Case Study

September 2011, 2012

Fussa, Japan

THE CHALLENGE

The Friendship Festival is one of the most anticipated festivals of the year through the Kanto plains region. 200,000 visitors flock to Yokota Air Base for a chance to see the flight line and all its aircraft up close. But, how do you keep an annual event fresh?

THE SOLUTION

The event was getting repetitive - the same performers, the same food, the same everything. My colleagues and I brainstormed on how to balance sticking to what people expected, whilst bringing in something new and exciting. Working closely with security ops, we were able to contract new local acts and vendors, enough to warrant the addition of another stage! We featured a local taiko drumming team (fun fact - I was one of the drummers!), hired more kid-friendly activities such as a petting zoo, train rides, and art stations, rock and hip hop performers, competitions, and featured food and beverage vendors from downtown Tokyo. Overall, we increased the booth space by about 25% due to all the new vendors. And of course, we increased the fireworks budget...because fireworks. The increase in vendors offset our cost for performers, and we came out with a bigger and better Friendship Festival!

THE RESULTS

Because of our increased outreach for vendors and performers, the word spread around about our newly opened doors. So, we received more interest the following year from even more talented individuals. We were unable to accommodate all acts and ended up creating a waitlist.