The Brief

To attract tourists during the off-season, there were issues conveying information about the unknown tourist appeal. We focused on the fact that there was an unknown mysterious history and unknown ruins there. To convey this appeal, we took a different approach and “shut down the whole island.” A hands-on attraction adventure was developed, where nobody could escape without solving the mysteries that lie hidden within ruins. Tourists, locals and even the media were asked to report on the unknown appeal and sites that were discovered while they enjoyed trying to solve the riddle, in order to create a hot topic.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

An adventure attraction of ‘the Shut down Island’ was developed. With no advertising budget, the unknown appeal of the island was advertised through publicity campaigns. First, the high-impact headline “Miyako Island was shut down!” was released to draw attention. Next, participants who had become explorers sent out reports that “Miyako Island – ‘the Shut down Island’ – had turned into an attraction,” to convey the "unknown appeal of Miyako Island" to others via social media and the mass media. In the end, the event was successful with approximately 3,000 tourists signing up, which was 300% more than the target figure.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

●Economic knock-on effects Economic knock-on effects of an estimated USD$2 million have been generated with this content, and certainly had a positive impact on the island’s economy. This figure is 10-times the USD$200,000 required to create the attractions, achieving a staggering 1000% ROI. ●Publicity exposure News related to ‘the Shut down Island’ and Miyako Island was covered in mass media around the world, and achieved an amount equivalent to USD$5.93 million of free publicity. ●Attraction participants Approximately 3,000 tourists signed up, which was 300% more than the target figure.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Miyako Island has a lot of mysterious historical sites that remain unknown to tourists. Attention was drawn to this key point to convey the appeal of the island during the off-season. The entire island became the focus of the attraction on an unprecedented scale as it was conveyed to tourists and locals alike as an adventure-packed place with unknown appeal and tourist sites. As a result, information Miyako Island became a hot topic and was spread to others via social media and the mass media and directly portrayed Miyako Island as a great tourist destination.