The Campaign

Using a trend for people to travel to locales featured in films and animation, we supported tourism to the disaster-stricken Minami Aso, where tourist numbers had fallen dramatically. The target was housewives in their 30s-40s who plan year-end holiday trips. It was shown at movie theaters, outdoor screens, online, on television, and more around Japan. The intent was to inspire visitors to come and shoot their own version of the scene and post it to social media, bringing the first happy news since the disaster. We wanted to encourage tourism by changing Minami Aso from a disaster zone to the site of a well-known love story.

Execution

We shot the love story in Minami Aso, which experienced a decline in tourists due to the Kuramoto Earthquake and Mt. Aso eruption. Filming took place three weeks after the eruption. It was shown at movie theaters around the country, on outdoor screens, online, and on television. It was also independently spread on social media by people who visited the tourist site. It was taken up by a variety of media as the “first good news in Minami Aso since the disaster.” The transformation of Minami Aso’s image from “disaster-stricken area” to “site of a well-known love story” inspired tourists to visit, and visitor numbers in the shoot location rose 2000% compared to before the campaign. The site was even included on tours of popular spots.

2nd Level: It was picked up by domestic media 106 times, and PR estimate is approximately 100 million yen. Visitors to the site of the ad, Miharashidai Station, grew by 2000%. Gogo no Kocha was known as the hot drink that kept people warm in the disaster area. 3rd Level: The hot beverage Gogo no Kocha experienced a 126% sales increase compared to the previous year, and sold over 1.2 billion bottles.

The Situation

This love story takes place in Minami Aso, which was impacted by a decline in tourism due to the Kumamoto Earthquake and Mt. Aso eruption. It was shown in movie theaters, on outdoor screens, online, and on television. Visitors posted their re-creations on social media, and the shoot location became a popular spot. News of this project appeared in the media 106 times. By changing it from a disaster site to the site of a love story, the location saw a 2000% visitor increase. The hot beverage Gogo no Kocha experienced a year-on-year increase in winter sales of 126%.

The Strategy

Make a nostalgic love story featuring a love song that was popular 20 years ago in order to target women in their 30s and 40s who plan year-end family holidays. In order to make a love story that is known throughout Japan, we took a diverse media approach, showing it at movie theaters, on outdoor screens, online, and on television. Minami Aso has a strong image as the site of two natural disasters, but we will change that image so it becomes the site of a love story. We can use the recent trend to visit sites of famous film and animation scenes to entice people to go sightseeing in Minami Aso.