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MVA steps up marketing campaign in Japan
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Posted on Feb 14 2000
The Marianas Visitors Authority will meet with tour operators and planners in Tokyo tomorrow to begin its marketing campaign this summer from June to September.
With the theme “Happy Children in Paradise”, the meeting is an opportunity to seek the assistance of Japanese travel agents in selling the CNMI this coming summer vacation.
According to Norman Berg, marketing director of MVA, the tourism agency will review with Tokyo-based advertising company Dentsu 10’s plans for the second half of Fiscal Year 2000. MVA Managing Director Perry Tenorio and Mr. Berg will meet with the tour operators and Dentsu 10 executives for two days.
MVA is still using the mascot Sai-panda, symbolizing the male Japanese traveler who keeps on going back to Saipan which was created by Dentsu. Targeting the family market, Dentsu has now added two more characters — a female Sai-panda and little Sai-panda.
The mascots were created to increase mind share as well as to reposition and differentiate the CNMI from other destinations.
The MVA board has approved a $2.1 million budget for Fiscal Year 2000 for Dentsu 10. Originally, MVA was planning to have a television commercial in selected cities in Japan but the limited resources have left the board with no choice but to shelve it indefinitely.
The $2.1 million includes placement of advertisements in travel trade and consumer publications.
As the Sai-panda character and campaign gains ground in Japan, MVA hopes to take advantage of its unique qualities through corporate merchandising of products. Since Sai-panda was introduced in the Japanese market, MVA has limited its marketing campaign to newspapers, magazines, and train stations.
MVA is set to evaluate the effectiveness of using Saipanda mascot in its advertising campaign in Japan, a year after it was introduced in the market. In fact, the MVA board has approved a $100,000 budget for an independent firm to carry out the survey.
In the planned marketing evaluation, MVA wants to know if the consumers have associated Sai-panda with the destination and whether the agency’s campaign is in the right direction.
