SHIBUYA VIRTUAL HALLOWEEN

TitleSHIBUYA VIRTUAL HALLOWEEN
BrandAU BY KDDI, FUTURE DESIGN SHIBUYA
Product / ServiceSHIBUYA CITY, TELECOM SERVICES
CategoryG08. Market Disruption
EntrantGEOMETRY OGILVY JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation GEOMETRY OGILVY JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN
Production CLUSTER Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Doug Schiff Geometry Ogilvy Japan Chief Creative Officer
Yasushi Arikawa Geometry Ogilvy Japan Creative Director
Hiroyuki Furuta Geometry Ogilvy Japan Art Director
Eriko Tanii Geometry Ogilvy Japan Associate Art Director
Naoya Kataoka Geometry Ogilvy Japan Copywriter
Iori Hayakawa Geometry Ogilvy Japan Designer/Associate Art Director
Takuya Murakami Geometry Ogilvy Japan Account Director
Tadao Ieda Geometry Ogilvy Japan Account Director
Ikko Nakata Geometry Ogilvy Japan Senior Digital Producer
Junya Takahashi Geometry Ogilvy Japan Activation Director
Takehiro Shishido Geometry Ogilvy Japan Senior Activation Executive
Takeshito Hikida Geometry Ogilvy Japan Creative Producer / Activation Manager
Morris Ku Geometry Ogilvy Japan Creative Video Director
Aki Sugawara Geometry Ogilvy Japan Creative Services Director
Satoshi Kuno CLIVER Executive Producer
Akihiko Narita Cluster Executive Director
Ryoya Ino Cluster Director
Masahiro Hashimoto Cluster Director
Juji Kawaguchi Cluster Director
Kazuki Nomura Cluster Director
Yuto Sano Cluster Director
Tomomi Shinohara Cluster Designer
Keita Shibagaki Cluster Designer
Akimi Miyamoto Cluster Designer
Naoki Tanazawa Cluster Designer
Atsunori Toshi A4A Film Director

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Shibuya City and au (KDDI), one of Japan's largest telecoms, were brought together to create an event that was created to get covered by the news media--as it answered the dilemma of how the energetic youth of Tokyo could celebrate a favorite holiday, Halloween, during a COVID lockdown.

Background

Shibuya, one of Tokyo's most iconic neighborhoods, has been center stage for Halloween partygoers in recent years. But COVID all but ruled out gathering in any overcrowded streets in 2020. The objectives for the two clients are the Halloween holiday were clear: Shibuya City, wanted to become known as Tokyo's most energetic tech hot-spot, a sort of cool Silicon Valley that would attract high-tech youth and companies alike, while au, one of Japan's biggest telecoms, wanted to prove their tech prowess in providing the most forward-thinking online services. We decided to bring these brands together and combine the asks with a single, mutually beneficial solution.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

As Halloween approached, the widely enjoyed holiday in Japan couldn't be normally celebrated—not in COVID-stricken 2020. Instead, the two brands built, block-by-block, a virtual Shibuya City that would hold the largest ever Halloween gathering. With visitors able to interact with others by creating moving and speaking avatars, while enjoying top-notch entertainment, Shibuya's Virtual Halloween became the talk of the town.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

The target was widespread and varied. One primary audience was those who, in normal times, would gather in Shibuya for the fun that Shibuya’s Halloween had become known for over the years. Another was tech-savvy businesses who make decisions about where they might locate a forward-thinking company. Underlying the entirety, though, was media, because if the event could get exposure on TV and other channels, it’d reach the general masses who were deciding where to spend their Saturdays (Shibuya!), and/or making personal telecom decisions based on how they view the major brands: au, Softbank, NTT Docomo, etc. With Halloween at a standstill due to COVID lockdowns, and Shibuya wanting to create something in lieu of the lost brand-building event—the Shibuya mayor even telling people not to come—along with au wanting to prove its tech-prowess, we brought the two goals and target audiences together in a single strategic direction.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

As Halloween approached, we seeded the idea of a virtual Halloween with media outlets across the country. Then during the live event, we encouraged influencers and those in the media to take part, even while on air. Visitors created their own personalized avatars and walked the streets of Shibuya. There they could attend the live performances--featuring some of Japan's biggest music and tv characters and personalities--while interacting in real-time with friends and acquaintances attending, creating an entirely new way to experience entertainment. Shibuya's Virtual Halloween was an online event easily accessible through a number of au and Shibuya websites and social accounts, as well as through the campaign hashtag: #stayvirtual.

List the results (30% of vote)

The earned media garnered for the Shibuya Virtual Halloween event was more than 10 times what clients had hoped for, with over US$20MM in media exposure value, getting not just mentions on Japan's TV networks, such as NHK, but also garnering live walking tours through the virtual event with media hosts—and their avatars—as talking guides on Japan's biggest news and variety programming. Over 400,00 attended Shibuya's Virtual Halloween, with visitors coming from all across Japan--some even from overseas. This is many times the number of visitors who had come to the physical Shibuya Halloween event the previous year. Overall, Shibuya's Virtual Halloween was such a success that it became a huge topic of conversation; and while doing so, has provided us with hints of what the future of sharing and entertainment may hold in store.

Please tell us how disruption in your market place inspired the work

While the COVID numbers in Japan have not been as bad as in many other countries, the Japanese government did have an emergency lock-down across Tokyo, including the very popular gathering spot of Shibuya, forcing brands with Halloween promotional ideas to think again. So, in order to put on an inspired Halloween experience, Shibuya came together with au (KDDI) to pivot and, in a way, make lemonade out of the lemons of COVID, as the temperatures began to fall and those infected began to rise.

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