The Campaign

We have agonized over how to provide more reliable information for visitors and help them understand Busan better while answering the question: “What do Busanites really eat?” We thought about using our position as an administrative organization to our advantage in gathering information, using “dong” (neighborhood) community centers, which tend to be in close contact with community residents. There are 205 dongs in Busan and each community center has its own “dongjang,” community head, a non-elected public official overseeing the affairs in each neighborhood. These are respected individuals with many years of local involvement. The longtime residents are well-versed in local history and know every corner of their neighborhoods. Therefore, we decided these community heads would make excellent endorsers for the campaign. They would provide reliable information about their local areas and were asked to recommend their favorite neighborhood restaurants, allowing us to create compelling content for visitors to Busan.

Creative Execution

Some campaign content archives were established on the city’s official blog. Viral content has been continuously posted on social media for the last 10 months. A smart phone-optimized site dedicated to “Dongjang’s Favorites” was created. Search Engine Optimization was also used, allowing “Busan” or “Busancity” searches to further expose the content. Content has also been spread through print media, including the city newspaper, magazine and its English, Chinese and Japanese newspapers. Feature advertisements appeared in Air Busan’s in-flight magazine. “Dongjang’s Favorites” is finished and will be distributed to visitors through social media promotions. Outdoor advertising is also underway, including wide-color advertising at the airport and passengers’ terminal. Other outdoor advertising is being prepared for Busan City Tour bus stops as well as tour bus exteriors. LED sidewalk projections are scheduled to begin in August at Gwangalli and Haeundae, two of Korea’s most well-known beaches, at the peak of beach season.

1) Media Outputs •The city’s blog and social media: Exposed to 5,277,678, shared 4,500 times. •Search Engine Optimization:87,125 have been exposed to the web portal advertisement. •Wide-color advertisements: To be displayed at Gimhae International Airport’s domestic terminal (seven million passengers annually) and Busan Port’s International Passenger Terminal (1.2 passengers annually). •Feature advertisements in in-flight magazines: Exposed to 559,765 passengers. •Outdoor advertising through bus stop shelters and exteriors of Busan City Tour buses (for two months): Reach more than one million people potentially. •Beachside sidewalk projections utilizing LED technology: Exposed to more than three million people, based on official estimate of one million beach tourists per month. 2) Business Outcomes Busan was selected as one of “50 must-visit cities” by the New York Times in December 2016. Jeonpo Cafe Street, where one of the “Dongjang’s Favorites” is located, was highlighted. Visitors to the neighborhood increased 95 percent

The city distributed story templates to the community heads, asking them to write their reasons for their recommendations, why they are their favorites, suggestions on how others could enjoy them and other unique neighborhood characteristics. Recommendations were photographed and gathered for the content production. Blog content was also created to use as archive material for the “Dongjang’s Favorites” project. This storytelling content includes not only information about restaurants but also stories about history, culture, spaces and people in Busan neighborhoods, to help better understand the city. The content has been spread through the blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on the Korean Mobile blog. It has appeared in the city’s weekly newspaper, monthly magazine, as well as in English, Chinese and Japanese newspapers. It has also been publicized through portal brand search advertisements and the campaign is continuously underway through outdoor advertisements.