Background

The client is Itoigawa City located in Niigata Prefecture, which suffered from a population decline since 1955 and was seeking for a tourism strategy. Itoigawa is in the middle of the Japanese archipelago. A tectonic line passes through Itoigawa showing distinct and unique geology on either side of the fault. Today the city is the stone capital of Japan. Although, Itoigawa was recognized as Japan's first UNESCO World Geopark in 2009 for its dazzling geology, the city didn’t have any prominent tourism resources and was pale in comparison to famous neighboring tourist attractions. Thus, it was imperative to design a new city branding to rediscover Itoigawa’s distinctive charm.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

Itoigawa’s branding strategy focused on the unique “stones” scattered close-by. The city decided to rediscover the diversity of their original asset by conducting a citizen participation type art activity to make, “STONE FACES” and sublimate these common stones of various shapes and colors. The aim was to create a new bond between the stones and the local community.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

Itoigawa designed a format to induce artistic freedom and create distinctive “STONE FACES” at public facilities, museums, and elementary schools. Furthermore, it spread this concept on social media to encourage nationwide participation through smartphones. The platform led to spread a nationwide experience of rediscovering the allure of Itoigawa stones through diverse perspectives.

List the results (20% of vote)

The measures led to the creation of more than 1000 “STONE FACES” nationwide, by a variety of people from 3 to 80 years old. The official site went on to gain more than 40 times of accesses compared prior to the measures. The activity was featured on 78 medias and the advertising conversion value was more than 400 million yen. Itoigawa was able to create an original identity as “THE STONE CITY” and evolve to further heights.