Why is this work relevant for PR?

We brought together Shibuya City and au (KDDI), one of Japan's largest telecoms, to create a new digital platform that would leverage the buzz around the metaverse, new technologies and, of course, exciting Shibuya, to gain earned media, while getting maximum talkability on social networks. We took advantage of the youth culture Shibuya enjoyed to help build its reputation as a hub for entertainment and new technology, while KDDI pushed to gain PR recognition around its burgeoning 5G tech.

Background

Shibuya, one of Tokyo's most iconic neighborhoods, has been the center of youth culture in Japan for many years. But in addition, the City wanted to become seen as Tokyo's most energetic tech top spot; a sort of Silicon Valley that would attract high-tech oriented youth energy and forward-thinking companies alike. Au by KDDI, one of Japan's biggest telecoms, wanted to prove their tech prowess in providing the most advanced (5G) online services, while gaining a large amount of PR in earned media and social following. We wanted to create new activation experience that could achieve what both these brands wanted in a mutually beneficial buzz-worthy solution.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The idea was to develop an entirely new virtual platform. One that could provide a variety of entertainment and lifestyle experiences, connecting visitors on a long-term basis with a virtual world that was connected to the real City they already loved: Shibuya. We set out to create Japan's move advanced metaverse out of Japan's most adored City. This world, which we call Shibuya Virtual City, would welcome avatars from a variety of sources. It would include Virtual Commerce, or 'V-Commerce'. It would offer all kinds of top-notch Japanese entertainment, including singers, comedians, movies, and exclusive stage shows. And it would even provide paid guides who could show you around, and help you find what you were interested in, within Shibuya Virtual City. We knew this would be a hot topic, as the virtual world (and the metaverse) was getting massive attention. Then add we were building Japan's most advanced.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

The target was widespread and varied. But the primary audience has been Gen Z from a social perspective—especially the more influential among Gen Z; opinion leaders, artists, the creative communities—and broadcast media, from an overall coverage agenda. We wanted to leverage the massive interest in the virtual world (metaverse) to help us gain this PR coverage we needed. Another target was tech-savvy businesses who make decisions about where they might locate a forward-thinking company, while encouraging leading companies already in Shibuya to stay put. And, of course, a third target was the media, aiming for earned media coverage. Our honed overall message was about building the future, fearlessly exploring new frontiers and contributing to the City for the next generation. And how au by KDDI had the prowess to make it happen.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Shibuya City partnered with KDDI to begin building Shibuya Virtual City, making it, block-by-block, an identical digital twin to the physical. All along the way, we created press releases talking about this new world being created. The first event people flocked to was Shibuya Virtual Halloween of 2020. Due to COVID-19, the physical city, which had become Halloween-Central in previous years, was all but shut-down. The pandemic made it the perfect occasion to create an amazing virtual entertainment experience which turned out to be the biggest Halloween event ever in Japan. After such a success, the KDDI and the City planned more. After a Christmas event and expansion into Shibuya City's awesome sexy retail environment in Harajuku, came Halloween 2021. There, avatars from nearly any source joined. V-Commerce was developed, allowing visitors to shop and purchase at the legendary sneaker store, Atmos, as well as the fashionable iconic, Laforet.

List the results (30% of vote)

The Shibuya Virtual City platform has become Japan's largest and most advanced metaverse. While welcoming an astounding 1,000,000+ visitors so far, the platform has broken various barriers. It has enabled access to the City from a wide variety of avatar generators, including Cluster's own avatar app. The virtual venue has also advanced V-commerce with a variety of retail outlets within the Shibuya metaverse. Even more meaningful has been the platform had operated as an employer, for those laid off during the pandemic, but also by the salaried hiring of the disabled, proving to themselves and others they had no disadvantage working in a virtual environment. But the PR / earned media results, while the goals were fairly ambitious at US$2mm, ended up being 25 times what clients had aimed for, with over US$50MM in media exposure value, receiving extensive coverage on all major Japan TV networks, bringing Shibuya City and KDDI top of mind.