Our challenge was the diminishing brand value of i-MiEV electric vehicle after the Tohoku Earthquake.

Our goal was to rebrand i-MiEV in the post-earthquake Japan.Japanese consumers’ attentions shifted from the ‘individuals’ to the ‘society’, and many community actions happened that strengthened human ties. Witnessing such change, we decided to redefine the value of electric vehicles from individual means of transportation to a device that creates happiness in communities.The concept was 'More than just an electric vehicle'.We learned that EVs are one gigantic battery, and hosted the world’s first Nebuta Festival (Japan’s most famous and largest annual lantern festival in the Tohoku region) using i-MiEV as the sole power source.As a result, the project created serious media attention. A total of 105 media outlets, including the most widely circulated newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, reported about the festival. The project successfully contributed to the rebranding of i-MiEV.

We hosted the world’s first Nebuta Festival using i-MiEV as the power source.

The festival was reported on 105 media outlets, and a documentary film was created and broadcast on touch points such as TV, websites, YouTube, Mitsubishi Motors dealerships, and the Tokyo Motor Show.The festival was also featured in the main catalogue of Mitsubishi Motor Corporation, which is distributed throughout Japan, and the project successfully contributed to the rebranding of i-MiEV.

Stories about the world’s first EV-powered festival rapidly gained momentum, and they had spread all across Japan. Our use of the i-MiEV electric vehicle and the hopes for the recovery of our country went in harmony with the Nebuta Festival – it created many smiles, much happiness, and lightened up our hopes and bonds in the post-earthquake Japan.