Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia

Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival

Services:

Comprehensive media relations services for the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia

Challenge:

The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia’s mission is to cultivate understanding between the peoples of Japan and the United States. SteegeThomson has worked with JASGP since 2004 to build awareness of its Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival and to secure advance publicity to drive attendance at Festival events.

Approach:

Over the years, SteegeThomson has used a combination of tactics to publicize the Festival. Outreach to print, broadcast, and online outlets has been complemented by refinements to the Festival website, attention to search engine marketing, and expansion into marketing events and mobile advertising. One year, a direct-to-participant program at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station reached more than half a million train riders from the Philadelphia region. Our recommendations to strengthen the Festival microsite led to huge increases in visitors in 2008 and 2009, and the addition of mobile advertising in 2011 garnered nearly a million impressions and generated over 4,700 unique click-throughs to a mobile-optimized info page. Social networking tools, including a Facebook page where visitors posted their own Festival stories and photos, and an active Twitter feed followed by visitors and bloggers alike, allowed us to increase publicity despite a smaller advertising budget. Establishing these conduits of information proved invaluable in 2011, when SteegeThomson was able to position JASGP as the go-to local source for information on the devastating earthquake in Japan, helping our client transition a cultural celebration into a relief effort with impact.

Results:

SteegeThomson has helped the Festival garner significant media coverage, generate increased interest among online audiences, and drive markedly increased attendance. Accomplishments include:

• Increased total impressions by 56 percent from previous year to reach more than 18 million readers/viewers/listeners.

• Increased hits on the Festival’s microsite by 41 percent from previous year to one million, and by 21 percent in unique visitors, in a two-month period.