YUBARI RESORT: CITY OF LOVE

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Released:	June 2009
Advertiser:	YUBARI RESORT
Brand name:	YUBARI CITY TOURISM
Agency:	BEACON COMMUNICATIONS
Country:	Japan
Category:	Entertainment & leisure
Awards:	Cannes Lions 2009 Promo Grand Prix Cannes Lions 2009 PR Lion
Tags:	Cannes Lions 2009 Case study

Credits:

PR: Mika Archer

Describe the brief from the client:
With a debt of $353 million, Yubari City in Hokkaido, Japan, went bankrupt in 2007. Our mission was to promote Yubari, reenergize its citizens, and help make the city economically viable once more.
Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation:
We focused on the fact that Yubari boasted the lowest divorce rate in the whole of Japan and created the idea, "Yubari, no money but love". In expanding this idea we created a loveable, yet slightly ironic character called "Yubari Fusai" - “Fusai” means both “debt” and “married couple” in Japanese. We then collaborated with the City to create additional schemes that positioned the city as a destination for happy couples – official certificates of happily married couples, branded merchandise and Yubari music CD’s, to name but a few.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results:
$1.5 million was generated in advertising value with exposure including 100 newspaper mentions, 100 online media mentions, 30 TV mentions and 53,100 blog entries (source: Google search). -Since the initiation of this project, annual number of visitors to Yubari increased 10% year on year, whilst $31 million has been generated toward alleviating the city's debt. - Branded Yubari Fusai products that initially were only available in Yubari now enjoy popularity nationwide.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service:
Given the state of the city’s finances the idea had to be low cost but highly effective. Just as importantly, our promotion had to be upbeat and positive. We needed to protect the sensitivities of the local residents and be sure that the promotion didn’t demean them in any way. The idea of “no money but love” was an honest, yet endearing articulation of the situation they faced. Added to which, and in a country obsessed by cute characters such as Hello Kitty, the Yubari Fusai icon, proved to be a potent vehicle in generating WOM, print and broadcast PR.