The Campaign

By using the biggest asset of the city in a way that no one had ever imagined, and to create news buzz, the world’s first hot spring amusement park, called the “Spamusement Park Project” was announced in a promotional video on YouTube. In this concept video, the mayor of Beppu City pledged that if the video reached 1 million views, the park would become a reality. The idea sparked interest in the Japanese public, well-known for their love of a dip in a hot spring bath.

Creative Execution

The Spamusement Park was made possible with the full cooperation from the city’s old amusement park, as well as donor funds, which were used to repurpose the entire park using the ideas from both individuals and local companies. National newspapers and TV media regularly reported on the progress of this rebuilding, adding to the publicity.

Within 72 hours of it’s release, the concept video reached over 1 million views. Donors from all over Japan raised 90 million yen (US$821,000). During the 3 days of operation, the Spamusement Park had 12,000 visitors, causing congestion in the local townships. 70% of visitors came from other prefectures, and all hotels and inns in the city were at maximum occupancy. From the release of the concept video to the opening of the Spamusement Park, was approximately 9 months. During this period, numerous TV networks, including Japan’s prestigious public broadcasting network - NHK, aired promotional segments and programs with an estimated combined value of 10.4 billion yen. In addition, national celebrities originally from the area, helped by voluntarily promoting the project on SNS, helping to increase awareness even more.

Using an unprecedented media strategy, Beppu City was able to combine it’s hot spring resources and an old amusement park to create a hot spring amusement park, name the “Spamusement Park.” The park itself became a national news story, promoting and positioning the hot spring city as the first-of-it’s-kind in media.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Beppu City set out to meet the challenge of actually creating the world’s first Spamusement Park to attract tourists and create a media attention. In order to sustain interest after the initial video release, the city began it’s first ever crowd funding project. The call went out over all of Japan to those interested in experiencing this unique park. Limiting admission to donors only was the strategy of Beppu City, which lead to additional publicity.