In is not well known among Japanese that Kumamoto in Kyushu, western Japan, is one of the country’s richest agricultural regions. Most were unaware that the prefecture is a top source of tomatoes, the nation’s favourite vegetable. Recent efforts by authorities to brand Kumamoto the “red prefecture”, highlighting the various red-coloured foods it produced had been unsuccessful. Only 16.5% of the public had made the connection that Kumamoto equals red.

The agency stepped in to assist, devising a campaign centred on Kumamoto’s mascot ‘Kumamon’. The cute bear-like character is extremely popular throughout Japan and its red cheeks represent Kumamoto’s red produce. The plan was to attract widespread media and public attention by creating an “incident”. In October 2013, an announcement was made that Kumamon had "lost” his characteristic red cheeks and that a nationwide search was being launched to find them. Extensive coverage in mainstream and online media produced an enthusiastic public response, with thousands Tweeting claiming to have “found the cheeks”.

Three days into the search, Kumamon’s cheeks were declared found, and the true purpose of the episode – to promote Kumamoto as a “red” food-producing region – was revealed. The Kumamoto-means-delicious-red-food connection was made by linking Kumamon’s lost cheeks with the well-known Japanese saying that eating something tasty makes your “cheeks fall off”.

Full-year sales of Kumamon-branded foods in 2013 increased 10% from 2012, even though the campaign was only launched in the year’s last quarter.

Leveraging the Japanese saying delicious foods make your cheeks drop, the agency created a story that Kumamon had lost his cheeks after enjoying Kumamoto’s tasty foods.

In the campaign’s initial phase however, no link was overtly drawn between the saying and the mystery. As the tale of Kumamon’s lost cheeks was presented to the media, posters were distributed in busy shopping areas in Tokyo appealing for public assistance with the search.

Over subsequent days, Kumamon appeared at public events and on TV without his cheeks, adding to the story’s momentum. Furthermore, social media sites were fully utilized, with a cheek-less Kumamon replacing the character’s usual Twitter and Facebook profiles; regular search updates, including photos, were posted.

Once the cheeks were “found” and the episode’s true aim revealed, the campaign message was actively promoted through news and entertainment media. A smartphone game and picture book, both specially created provided fun support.

The incident of Kumamon’s missing cheeks, and their subsequent discovery, earned Kumamoto wide exposure in the media as a food-producing region, with 23 TV shows, 30 newspapers articles and over 400 websites running the story. This led to a 10% year-on-year increase in Kumamon-branded food sales in 2013, even though the campaign was only executed in the year’s final quarter.

The “Thank You Tomato” initiative, a lottery held for 100 special boxes of Kumamoto tomatoes, also attracted widespread media and public attention, with over 10,000 applications received.

And whereas in 2012 the public had mostly associated the colour green with the prefecture, by 2013 red was firmly established as its no.1 brand image colour. Kumamoto’s top daily newspaper Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun wrote in a November 9 article, “this unique PR campaign focusing on Kumamon’s missing cheeks is a success” and the people of Kumamoto recognized the local government’s PR efforts.