creative fame PR campaign to elevate their brand awareness in the UK, targeting everyday-foodies-with-families.

With a full-spread activation across earned media, broadcast, social and influencer, this wasn’t just a KPI-busting campaign (on all channels), but also achieved a 4% uplift on Share of Voice (SoV).

A woman creating a bust sculpture with her hand surrounded by five bust sculptures of well-known singers displayed on pedestals, each with a label identifying the person.

The brief

It started with a competitive pitch. Yutaka wanted to push past their always on approach and find an agency partner who could create a big impactful and meaningful moment that would deliver on elevating brand presence, increase brand awareness and create a positive brand image.

It was open-ended, so we did go big, and we went bold; a multi-channel creative campaign, centred around an idea that broke the rules of sushi formality, designed to encourage the nation’s foodies to become more playful with the ingredients at home.

A sushi plate with an edible portrait of a woman, made from rice, seaweed, and other ingredients, on a wooden mat. Text overlay states, "Team Bottle have a go at sushi portraits."

Person using black tweezers to place a small piece of carrot on a rice ball decorated to look like a snowman with seaweed eyes and mouth on a bamboo placemat.

A person making a Hello Kitty sushi roll with various ingredients like salmon, vegetables, seaweed, and rice on a kitchen counter.

Creativity & execution

The idea at the heart of the campaign - which had all of the *ahem* ingredients - was to make celebrity sculpture-portraits (each with a sushi-pun name) using the brand’s sushi range. We named the campaign #SushiMe.

Our word-play long-list shortened to a mix of the funniest-names and the most distinctive ‘looks’:

from Film and Music: Benedict Cucumber-batch, Ed-amame Sheeran, and Eel-ton John

England footballers Herring Kane and Bukayo Saké (it was the start of the 2024 Euros after all)

and (unashamedly selected to give TV coverage a good shot): Dermot Roe’Leary, Alison Salmon-d and Lorraine Kelp-y

We chose to anchor the campaign launch around International Sushi Day. And to help maximise media sell-in further, we enlisted the support of some known partners; food artist Michelle Wibowo, celebrity ambassador and Paralympian Kadeena Cox, and a collection of foodie, and family, TikTok and Instagram micro influencers.

Results & impact

Pie chart showing the distribution of student majors, with 59% in Business, 20% in Nursing, 16% in Education, 5% in Other, and 0% in Science.

We exceeded all client fame KPIs, delivering a high level of brand prominence across the channel mix – even on BBC News where brand mentions are often a struggle. Collectively, this campaign helped to drive a 4% uplift in online Share of Voice for Yutaka.

Two women in a studio or office setting, one in a pink blouse and the other in a beige sleeveless top, discussing sushi ingredients on a table with sushi rolls, cucumber, seaweed, and a bowl of water. There are computers and monitors visible in the background.

Broadcast:

5 TV segments including Sky News and Lorraine, plus 15 radio slots including Greatest Hits, Heart and BBC Regional News – delivering a total audience reach of 5.37m.

A woman paints detailed sushi head sculptures representing various celebrities, displayed on stands with labels.

Earned media:

86 pieces of earned media coverage across national news, regional news and lifestyle media titles – delivering a total estimated coverage views of 16.06m.

Influencer partnerships:

Between Kadeena and our collective of foodie and family micro influencers, the campaign was amplified further by 1.35m.

Social media:

A campaign takeover across Yutaka’s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok channels saw organic and paid impressions reach 4.28m.

Best Use of Influencer Partnership(s) Gold Winner

FMCG Marketing Communications Campaign of the Year Silver Winner

Looking for a touch of fame to raise your brand profile?

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