The objective was to increase the number of visitors. Since peaking in 1987, the number of visitors to the Ikuno Silver Mine had been continually decreasing. The mine was only able to generate interest among mainly the aged, partially due its existence as an old silver mine – a rather mundane tourist attraction. However, this only generated a few new visitors. In order to increase numbers, it was necessary to target the young generation, which the mine had been previously unsuccessful in attracting, with contents young people would find interesting.

Taking advantage of the attributes attached to idols in Japan, this campaign transformed mannequins placed in a tourist spot for the purpose of explanation. It aimed to create a new touch point with young persons and families, two groups who were previously uninterested in the Ikuno Silver Mine.

We focused our attention on idol groups such as AKB48 and their prominence in Japan’s pop culture. One trait of Japanese idol fans is they will do almost anything for their favorite idol group members. To encourage them on, fans buy expensive goods and even travel long distances to see concerts.

With this in mind, we formed an idol group at the Ikuno Silver Mine with the purpose of creating fans who would come and see it. The members were the sixty mannequins already found in mineshaft that displayed how workers mined silver in the past. We hoped this totally unexpected choice of mannequins as idols – a first in Japan and maybe the world – would have an intense impact and create a huge fan base who would then come to the mine to see their favotite members.

We tryed to make this stream:

Creation of contents with impact >Become an online topic (Without advertising) >

Become NEWS on the mass media > Increase fan base >Resulted in a promotional story that increased the number of visitors.

Taking advantage of the Japanese idol culture, we devised a campaign modeled after publicity campaigns for Japanese idols. We created contents that would gain the empathy and support of fans in the same way they are attracted to real living idols.

Detailed contents:

1. Release of an idol group like single and music video

2. Production of a concert

3. Creation of a website containing the profiles of all 60 group members

4. Sales of fan goods

5. Direct contact with members via social media, etc.