Over 1.3 million visitors from around the world! An updated metaverse event to celebrate Halloween in Shibuya
We were in charge of the "Virtual Shibuya" Halloween events that the city has created in hopes of addressing the social issues that the Halloween festivities in Shibuya have raised in recent years.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings of people and raucous celebrations around Halloween became an issue for Shibuya. The first Halloween during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Shibuya's mayor asked people to not to come to Shibuya, and instead offered an alternative way to celebrate at Halloween events held in the city's official "Virtual Shibuya" area in the Metaverse. Since then, we have continued to propose new ways to celebrate Halloween in Shibuya virtually that do to not involve noisy gatherings in the streets of Shibuya.
We developed PR activities aimed at generating discussion about the topic in mass media, specifically television, to ensure that we got the information Shibuya's virtual Halloween events out to as many people as possible. PR events included bringing reporters to experience Shibuya's Virtual Halloween to create content suited for feature slots on TV programs. We also brough in celebrities for PR events where they experience Virtual Halloween to showcase some of the fun that is only possible through a virtual event.
All of these efforts resulted in a turnout of roughly 1.3 million visitors total over the three years the event has been held.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, large gatherings of people and raucous celebrations around Halloween became an issue for Shibuya. The first Halloween during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Shibuya's mayor asked people to not to come to Shibuya, and instead offered an alternative way to celebrate at Halloween events held in the city's official "Virtual Shibuya" area in the Metaverse. Since then, we have continued to propose new ways to celebrate Halloween in Shibuya virtually that do to not involve noisy gatherings in the streets of Shibuya.
We developed PR activities aimed at generating discussion about the topic in mass media, specifically television, to ensure that we got the information Shibuya's virtual Halloween events out to as many people as possible. PR events included bringing reporters to experience Shibuya's Virtual Halloween to create content suited for feature slots on TV programs. We also brough in celebrities for PR events where they experience Virtual Halloween to showcase some of the fun that is only possible through a virtual event.
All of these efforts resulted in a turnout of roughly 1.3 million visitors total over the three years the event has been held.