The Campaign

Different zones in the Pavilion, each with unique entertaining features, all combine digital technology and traditional art to present aspects of Japanese food culture: spiritual approach to food, knowledge and wisdom passed on in farming villages, technology of the future, and ever-continuing food evolution. Rather than being limited to a folkloric showcasing of Japanese culture, the innovative use of technology and art succeeds to offer an emotional experience, encouraging visitors to be feel more involved and personal, to see Japan and their own country as sharing the same future.

Creative Execution

The first zone presents a farm landscape that symbolizes the longstanding Japanese relationship to food. Images inspired from calligraphies, drawings, and painted screens are digitally projected to create an immersive space. Next comes a giant virtual waterfall where informative contents about various Japanese food culture float on the surface. These contents are also designed to be relevant to other cultures, and visitors can save them in smartphones to take home. Next, countless miniature food models provide a sense of diversity of Japanese food. Having gained basic understanding of Japanese food, in the next zone, the visitors see various food crises facing the Earth. A sense of emergency is shared, and Japanese solutions are explained. Lastly, the live performance theater: visitors sit around virtual Japanese dishes served at media tables, and chant “itadakimasu” to the theme tune, expressing thanks for the food. The smiles spread across the room.

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

During the 184-day season, 2,280,000 people visited the Japan Pavilion. That amounts to 1 in 10 of total Expo visitors. In a survey conducted by an Italian agricultural organization, Japanese Pavilion was chosen as the “best pavilion.” The Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera gave a favorable review, recognizing the “balance of the poetical and the high-tech” of Japan Pavilion. The word spread through various media, resulting in 9-hour-long waiting lines at its peak periods. In the Pavilion Prizes awarded by BIE (Bureau International des Expositions), Japan Pavilion was awarded gold, the best prize, for exhibition design. This is the first time ever that a Japanese Pavilion receives the gold prize. The smartphone app “Japan Pavilion app” counted 206,000 downloads, 7,700 users, and 37.3% post-visit app retaining rate.

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

Japan Pavilion promoted Japanese food and food culture by incorporating virtual, projected images into the three dimensional, physical spaces of Expo through imaginative use of technology and art. The immersive and moving experience in the physical, real-world setting effectively communicated the appeal of Japan to the 228 visitors who came from around the world. A system using a smartphone app was implemented so that visitors can take home the contents for later viewing.

Young and old, men and women, from all around the world, who cannot come to Japan and who do not usually have the opportunity to eat Japanese food. Regardless of the language they speak, our exhibition aimed to communicate through the visitors’ senses – for example, offering an entertaining virtual and visual experience that recreated seasonal farm landscapes or tables lined with dishes. In addition, various tableware and miniature food were displayed to portray supreme craftsmanship around food. Together they made up a colorful and engaging narrative for the visitors. Enhanced interactivity was achieved by the use of sensing technology, and connection to the smartphone app made it possible to even take the contents home.