Nissin eyes families via Ocean Park deal

<P>HONG KONG: Ocean Park, the local visitor attraction now facing direct competition from the recently-launched Hong Kong Disneyland, has teamed up with a sponsor to co-brand one of its zones for the first time, inking a deal with Nissin noodles. </P> <P><BR>Nissin will bring the animated stars of ads for its Demae Itcho ramen noodles, the Ching family, to life in a parade at the park as part of a deal to sponsor Ocean Park's family-oriented zone, Kids' World. The noodle brand will also build a mock-up of the Chings' home, open a special museum displaying collectable Ching memorabilia from past years and brand game booths with images of the family. Ocean Park said the sponsorship was part of ongoing moves to develop more attractions for visitors, having already introduced five special events linked with Halloween, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Easter and summer. </P> <P><BR>"With encouraging results and experience, we determined to explore opportunities in other periods to strengthen our event calendar," said Vivian Lee, marketing manger for Ocean Park, adding that it would consider further mutually beneficial tie-ups in the future. "We will continue our efforts in sponsorship marketing." </P> <P><BR>The Nissin-related activities will run for three weeks, launching on May 14, Mothers' Day in Hong Kong, to strengthen the family-friendly credentials of both brands. Nissin wants its presence in Ocean Park to reinforce brand awareness with its core consumer base of parents with children. "When they tour around Kids' World they are in fact having fun with Ching's family. Such kind of crossover strengthens the sharing and fun image of the two brands," said Grace Chan, senior marketing manager for Nissin.</P> <P><BR>To encourage visits to the park families will be able to get a HK$32 (about US$4) discount on each adult ticket for each purchase of Nissin Demae Itcho's family bag of five noodle packs.</P> <P><BR>The sponsorship was arranged by Thematic Advertising, which won Nissin's Demae Itcho brief earlier this year. Thematic has also developed a through-the-line campaign for the brand, consisting of two new TVCs with print, online, radio and outdoor support. The two TV ads, called 'Asking why' and 'Stealing noodles', seek to underscore Nissin's affinity with families with displays of common children's behaviour. 'Asking why' shows how parents are always trying to avoid or outwit the constant questioning from their children, while 'Stealing noodles' shows Ching Chai, the son of the family, assuming that his missing noodles have been stolen by someone on TV who is also eating noodles.</P> <P><BR>"Both scenarios allow the audience to easily identify either themselves or their childhood to the situation," said Edward Ho, business development director at Thematic. Facing competition from imported brands as well as low-end instant noodles from mainland China and Southeast Asia, Nissin has been stepping up efforts to bond with families.</P>