Hiroshima Tourism Board: Cat Street View, 1

Credits & Description:

Client: Hiroshima Prefecture
Product: Hiroshima Tourism
Entrant: I&S Bbdo Tokyo, Japan
Idea: I&S Bbdo Tokyo, Japan
Editor: Sep
Music Artist/Title: https://hiroshima-welcome.jp/k...
Creative Director: Masaki Honda (BBDO Japan)
Copywriter: Tatsuro Kumaki (I&S BBDO inc.)
General Director: Kan Eguchi (Kooki)
Media planner: Kenta Takagi (I&S BBDO inc.)
Planner: Takeru Nagasaki (I&S BBDO inc.)
Art Director: Yoshiyuki Kaneko (I&S BBDO inc.)
Creative Director: Masaki Honda
Art Director: Yoshiyuki Kaneko
Account Manager: Hironobu Taniguchi
Account Executive: Shunsuke Takeda
Strategic Planning Director: Daisuke Sasaki
Senior Digital Planner: Hironori Ogata
Digital Planner: Tomohiro Hikami
Strategic Planner: Susumu Yamamoto
Planner: Tatsuro Kumaki/Kenta Takagi/Takeru Nagasaki
Film Production Company: Kooki, Hiroshima
Director: Kan Eguchi
Film Producer: Masaki Shimamura/Yuki Ebiko
Campaign Summary:
Onomichi Is A Small Quiet Port Town Located In Hiroshima-Prefecture, Unable To Generate Growth In Visitors. It Retains A Nostalgic Townscape Such As Many Old Japanese Houses And Small Pathways And Roads, But Lacks Obvious Tourist Attractions, And The Budgets For A Conventional Tourism Campaign. We Created A Unique And Charming City Visitor Experience: “Cat Street View”, An Interactive Map Like Google Street View, That Works As A Guide That Introduces Onomichis Charms From The Perspective Of Its Stray Cats - From A Height Of 15cm Above The Ground. Users Can Access This Original Site From Their Pcs Or Smartphones And Explore The Streets Of Onomichi Through The Eyes Of A Cat, As If They Were A Cat Themselves. In Addition To Searching For Typical Town Information, You Can Explore Even Small Alleys Or Under Cars Through The Eyes Of A Cat. While Interacting With The Content, People Naturally Learn Tourist Information About Onomichi. As A Result, “Cat Street View” Was Featured By 409 Media Outlets In Japan And Beyond, Boosting Website Searches For The City. The Total Number Of Tourists Who Use The “Onomichi Ropeway,” The Most Representative Tourist Attraction In Onomichi City Rose 8000 People (: 160%Up) In December 2015 Compared With The Same Month In The Previous Year. It Even Became A Social Phenomenon: Onomichi Hosted The Cat Festival In 2016. Moreover, A Leading Travel Company In Tokyo Offers A Package Tour Called The “Cat Tour,” And Is Now Conducting Tours On A Regular Basis.
The Brief:
This Is A Story Of How A Forgotten, Sleepy Town In Japan Revived Its Flagging Tourist Trade Through The Unlikely Marriage Of Leading Edge Map Technology And….Stray Cats. The Story Centres On Onomichi, A Small City Of 145,000 People Located On The Eastern Edge Of Hiroshima Prefecture In Southern Japan. Hiroshima Prefecture Has Two World Heritage Site “Magnets”: Itsukushima Shrine And The Atomic Bomb Dome. These Well-Known Sites Attract Many Tourists (Domestic And Foreign) To Hiroshima Prefecture; The Number Of Visitors To The Area Has Been Increasing Continuously For 4 Years At A Rate Of >5%. More Than 60 Million Visited Hiroshima Prefecture In 2014, And 4 Million Of Those Visited The Itsukushima Shrine Alone. The Problem Was That So Few Of These Visitors Were Making The Detour To Visit Onomichi, A 1.5 Hour Train Ride From The Centre Of Hiroshima. Frankly, Hardly Anyone Has Heard Of Onomichi, Let Alone Had The Time Or Inclination To Add Another Day To Their Itinerary. The City Was Not Featuring In The Guidebooks, It Was In Danger Of Falling Off The Map Quite Literally. As We Visited The City Ourselves For The First Time, We Were Surprised And Amazed At How Interesting The Visitor Experience Could Be For Those Who Make The Effort. Onomichi Is A Port City That Faces The Seto Inland Sea And Had A Thriving Maritime Culture For Many Years. The City Has Many Old Japanese Houses And Small Pathways And Roads, With Narrow Slopes And Small Discoveries Around Corners. It Boasts A Richly Nostalgic And Charming Atmosphere That Reminds Japanese Visitors Of The Good Old Days. But It Simply Lacked A “Draw Card”. And We Were Worried The City Would Not Appeal To Young People Who Do Not Appreciate Its Historical And Nostalgic Interest.
The Strategy:
Communication Challenge These Days, Tourists Cram Their Itineraries To Maximize Their Experience “Impact”. When There Is No Time To Lose On Your Trip, Tourists Are Attracted To “Big Draw” Locations. Visitors Need To Know What They Are Getting; Guidebooks And Tv Programs Show Us Only Famous Tourist Attractions And Restaurants. Onomichi Boasts No World Heritage Sites. The Reason For Visiting Onomichi Was Its Hidden Charms. But How To Make The Hidden Charms Of A Forgotten City A Major Magnet To A New Generation Of Potential Visitors? We Had To Find A Way To Create “Big News” About This Sleepy City. And With Only One Tenth Of The Prefectures Total Tourism Promotion Budget, We Needed To Solve Our Issues With A Very Small Budget. This Required A Different Approach To Tourism Marketing. Instead Of Providing A Conventional We Set Ourselves The Following Communications Challenge: Create An Authentic News Story About The Sleepy Charms Of Onomichi With The Intention To Create Publicity And Visitor Interest. Strategy The Best Tours Have A Tour Guide. Who Would Be Ours? Over The Years Onomichi Had Become Populated With A Different Kind Of Resident – Stray Cats. For Its Town Shape With Narrow Alleys, Many Slopes, No Cars, Near The Sea/Fishermans Town, Onomichi Is A Good Place For Cats To Live. Among Locals, The City Was Developing A Reputation For Its Stray Cats, Where You Always Find Some When Walking Along The Streets. We Had Found Our Weird And Wonderful New Tour Guide. -Cats Walk Around Every Corner In The Town. Cats Are “Explorers” Who Travel In And Out Of Alleys, Over Rooftops, And Know Everything About The Streets. We Thought That This Behavior Is Ideal For The Targets To Satisfy Their “Spirit Of Inquiry.” Accordingly, We Looked At Whether We Could Make The Streets Of Onomichi A Hot Topic Through A “Guide” Who Knows Everything About Onomichi: Instead Of Trying To Remove The Problem, We Used It As A Charm Of The Town. -Japanese Women Cant Get Enough Of Cats These Days. Cats Have Never Been More Popular. More Women Now Have Cats As Pets, And The Cat Population Is Expected To Overtake That Of Dogs In The Near Future*. Cats Have Become A Hot Topic In News And Social Media (The Cats-On-Youtube Phenomenon Is Just As Big In Japan), So The Idea Of Cats Being The Basis Of Our News Story Was Definitely Interesting. So, Our Core Idea Is: Introducing The Town Through The “Eyes Of Cats” To Help Tourists Notice The Unexpected And Authentic Attractions Of Onomichi That Are Not Mentioned In The Guidebooks.
The Execution:
“The Worlds First Street View Through The Eyes Of A Cat” We Created “Cat Street View.” This Is The Worlds First Street View Map Through The Eyes Of A Cat Looking Around Onomichi, As Seen From The Viewpoints Of The Cats In Onomichi (A Viewing Height Of 15 Cm Above The Ground). Users Can Access This Original Site From Their Pcs Or Smartphones And Explore The Streets Of Onomichi Through The Eyes Of A Cat, As If They Were A Cat Themselves. Not Only Does Our Branded Utility Operate As A Standard Street Map Guide, You Can Also Explore Small Alleys, Walk On Rooftops Or Hide Under Cars. Cat Street View Introduces You To The Cats In The Streets, As Well As Dining And Sightseeing Information. Another Way To Enjoy The Site Is To View The Special Content Of Cat Videos Taken In A Variety Of Locations, Which Are Packed With Scenes That Will Appeal To Cat Fans And Beyond. While Interacting With The Content, People Naturally Learn Tourist Information About Onomichi And Realise They Would Like To Visit And Experience The City For Themselves.
The Result:
“Cat Street View” Was Broadcast By 409 Media Outlets* In Japan And Abroad. The Free Media Generated For Onomichi Would Have Equated To An Advertising Cost Of Over Usd $8.0 Million* (Media Exposure). Given The Total Cost Of The Campaign Was About Usd 100k, This Equates To A Huge Success Of 80 Times In Terms Of Cost Media Amplification. After Its Launch, The Volume Of Traffic To The Site Reached Two Million Page Views For A Month. As A Result, The Total Number Of Tourists Who Use The “Onomichi Ropeway,” The Most Representative Tourist Attraction In Onomichi City Rose 8000 People (: 160%Up) Compared With The Same Month In The Previous Year. Beyond Our Original Expectations, Cat Street View Breathed New Energy Into The Citys Tourism Efforts. Onomichi Hosted The Cat Festival In 2016. Moreover, A Leading Travel Company In Tokyo Offers A Package Tour Called The “Cat Tour,” And Is Now Conducting Tours On A Regular Basis.