St Pierres appoints FEDERATION as lead agency; launches ‘something bigger than Godzilla’

Following a recent creative pitch, FEDERATION has been appointed as creative agency of record for New Zealand QSR St Pierres Sushi and brands, Bento Bowl and K10 Sushi Train.

St Pierres Sushi is the leading Japanese food retailer with over 70 stores nationwide.

Chelsea Lung, Senior Marketing Manager of St Pierres says, “We saw an impressive pitch from FEDERATION with compelling strategic thinking and an innovative creative approach that understood the nuanced retail dynamics that QSR operates in, while embodying the originality, authenticity and fun of the St Pierres brand. When you add in their X factor as an agency – a genuine and unrelenting passion for our future success from right across their team – partnering with Federation was the right next move for the wider business and brands of St Pierres.

(Full page teaser with QR Code)

In its first new campaign to market for St Pierres 40th birthday, FEDERATION put Sushi lovers across New Zealand on high alert after a mysterious QR code appeared on full page ads for St Pierres, alongside a tranche of teaser social media posts. And they weren’t disappointed.

The QR Code on the ‘bigger than Godzilla’ mystery immediately made a date in sushi fans’ iPhone calenders on 1st October. Kiwis everywhere were scrambling to crack the code of what the date signified and got ready to head down to their nearest St Pierres store for 11am on the big day.

Chief Creative Officer, Brad Collett said, “Retail birthdays are a significant highlight in the marketing calendar, but many fail to tap their full potential to generate sales. For St Pierres we turned this birthday event into a major celebration, sharing the moment with all New Zealand, and creating a unique occasion to deepen brand love. For St Pierres, the big idea also meant rolling out a ton of fresh sushi for all, to prepare for a stampede of customers.’’

‘’Our creative approach tapped into the element of surprise, teasing out St Pierres’ 40th birthday with a series of print, OOH and social moments to dial up the intrigue. The highlight? A ‘bigger than Godzilla’ mystery QR code that grabbed attention across the country. The code was scanned thousands of times in one day alone – an overwhelming response that perfectly captured the excitement we wanted to generate.”

(Out of Home teaser)

Senior Marketing Manager for St Pierres Sushi, Chelsea Lung says, “The curiosity we generated from teasing our giveaway blew us away. The QR code was a hit, sushi lovers and St Pierres’ fans everywhere were buzzing when our stores around the country finally unveiled our birthday gift to the nation – bigger than Godzilla!’’

In a huge idea that resulted from a collaboration between the FEDERATION team, Hearts and Science and ourselves, we announced 40,000 pieces of FREE sushi to give away on October 1 to celebrate our 40^th birthday. The reaction was unbelievable with sushi fans flocking to our stores, queueing on street frontages and in long lines at our in-mall stores. But not only were the 40,000 pieces of free sushi given away nationwide in just the first 40 minutes, it was the most exciting day of the year for our entire company! In our first week of birthday celebrations, we’ve already engaged tens of thousands of St Pierres fans, generating a whole lot of buzz. And the birthday celebrations have only just got started!”

(Queues and social media buzz from St Pierres fans everywhere)

FEDERATION Managing Director, Olly Walker-Boden, adds: “We’re thrilled to be appointed by St Pierres and to be working alongside St Pierres’ co-founder Nick Katsoulis, Chelsea Lung and their in-house creative team. We’re off to a flying start with the 40th birthday launch campaign and have a programme of celebratory activity in the works to follow. There’s so much potential for St Pierres to tell their unique story, including that they exclusively import their own authentic ingredients from Japan. With a bit of creative magic, even the simple act of scanning a QR code can have mega results – huge uptake for St Pierres on their special day, spurring queues around the block and lighting up social media channels.’’