Newspaper! What we can do now. What we can only do now. [22]Regional Newspapers Challenging Regional Revitalization (1) Project to Reclaim Japan's Top Spot in Gyoza
~Regional Newspapers Are Now Challenging New Initiatives, Leveraging Their Bonds with Readers as Assets~
Today, regional newspapers are leveraging their strong local networks to create new businesses and undertake initiatives that significantly contribute to regional revitalization. Each company is breaking traditional boundaries, continuously generating successful cases in new fields that lead to regional revitalization. This column, "Regional Newspapers Challenging Regional Revitalization," will feature unique examples from these efforts over six consecutive weeks!
Regional Newspapers Challenging Regional Revitalization (1)
Shimotsuke Shimbun
Project to Reclaim Japan's Top Gyoza Title
Promoting the famous "Utsunomiya Gyoza" nationwide. Highlighting its deliciousness through events
Utsunomiya City is famous as the "City of Gyoza." From 1996 to 2010, it held the top spot in Japan for per-household gyoza purchases according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Household Expenditure Survey. However, after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, it fell to second place due to reputational damage and raw material shortages, leading to a decline in tourists. To break this local slump, the Shimotsuke Shimbun launched the "Utsunomiya Gyoza Consumption Volume No. 1 in Japan Recapture Project." From May to December 2012, they implemented multifaceted initiatives including advertising specials, social media campaigns, storefront caravans, and events. This generated significant buzz and yielded results in advertising, such as attracting new advertisers. By the 2013 survey, Utsunomiya had successfully reclaimed the top spot. This project was highly praised for the comprehensive strength unique to a newspaper company, winning the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association's 34th Newspaper Advertising Award (Newspaper Company Planning Category) – the company's first time receiving this award.
While the city continued to compete with Hamamatsu City over gyoza consumption volume after 2013, the focus has now shifted away from rankings and toward spreading the unique deliciousness of Utsunomiya gyoza nationwide. From April 17 to 19 this year, the second "Utsunomiya Gyoza Festival in YOKOHAMA" was held, organized by the company (with cooperation from the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association). The venue, the plaza in front of Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, was enveloped in the savory aroma of gyoza. Fifteen shops from the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, which has about 80 member shops, set up stalls selling their signature gyoza. Approximately 160,000 people visited over the three days.
Takahiro Izawa, Section Chief of the Sales Department at the company's Tokyo branch, stated, "With the opening of the Ueno-Tokyo Line, Utsunomiya has become easily accessible for day trips from the Tokyo metropolitan area. We planned this event hoping people will visit the area during long holidays and summer vacations." The company aims to attract tourists and revitalize the region through gyoza.
Akihiro Suzuki, Secretary General of the Utsunomiya Gyoza Association, shared his vision: "We want to spread Utsunomiya gyoza worldwide, perhaps through collaborations with similar recipes from other countries, like ravioli."
In 2016, Utsunomiya is scheduled to host the "National Gyoza Summit," bringing together groups from across Japan engaged in town revitalization through gyoza. Expectations are high for the triumphant advance of Utsunomiya gyoza—from Utsunomiya to the nation, and then to the world.
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Media Services / Newspaper Division
Dentsu Inc.
For newspaper media, this is a time of major transformation. Precisely because of this, newspaper advertising now offers opportunities for diverse challenges, and the scope for creative advertising has expanded dramatically. In this column, Dentsu Inc. Media Services / Newspaper Division staff will serialize articles themed around "What newspaper media can do now. What can only be done now." We'll deliver the cutting edge of newspaper advertising to show you why "Newspaper advertising is exciting right now!"