Background

This work is a branding project for the tasting event “JAPANESE SAKE MATSURI 2019” by KURAYA.The object was to attract not only sake-lovers to the event but also young people who may be less familiar with sake. The unique point of this event was that all makers of the exhibited sake showed up to the event and directly gave their sake to partiscipants.So the client wanted to highlight how much effort that goes into making sake and that it faces the power of the japanese nature in the process. They also wanted to show that the current industry is in an exciting phase because of a new generation of breweries. The main target audience for the advertisement was young people, 20 to 35 years old.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

The process of brewing sake is much more exciting than that many people imagine. It needs tactics toward unpredictability of natural products like crops and yeast, try-and-error for better brewering method, a quest for some new taste, and construction of confidence in the team. We found that it's just like sports, challenging with all their skills and powers, that excites young people. Describing the process of brewering sake like various type of sports, we showed that people could get a joy to favor a team and be moved to meet an excellent performance, as well as sports, in the industry of sake.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

We choose illustration because it can create a new world where brewering sake in real and our new concept would be all togeher.Through its phisical and active touch, we described the symbolic scenes of brewering sake just like playing scenes of some sports. The process of making koji, taking off the wear and stretching their arms to cool koji, like a swimming.That of grinding rice and koji, together with team mates, like a moment of canoe. And That of tasting, surrounded the barrels of sake, like a conditioning mentality before the game in a locker room. In this way we studied the angle of illustrations to look like both scenes along each theme. As well, we chose the pop colors for illustrations because they can break an old image of sake and make people feel our new concept of sports.

List the results (20% of vote)

We released this campaign at 20th April 2019 in Tokyo Japan for an announcement with billboards, posters in brewery shops, tickets and flyers. As a result, KURAYA sold out all tickets in that year. At the event we did more illustrations and decorations and made the venue sporty. Many young people joined the stamp ralley, designed like a marathon, challenging some new sake and enjoyed tasting sake and communication with the makers, imagining the brewing process of it.