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 promotion 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.

The Brief

The budget consisted of a single allotment of 5 million yen(US$45,600) used for the production of the initial concept video. The implementation of the Spamusement Park was completely covered by donations, exceeding 90 million yen (US$821,000) collected from all over Japan. With the leadership of the mayor and city hall, as well as with the assistance of numerous local volunteers, the project was successful in creating a national viral news story with a relatively compact budget.

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 park using the ideas from both individuals and local companies. In addition, over 1200 local volunteers participated in promoting the event with posters in eating and drinking establishments, leading to a feeling that the whole city was involved in the start of a new image for the hot spring city.

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

Within 72 hours of it’s release, the concept video quickly 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.

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

Well known for representing Japan’s hot spring culture, Beppu City had been suffering from declining tourism and depopulation.By a completely unprecedented use of it’s unique hot spring resources, the city was able to create a viral news story, a unique customer experience, and in turn, succeeded in claiming a new,differentiated position as a hot spring city.

We set out to answer the challenge of creating the world’s first hot spring amusement park as a way to motivate tourists to chose the city of Beppu as a destination. Soon after the release of the concept video on YouTube, the city announced a 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 long-running publicity.