The Brief

Matsuyama is a regional city located 700 kilometers from Tokyo. A traditional, tourist destination, it is home to Japan’s oldest hot spring, Matsuyama Castle, and many other sights. The very problem, however, is this “old,” “traditional,” and “historic.” An image solidified over many years, the city did not appeal to young people.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

The concept was “reconstruction of Matsuyama,” based on the production of an action-adventure anime set in Matsuyama and featuring seven “hidden gems” of the city. This pure entertainment about 10-minute anime was released on the Web. And in Japan, young people like to visit the locations of their favorite animations as a way to extend the viewing experience. Accordingly, one month after the release of our anime we released a AR app. Based on a map like the anime itself, when each of the locations of the “hidden gems” is reached the anime characters pop up in the actual scene

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

The anime video recorded over 50,000 views in one week. Across the whole campaign, more than 1,300 tweets were recorded and $1.2 million was achieved in ad placements. The campaign attracted interest from local bodies around the whole country as a new way of vitalizing Japan’s regional cities, which continue to suffer outflows of their young people. Attracted by this anime video and app, numbers of young visitors to Matsuyama are steadily increasing.

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

Animation film is very popular among young people. And we pay attention to describe the scenery of Matsuyama realistic. The anime’s scenery was described by the painters of Hayao Miyazaki’s film. Hayao Miyazaki is the Academy Award’s director. So the audience of the anime feels the atmosphere of the real Matsuyma.