Will National Sushi Day Make a Mint for Restaurants?
When is National Sushi Day?
Today is National Sushi Day! Or is it? When I first heard that today is National Sushi day, I had the same thought as Jeff Schmitt from OregonLive.com:
It seems to be yet another in a series of made-up internet holidays that are circulated to and fro, searched for on a specific day (today), hopefully capitalized upon by us.
I assumed, and still do, that the inventors of National Sushi Day were either sushi-loving connoisseurs or, more likely, sushi peddlers seeking a way to make a few extra bucks. Can't blame them for trying, right?
National Sushi Day, show yourself!
But I figured I'd give National Sushi Day a chance to prove itself a legitimate holiday. I used a couple of time-tested internet techniques to uncover the mystery of the origin of National Sushi Day. I mean, if I can use the internet to get payday advances, I should be able to find out how long a holiday has been around, right?
What I uncovered might shock and astound you: Today might not be National Sushi Day at all! It might be on a different day.
The Wikipedia search
Everyone know that Wikipedia is a malleable database that contains some debatable information. Everyone also knows that everyone who's anyone and anything that's anything is in there. A search for National Sushi Day on Wikipedia came up with zilch, nada, nothing.
Well, of course, we all know that's not true. A Wikipedia search for National Sushi Day came up with a lengthy list of results, including: National Cherry Blossom Festival, Sweden, Mark Dugdale and Mexican Cuisine.
The Google search
If you search for something on Google and don't find it, you know it doesn't exist. Luckily for National Sushi Day, I came across a little something called the National Sushi Society. The site for this very official-sounding organization says Sushi Day was started in 1997. It also says it's on Nov. 1!
A web site titled "Sushi Day" said the same thing. Of course, I recognize that Sushi Day and National Sushi Day could very well be two distinct holidays. But in my research for National Sushi Day, the only things I have found are bloggers wondering what National Sushi Day is and people saying "Celebrate National Sushi Day!"
The publicity factor
So, if this is indeed just a marketing stunt, the question is: Will it work? Will the sushi industry make money off of this pseudoholiday? There have been plenty of other food-centric not-quite-a-holidays. I am sure there's some sort of market research out there that shows the effectiveness of product-themed day declarations.
Did National Doughnut Day work? That's a tough question considering that Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts celebrate National Doughnut Day by giving away free doughnuts. Perhaps there really is no way to know how much business these made-up internet holidays generate.
The bottom line
If there's one thing we've learned from the internet, it's that with free advertising you've got nothing to lose. Anyone can get on Facebook, or some other social networking site, and attempt to popularize anything FOR FREE.
There are tons of free ways to generate internet hype for free, and they all get used. My prediction is that people who were already planning to get sushi today will go ahead and do it. People who like sushi and are reminded by National Sushi Day that they like sushi might get some sushi. People who don't like sushi will continue to not eat it. Happy National Sushi Day is in the Eye of the Beholder Day!
Today is National Sushi Day! Or is it? When I first heard that today is National Sushi day, I had the same thought as Jeff Schmitt from OregonLive.com:
It seems to be yet another in a series of made-up internet holidays that are circulated to and fro, searched for on a specific day (today), hopefully capitalized upon by us.
I assumed, and still do, that the inventors of National Sushi Day were either sushi-loving connoisseurs or, more likely, sushi peddlers seeking a way to make a few extra bucks. Can't blame them for trying, right?
National Sushi Day, show yourself!
But I figured I'd give National Sushi Day a chance to prove itself a legitimate holiday. I used a couple of time-tested internet techniques to uncover the mystery of the origin of National Sushi Day. I mean, if I can use the internet to get payday advances, I should be able to find out how long a holiday has been around, right?
What I uncovered might shock and astound you: Today might not be National Sushi Day at all! It might be on a different day.
The Wikipedia search
Everyone know that Wikipedia is a malleable database that contains some debatable information. Everyone also knows that everyone who's anyone and anything that's anything is in there. A search for National Sushi Day on Wikipedia came up with zilch, nada, nothing.
Well, of course, we all know that's not true. A Wikipedia search for National Sushi Day came up with a lengthy list of results, including: National Cherry Blossom Festival, Sweden, Mark Dugdale and Mexican Cuisine.
The Google search
If you search for something on Google and don't find it, you know it doesn't exist. Luckily for National Sushi Day, I came across a little something called the National Sushi Society. The site for this very official-sounding organization says Sushi Day was started in 1997. It also says it's on Nov. 1!
A web site titled "Sushi Day" said the same thing. Of course, I recognize that Sushi Day and National Sushi Day could very well be two distinct holidays. But in my research for National Sushi Day, the only things I have found are bloggers wondering what National Sushi Day is and people saying "Celebrate National Sushi Day!"
The publicity factor
So, if this is indeed just a marketing stunt, the question is: Will it work? Will the sushi industry make money off of this pseudoholiday? There have been plenty of other food-centric not-quite-a-holidays. I am sure there's some sort of market research out there that shows the effectiveness of product-themed day declarations.
Did National Doughnut Day work? That's a tough question considering that Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts celebrate National Doughnut Day by giving away free doughnuts. Perhaps there really is no way to know how much business these made-up internet holidays generate.
The bottom line
If there's one thing we've learned from the internet, it's that with free advertising you've got nothing to lose. Anyone can get on Facebook, or some other social networking site, and attempt to popularize anything FOR FREE.
There are tons of free ways to generate internet hype for free, and they all get used. My prediction is that people who were already planning to get sushi today will go ahead and do it. People who like sushi and are reminded by National Sushi Day that they like sushi might get some sushi. People who don't like sushi will continue to not eat it. Happy National Sushi Day is in the Eye of the Beholder Day!
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