Case Studies

JTB America's Total Support for Bushiroad's Booth at the Largest Anime Expo in North America

Client :Bushiroad US

Industry :Card games

Participants :Around 400,000

Destination :Las Vegas, USA

Period :Early July 2024 (4 days)

# Case Studies
# Trade Shows
# North/South Americas

Summary

Setting up booths at Anime Expo, one of the largest of its kind in North America
Building trust through consulting based on requirements and budget
Japanese attention to detail in project progression and management
Delivering a cost-effective event and significant results, leading to overseas recognition

Objectives

JTB America has been focusing more and more on exhibitions, a new area for the company. We earned an excellent reputation among U.S.-based businesses through our ability to understand what our clients needed and fulfill requests, and our Japanese level of hospitality honed through our long and extensive experience in the travel industry.

Our client was the U.S. subsidiary of Bushiroad, a Japanese entertainment company that develops card games and games based on anime and manga. Greater interest and excitement in their industry led them to enter the U.S. market. To further increase brand awareness and sales, they planned to set up a booth at Anime Expo, one of the largest anime conventions in North America. JTB America met with the client and offered total support from design planning to booth setup for the event.

Challenges

There were three issues in this project. First of all, since we had not previously been involved in the setup of booths for a client at a major exhibition, we needed to establish a relationship of trust. After meetings with top management, Japanese salespeople with strong marketing skills, and staff with strong proposal skills teamed up to carry out the project to conduct business meetings with the client.

In addition to creating a high-quality booth that would be a hit among attendees, we had to ensure it was cost-effective according to the budget. Furthermore, the exhibition business in the U.S. has its own unique business practices, which meant we had to consider potential risks that could appear in negotiations while proceeding with the project.

Key Points

Propose effective measures to attract customers and overseas recognition
Identify essential needs and plan the design of the booth
Proper project progression to ensure a high-quality exhibition
Implement measures utilizing knowledge from the travel industry hospitality

Solutions

Responding to clients by dividing responsibilities among areas of expertise

The top management for our exhibition business at JTB America personally visited the various companies of the client and interviewed them about any requirements they had for the exhibition. On top of that, some of our experienced Japanese knowledgeable about the client's needs, along with our American team responsible for the more specific aspects of the project management and set-up of the exhibition, worked together to carry out this project.

We ensured every level of the client’s business was involved, which helped us to understand what was required and avoid omissions. This avoided misunderstandings and helped us deliver a high-quality exhibition booth.

Resourceful design planning

Our ability to listen to clients and make their desires a reality, skills we have honed in the travel industry, helped us propose solutions to various issues. For example, the client requested that the booth be staged with LEDs in their brand color to increase engagement in the U.S. market. However, a cost issue led us to propose an alternative plan, in which their logo would be placed vertically on the pillars of the booth. Our idea helped increase brand awareness through stronger visibility while controlling costs.

Maintaining high quality through proper project progression

We anticipated potential problems in the run-up to the U.S. exhibition, including late deliveries or the booth not matching what was envisioned. To address these concerns, we demonstrated our project management skills cultivated through planning and running overseas projects and proceeded according to plan.

Regarding exhibition setup, sometimes display boards and other items can become tilted, so we ensured that the quality of the booth was up to our expectations by implementing thorough on-site management and Japanese-standard quality control.

Progress while following American business practices

There are situations at U.S. trade shows when the venue's union has to be contacted when setting up a booth. Unions may set deadlines for the delivery of goods and booth construction dates, and depending on the exhibition venue, failure to follow these procedures could cause major disruptions during setup. JTB America was aware of this. Our experience with American business practices enabled us to identify risks and make appropriate situational decisions.

Conclusion

The planning, construction, and set-up of Bushiroad's exhibition booth by JTB America was a great success. The advanced design of the booth succeeded in grabbing the attention of international customers, which was further confirmed by the high merchandise sales. The company made significant inroads in North America, and signs show this reception will lead to large-scale marketing projects, including future overseas business development.

The key to this success was JTB America's consistent consulting and execution during the planning process. Another key was our ability to balance budget and demand, a great quality we have as a business partner to the client. Our ability to systematically understand a client’s requirements and flexibly change our approach is what makes us a cut above the pack. This strength of ours will help lead more businesses to success in exhibitions.

Project Lead

Takashi Ochiai

JTB USA, Inc.
Meetings and Events
Director of Sales

With over 30+ years of experience working travel/hospitality industry in both inbound and outbound (a half of those years as a client-facing sales staff and the other half as a vendor-facing operation staff), I have extensive knowledge, experience and confidence to make clients' objectives materialized together with my team, regardless of the type of travel/event including booth setup.