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The Tree Of Senbazuru by Japan Airlines
The Tree Of Senbazuru by Japan Airlines
To launch its new flights from TokyoNarita to Melbourne, Japan Airlines (JAL) teamed up with the Japanese Tourist Board to run a promotion in Australia called ‘The Tree of Senbazuru.’
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According to Japan Airlines,
Japan Airlines took this concept and developed a two part promotion. There was direct to consumer activity in a Melbourne shopping centre and an online promotion for Australians in general.
The shopping centre activity happened over two days when JAL and the Japan Tourist Board set up their own Tree of Senbazuru. Local shoppers were able to come and visit and to pick one of the hanging cranes. Each one was an entry into a competition to win return flights to Japan.
The shopping centre installation also included two business class seats, which shoppers could try out for themselves. Other giveaways up for grabs from Japan Airlines included travel pouches, happi coats, uchiwa fans, pens and clear files.
The agency which created the tactic, Australian digital agency, Circul8 claims that almost 6,000 people visited over the two days and that the “atmosphere was electric, with Japan Airline flight attendants and ambassadors educating participants on the in-flight experience, the airline flight paths and why Japan is the next ideal holiday destination.”
The second part of the Senbazuru promotion has been to run an online competition.
The mechanic is simple, you click on a paper crane on a landing page, it fills in a code, you enter your email address and you are in the draw to win flights.
As we’ve mentioned in past issues, our biggest watch out when it comes to on street / shopping centre activations is that you can only reach a limited number of people.
Unless you are doing something really stand-out and different (The Delta Tinder Wall is a good example), you need to think about whether the investment is really justified when you are reaching several thousand people. Or, at the very least you need to make sure a wider audience hears about it and has the chance to take part.
As a result, it’s positive that Japan Airlines’ agency added an online competition to complement the shopping centre installation.
We do wonder whether there was even more potential to get value out of the ‘Senbazuru’ theme.
Some ideas for how this could have been taken further: As it is Origami based, why not challenge Instagram users to send in pictures of their own Origami? Why not have short videos, showing how you can make the paper cranes yourself?
Or, why not have a competition in the shopping centre, where you challenge shoppers to make the cranes in a race against the clock.
Key Take-Away
When doing on street or shopping centre (or in airport) stunts or installations there are three things to look out for.
1 - Can you reach a wider audience other than the limited number of people who see the installation. And can you develop some kind of mechanic that allows a much wider audience to take part?
2 - How can you take the core creative and really get the most out of it, in terms of marketing tactics?
3 - And finally, how can you give the theme a bit of longevity, so it’s not just a “one hit wonder.” In the case of the Origamithemed campaign, how can you stretch something like that over weeks or even months?
