CJ CheilJedang (097950) is rolling out a global marketing push in the United States built around bibigo Sticky White Rice, its instant rice brand known in Korea as Hetbahn. The strategy aims to widen the product's use beyond a side dish for Korean food into an everyday staple eaten alongside local dishes such as steak and mac and cheese.
The company said on the 10th that it will run the "Sticks To Anything" campaign online and offline in the United States through November. The campaign plays on the word "Sticky" in the U.S. product name to convey both the chewy texture of Hetbahn rice and its versatility across a range of dishes.
From the 31st of last month through the 6th of this month, CJ CheilJedang ran advertisements for the rice on digital billboards in New York's Times Square and Broadway and in downtown Los Angeles.
The company is also running online marketing. A teaser video posted on the official bibigo USA Instagram and TikTok accounts on the 19th of last month had surpassed 20 million cumulative views as of the 8th of this month, three weeks after its release. The video shows a giant ball of cooked rice rolling through an American downtown. Google searches for bibigo and related terms have more than tripled since the campaign began.
Campaign videos are being released in two stages, covering Korean and local dishes. This month the company is showing content pairing Hetbahn with Korean dishes including samgyeopsal, bibimbap, dubu kimchi and japchae. Next month it will feature the rice served with menus familiar to American consumers, such as steak, burrito bowls and mac and cheese.
CJ CheilJedang also plans to release content produced with Korean American NFL player Kyler Murray and global influencer Brooke Monk. Digital viral marketing, including participatory TikTok content, is part of the campaign as well.
More than 100 million units of bibigo Sticky White Rice were sold in North America last year. The company said it is broadening the product's consumption occasions through the campaign as more local consumers turn to rice as a carbohydrate in place of bread or noodles, or eat instant rice alongside meat and other dishes.
An official at CJ CheilJedang said the company will continue to solidify its standing as a leading global K-food brand through differentiated marketing tailored to local consumers' lifestyles and trends.
