This brand activation replaced a negative social media post by one consumer with a collection of positive endorsements. Against the backdrop of cooking a Japanese national dish, gyoza, the No. 1 frozen gyoza brand Ajinomoto garnered immense attention and respect on social media.

In response to a post featuring a photo of a frying pan with sticking Gyoza, Ajinomoto responded, "To improve our product, please send us your frying pan." This small action sparked a big movement. Through the collaboration of other companies, support for the campaign increased. This project eventually led to Ajinomoto's development of a new product.

One of Japan's national dishes, gyoza:

68.7% of Japanese people love gyoza. Frozen gyoza is popular because anyone can cook it in a frying pan at home.

Japan's No. 1 brand:

Ajinomoto's frozen gyoza is the top brand adored by 85 million people. This innovative 50-year-old product is easy for all to cook. It also attracted attention at the Tokyo Olympics.

A challenge for the brand:

A user experienced sticking gyoza when cooking with a deteriorated frying pan, and posted a photo on social media along with the comment "What a lie!" Ajinomoto felt it could not overlook the situation.

Gyoza, a dish that originated from China, is so popular among the Japanese that it can be called a national dish. The Japanese people's desire for beauty in cooking has led them to be particular and take great care to try and cook their gyoza in a way that is aestheticly beautiful. Indeed, this has become something of a national concern.

On the other hand, since busy dual-income families tend to dislike the time-consuming cooking of gyoza, as a solution, frozen gyoza has become a popular category.

Our idea was to turn a single negative complaint into a movement for a better gyoza experience for both the brand and its users. We launched the "Frying Pan Challenge" project to transform 3,520 donated frying pans into a symbol of the bond between the manufacturer and its customers.

A large number of used frying pans sent by users became not only research subjects but also brand icons for the project. This pile of tattered frying pans was a visual representation of fans' hopes for improving Ajinomoto's frozen gyoza.

With a major movement that captured the attention of over 85 million gyoza fans nationwide, we were able to launch a new less sticking gyoza in just eight months, solidifying the consumers' love and trust in the brand.

Generate buzz for "Frying Pan Verification" in three ways:

A: Frying pan pile

Call for users to donate sticking frying pans for research, and symbolically visualize the 3,520 frying pans. Create visual surprises such as the mountain of boxes containing the donated frying pans and the frying pans lined up neatly.

B: Cutting-edge technology

Scan the frying pans using state-of-the-art technology - a 3D scanner with a measurement accuracy of ±10μm. The campaign website, created within four months of collecting the pans, features 3D models of customer pans.

C: Real-time response

Leverage social media to communicate the process of calling for, collecting, verifying, and launching the new GYOZA, to enhance gyoza fans' interest and generate momentum for frozen gyoza.

By making the frying pan verification a hot topic in three ways, we visually demonstrated the passion of Japan's No. 1 gyoza brand's R&D team and enhanced people's trust in Ajinomoto.

Phase 1: 11/05/2023

User post of "Frozen gyoza stuck to the pan" encouraged the brand - whose mission is "to bring anyone the joy of beautifully fried gyoza" - to do a recall. Ajinomoto's unexpected response and approach drew praise.

Phase 2: 16/06/2023

Further call for sticking frying pans. Ultimately, a total of 3,520 frying pans were donated from the 47 prefectures of Japan in response to the 3-day call. Photos of the piles of cardboard exploded on social media and garnered great publicity.

Phase 3: 13/10/2023

Placement of a newspaper ad to express gratitude from the Ajinomoto CEO. Launch of Frozen Gyoza Fry Pan Challenge website, featuring a digital archive of 3D models of donated frying pans.

Phase 4: 09/01/2024

Announcement of new non-stick gyoza after joint research with detergent and frying pan manufacturers. Further improvements were announced, maximizing momentum for new sales and support for gyoza.

The campaign resulted in the development of a new less sticking frozen gyoza. Enthusiastic engagement on social media, a staggering number of likes, and a large amount of publicity further strengthened the brand's position and increased appreciation for cooking frozen gyoza at home.

- SNS impressions: 76,020,855 imp/549,910 likes (Sum of posts from official accounts related to the project).

- Exposure: 50+ minutes of coverage on 11 TV programs. 585 online articles, and 45 print media.

- Perception: corporate favorability is 2.5 times higher among those who had seen the campaign vs. those who had not (29.5% - 11.7% = +17.8pt).

- User awareness of the brand's motto "Continuous Improvement" increased by 2.1 times (14.4% - 6.7% = +7.7pt).

- Other factors contributing to the formation of positive perceptions were "The brand immediately responding to customer feedback and taking action" (+9.6pt) and "The initiatives are unique and interesting" (+9.8pt).