Kraft’s 'Noodle Reunion' Unites Families Over Surnames & KD

In an effort reminiscent of soul/pop duo Peaches and Herb, Kraft is asking families to reunite around the dinner table with its macaroni and cheese, as well as online over shared last names.

The initiative, Noodle Reunion, includes a microsite that randomly selects one last name a day for two weeks and rewards fans with said name with a coupon for a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

“Each day a new last name will be selected, and a huge new family will be reunited over their love for Macaroni and Cheese,” the brand says.

Names so far include Berry, Nunez, Hanson, Wagner, Wright and Steele, although Kraft is accepting alternate spellings for these names as well.

The daily Noodle Reunion name changes over each day at midnight Eastern Time.

According to Jessica Gilbertson, senior associate brand Manager at Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, the brand uses a randomizer to choose each daily Noodle Reunion name from a list of the top 500 names in the U.S.

“We don’t know what will come up,” she says.

The site includes a tab for fans to prove they have the daily Noodle Reunion name or to tell friends with the daily Noodle Reunion name about the initiative.

If a fan with the wrong last name tries to participate, he or she will see a photo of a little girl with a sad face and an invitation to keep checking back, Gilbertson says.

While she says she doesn’t have statistics related to how many fans have participated so far, Gilbertson says 20,000 coupons are available over the life of the program.

“Basically, we put this promotion together because we know Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is something that always brings families together around the dinner table. Everyone loves it. It’s one of their favorite nights of the week,” Gilbertson says.

Noodle Reunion seeks to bring these families together in another way by uniting them over a shared last name, she adds.

“We think of fans who have been loyal and wanted to give them a free box to add a bit of delight and engage our fan base on Facebook to come to the site each day for the names,” Gilbertson says.

The campaign seeks to drive engagement with current macaroni and cheese customers and thank them for being loyal fans.

“If we happen to get new fans, that would be a great thing as well,” Gilbertson adds.

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese has 1.5 million likes on Facebook; @kraftmacncheese has 7,200 Twitter followers. The brand is using #NoodleReunion on Facebook and Gilbertson says coupon bloggers are also pushing the initiative.

Kraft worked with digital agency CP+B on the campaign, which runs through October 16.