Buldak × Popow

30 Days Zero
to Hero Challenge

Mega + General Creator Hybrid TikTok Social Presence Breakthrough Campaign

Source: Popow Internal Strategy Proposal · 2026-05 · draft

This proposal is a strategic campaign plan developed by the Popow division to address the stagnation of Buldak's social presence on TikTok and the decline in mega creator content performance.
Challenge Window
30D
Social proof experiment with multiple mega creators
Follower Goal
100K
New TikTok followers within 30 days
View Goal
10M
Cumulative views via Buldak content only
Campaign Overview

Target Audience

Five core segments this campaign must reach and activate.

Global Mega Creators + Buldak Mukbang CreatorsMultiple participants as leads
Emerging Nano & Micro CreatorsRising small-scale creators
Aspiring InfluencersSeeking a proven growth path
TikTok Challenge UsersUsers who engage with online challenges
Existing Popow CommunityCurrent active community users
Strategy

Direction

  • Use a high-profile creator as a case study to maximize early attention.
  • Show transparent progress with no gimmicks — raw algorithm feedback included.
  • Execute cross-platform storytelling combining short-form and long-form.
Tactics

Execution

  • Select a YouTuber with a strong existing TikTok following.
  • Launch with a "Day 1: Starting from ZERO" video for a strong opening.
  • Daily TikTok updates + weekly in-depth YouTube recaps.
  • Cross-post teasers on the creator's original TikTok/Instagram channels.
  • Deploy campaign hashtag #POPOW100K at scale.
Proposal Items
01

Campaign Operations Plan

Buldak Marketing + IMX leads overall campaign operations, while Popow serves as planning partner supporting the micro/nano creator relay mechanism.

02

4 Global Mega Creators + 4 Buldak Mukbang Creators

In addition to global mega talent, 4 locally verified Buldak mukbang creators are recommended based on internal data.

03

3 EDA-Based High-Performance Formats

Theme 1. Taste Stimulation
Theme 2. Recipe Tutorial
Theme 3. Lifestyle Meme

Campaign Formula

The Proof — Spin-off Edition

The growth challenge itself is designed as a dramatic audience-participation content arc. All daily missions are 100% Buldak Brand Twist themed.

Main Challenger
Multiple

Asher Lara and other mega candidates each lead independently.

Mission Engine
Recommend

Buldak Brand Twist themes are recommended; each creator's unique vision and creativity shapes the campaign design.

Spin-off Path
Relay

Each mega creator's daily mission is distributed to general creators as a spin-off challenge.

30-Day Extreme Mission
ElementDescription
Challenge Goal Each participating mega creator achieves either 100K followers on a new TikTok account within 30 days, or 10M cumulative views using only Buldak content.
Mission Character Daily missions actively incorporate Buldak Brand Twist themes, while fully reflecting each mega creator's unique creative vision and personality.
Cross Storytelling Raw daily challenge footage posted as short-form on TikTok; weekly long-form YouTube uploads covering algorithm analysis and honest behind-the-scenes.
General Creator Relay Spin-off

Each mega creator's daily Buldak mission is immediately distributed to general creators as a "spin-off challenge." General creators participate in a secondary creative relay in their own style, creating a snowball effect that explosively increases Buldak-related content volume on TikTok.
#BULDAKZEROHERO #POPOW100K
Buldak Campaign Themes

3 Data-Driven Themes

Taste Stimulation, Recipe Tutorial, and Lifestyle Meme — validated through Buldak's actual EDA — are mapped as campaign themes.

UGC FormatCampaign ThemeCore Content
Taste Stimulation Theme 1. The Hotter, The Better Scoville-level conquest drama and challenge completion under extreme conditions
Recipe Tutorial Theme 2. Twist Your Flavor Bold mix recipes combining US local ingredients with Buldak sauce
Lifestyle Vlog / Meme Theme 3. Spice Up Your Story Short-form sitcom resolving awkward everyday situations with Buldak noodles
1 · Taste Stimulation

The Hotter, The Better

Hotter. More fun.
Posting Share
31.5%
View Share
60.6%

Only 31.5% of total Buldak TikTok posts, yet it dominates 60.6% of total views — the strongest ROI format. Reframes Buldak's extreme spiciness from pain into a story of challenge and achievement.

Maximizes Gen Z's challenge instincts and raw reaction meme virality.
2 · Recipe Tutorial

Twist Your Flavor

Create your own Buldak.

The #1 format by view share within the non-spicy genre. Creators like haileyateit (10.1M views) and soloramentokyo (8.0M views) prove mid-size creators can achieve outsize results. Daily experiments pairing US local ingredients (mac and cheese, tacos, bagels, fried chicken, etc.) with Buldak sauce.

Can organically attract micro Chef creators in food, cooking, and review categories.
3 · Lifestyle Vlog & Entertainment Meme

Spice Up Your Story

Add spice to everyday life.

An outlier format with explosive potential — a nano creator with only 56 followers generated 1.4M views purely through wit and direction. Buldak invades the mundane, boring moments of Gen Z daily life and twists everything into something spicy and comic.

Expands Buldak's social reach beyond the food genre into everyday life, comedy, and broad Gen Z culture.
Main Talent Options

Mega Buzz + Buldak Efficiency

4 global top influencers and 4 internally validated local Buldak mukbang creators as candidates.

Global Top Talent — Buzz & Fan Base Expansion
AL
Asher Lara
01 · Global Top Talent
YouTube
8.5M
TikTok
4.2M
High-energy challenge/comedy creator perfectly aligned with Gen Z TikTok trends.
Strong community engagement with a "build in public" mindset — great for audience votes and interaction.
FR
FaZe Rug
02 · Global Top Talent
YouTube
28.3M
TikTok
12.6M
One of the most recognized challenge creators globally.
Dominant fanbase scale guarantees global buzz from day one.
HA
Hangtime37
03 · Global Top Talent
YouTube
2.7M
TikTok
574K
Sports and lifestyle challenge specialist.
Specializes in raw, documentary-style behind-the-scenes storytelling — ideal for an authentic 30-day growth arc.
BR
Brawadis
04 · Global Top Talent
YouTube
6.7M
TikTok
2.6M
Lifestyle and entertainment creator known for pranks, vlogs, and high audience engagement.
Balanced audience size, storytelling rhythm, and campaign adaptability — well suited for Popow's Phase 1 growth narrative.
Internal Data — Buldak Specialist Talent

Verified creators with proven view performance and Buldak relevance in the US local mukbang/food scene.

@shhhhhimeating
01 · Internal Data Pick
TikTok
4.3M
Market
US
One of the most powerful female real-eat mukbang creators in the US market.
Signature unfiltered eating style and dramatic Buldak reactions — instant reach and view capture through organic fandom.
@thatfoodielyss
02 · Internal Data Pick
TikTok
2.0M
Market
US
Specialist in food trends, convenience store combos, and unique spicy food tastings.
Perfect card for executing the Buldak combo-twist recipe theme (Theme 2) with wit and expertise.
@alexiaeatsboba
03 · Internal Data Pick
TikTok
1.0M
Market
US
Trendy visual mukbang combining boba and nuclear Buldak noodles.
Exceptional trendy editing and appetite-stimulating visual production — strong FYP penetration.
@sarah.slurps
04 · Internal Data Pick
TikTok
~1M+
Market
US
Noodles specialist creator.
High-resolution visual production, ASMR-style eating sounds, and genuine affinity for the Buldak product line.
Campaign Delivery & R&R

Buldak Lead + Popow Partner

Buldak Marketing leads the full project; Popow joins as growth platform and micro/nano creator network partner.

LEAD

Buldak Marketing & IMX

  • Overall campaign lead / budget execution
  • Direct contracts with mega challengers + main campaign management
  • Buzz generation
PARTNER

Popow Division

  • Initial planning proposals and platform integration
  • Micro/Nano creator relay spin-off auto-distribution and reward settlement
  • Maximizing volume at scale
OUTCOME

Buldak TikTok Social Presence

  • Chain reaction explosion
  • High-profile buzz + mid-tier creator ecosystem growth
  • Buldak social view count recovery
Role Breakdown by Organization
OwnerRole
Buldak Marketing & IMXOverall campaign budget approval and marketing goal alignment
Buldak Marketing & IMXDirect partnership agreements and management with main challengers
Buldak Marketing & IMXBrand suitability review of daily Buldak missions and secondary boosting via official Buldak channels
Popow DivisionProvide trending format proposals and daily challenge scenario drafts based on Buldak UGC data analysis
Popow DivisionProvide digital environment for micro/nano creators to participate in relay spin-offs via the daily challenge hub
Popow DivisionReferral Loop, 7-Day Qualification, Verified Flex Badge systems with Supabase/CRM infrastructure for reward settlement
Popow DivisionCRM dispatch to drive continuous participation within 48 hours upon reaching 100K views
Expected KPIs
Mega Challenger
100K / 10M
100K new followers or 10M cumulative views within 30 days
Total TikTok Reach
50M
Buldak TikTok total reach: 50M cumulative views
Spin-off Creators
300+
Micro/nano creator spin-off participation
Secondary Viral Content
1,000+
Secondary viral Buldak content generated
Retention
70%+
Creator re-posting retention within 3 months
Post-Meeting Feedback

SVP Jeon — Post-Briefing Action Items

Key decisions, organizational assignments, and CMO handoff points agreed upon in the 2026.05.27 pre-briefing with SVP Jeon and CEO Jang.

Meeting Conclusion: The core issue with Buldak mega creator view decline is not a shortage of content, but a drop in views-per-content. We acknowledge that a base campaign generates organic derivative volume, and will approach this as an intentional boosting campaign.
Attendees: Alex, SVP Jeon, CEO Jang · 2026.05.27 18:31 · 31min 38s
Decline Driver
72%
Mega creators' contribution to total view decline
View Volume
43%
Mega creators' share of total view count
Challenge KPI
Views
View-based metric maintained for fair, transparent competition
Key Decisions from SVP Jeon Feedback
Diagnosis

Views-per-content decline is the real issue, not content volume

Apple-to-apple comparison (Jan–Apr 2025 vs Jan–Apr 2026) shows content count hasn't dropped. The core risk is motivational decline — the same actions now yield 50K views instead of 100K.

Overall

A base campaign generates organic derivative volume

Based on the Coachella campaign and "Hotter Than My X" case study, we acknowledge that derivative content and engagement only emerge when a base campaign exists.

Concept

Zero-to-Hero Challenge is a 30-day / 10M cumulative view structure

An existing mega creator starts a clean account and accumulates 10M views with Buldak content over 30 days, with a Stage 1/2 structure and additional rewards.

Reward

Honor-based rewards that reduce commercial feel

Maintain view-based competition metrics; rewards designed around non-commercial prestige — Times Square exposure, red carpet pickup, Korea travel, etc.

Positioning

Expand to "Spicy" category, not just K-Food

In the US market, position as a spicy category expansion rather than K-food association — broadening the spicy spectrum to include wasabi, cuzz spice, and beyond.

Partnership

TikTok HQ + LS Contact + Spark Ads Integration

Partially combine Spark Ads to reduce algorithm manipulation risk; pursue partnership campaign through TikTok US HQ and TikTok LS contacts.

Action Items
IMMEDIATE Alex (Seok-hwan Kang)
01

Send meeting materials capture to SVP Jeon

Capture today's data slides as photos and send to SVP Jeon immediately.

Immediate
02

Hand off to CMO + IMX + Platform Strategy

Compile meeting content and share with CMO + IMX + Platform Strategy teams in a format ready for planning development.

Today
LEAD CMO + IMX Division
01

Campaign announcement, theme, and message packaging

The same view competition can look either commercial or entertaining depending on packaging — prioritize developing the announcement and theme design.

Planning Lead
02

Stage 1/2 structure development

Split the 30-day challenge into Stage 1/2; create a structure that rewards creators who reach a set threshold in Stage 1.

Planning Lead
03

Honor-centered reward design

Explore prestige rewards with low commercial feel: Times Square surround bidding, flex carpet pickup, Korea travel, etc.

Planning Lead
04

Reflect spicy category expansion

Broaden the spicy spectrum to include wasabi, cuzz spice, and others — incorporate into campaign themes and mission design.

Planning Lead
05

TikTok HQ / LS Spark Ads negotiation

Enter Spark Ads partnership discussions through TikTok US HQ contacts and TikTok LS contacts.

Partnership Entry
SUPPORT Popow
01

Continue regional data analysis & monthly reporting

Maintain current Buldak regional monitoring and monthly reporting operations.

Ongoing
02

Join campaign in nano/micro expansion phase

Popow participates under CMO + IMX lead during the nano/micro expansion phase.

Expansion Phase
03

Avoid over-involvement in PoC execution

Per CEO Jang's comment, Popow maintains a supporting role and avoids over-investing in this PoC execution.

Operating Principle

Handoff Points for Division Head Choi

The conclusion of this briefing is to hand this off not as a Popow-led PoC, but as a mega boosting campaign plan that CMO + IMX can lead.

  • Mega view decline is a views-per-content issue, not a content volume issue — mega creators account for 72% of the decline and 43% of total volume.
  • The Zero-to-Hero Challenge is designed around 30-day cumulative 10M views — the commercial nature of view metrics must be diluted through reward design and message packaging.
  • Rewards should center on prestige over cash: Times Square exposure, black carpet pickup, Korea travel, etc.
  • US market messaging should frame as spicy category expansion rather than K-food; evaluate TikTok HQ/LS and Spark Ads integration together.
  • Popow supports as data analytics reporting and nano/micro expansion partner — CMO + IMX leading the campaign is the agreed operating direction.
Next step: CMO + IMX develops a comprehensive execution plan integrating campaign announcement, theme, stage structure, rewards, and TikTok partnership touchpoints.