Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival: Local Branding for Tourism Enhancement

The Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival aims to enhance local branding through social media, art projects, community engagement, and expected economic, cultural, and environmental effects.

### Local Branding Strategies for the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival in Bocheon
* 🌸 The Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival held by an insurance company features cherry blossom roads on both sides of the Bocheon Stream, offering visitors a unique experience to **enjoy beautiful cherry blossoms** through various programs such as **walking events**.
* 📊 Despite being relatively well-known in Chungcheongbuk-do and nearby areas, the festival lacks nationwide recognition, especially among **younger generations who are active on social media platforms**.
* 📱 To address this, the first local branding strategy focuses on **improving the social media strategy** by actively engaging popular travel bloggers and influencers to share festival moments on SNS and offering rewards for participant engagement, targeting the **Gen Z population**.
* 🛍 In terms of the consumer decision-making process, this strategy aims to **create awareness, provide information, and encourage participation** in the festival evaluation and purchasing stages.
* 🎨 The second local branding strategy involves conducting art projects such as **painting giant cherry blossom murals** in public places and streets, collaborating with famous mural companies, and organizing painting competitions with cherry blossoms as the theme to create **popular SNS photo spots**.
* 👥 The third local branding strategy focuses on engaging with local residents by organizing various programs such as **cooking classes using local specialties like jujube** and operating **handicraft experience programs**, fostering **cultural exchange and community interaction**.
* 💼 The expected effects of these local branding strategies include providing **temporary employment opportunities**, strengthening cooperation with local businesses, establishing the festival as a **representative event associated with the local identity**, and promoting **conservation and sustainable tourism efforts**.
* 🌿 By actively utilizing the natural landscapes and cultural resources of the region, the festival aims to **contribute to the protection and preservation of the local ecosystem and environment**, ensuring that local residents and tourists can **enjoy the beauty of nature and culture in a sustainable manner**.

Hello, I'm Kim Min-hye from the Department of Business Administration, here to present the local branding of the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival. I will talk about the festival introduction, the existing market research and analysis, and the expected effects of local branding in that order. First, let me introduce the festival. The Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival is an event held every spring by an insurance company. Unlike typical cherry blossom festivals that are one-directional, with cherry blossom roads on the right or left, the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival features cherry blossom roads on both sides of the Bocheon Stream, one of the representative cherry blossom spots in Boon. These roads on both sides are like tunnels, allowing visitors to enjoy beautiful cherry blossoms. Since the festival takes place during the cherry blossom blooming season, visitors can enjoy not only the splendid cherry blossoms but also various offerings, cherry blossom road cycling culture, and a united heart for the cherry blossom road festival.

It is a festival that holds various programs such as walking events. Next, I will talk about the existing market research and analysis. First of all, from the perspective of recognition, most people already think of Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival and Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival when they hear about cherry blossoms. I also first learned about the Cherry Blossom Road Festival while researching. Compared to famous tourist spots or big cities in Chungcheongbuk-do, the tourism resources are relatively lacking. While it is quite well-known in Chungcheongbuk-do and nearby areas, it is relatively less known nationwide. Therefore, this festival has not gained wide recognition domestically. Also, on April 22, Yonhap News reported that the Boheung-gun area cooperates with residents and travel companies to plan and operate creative tourism activities using local resources, such as the Rural Creative 2.0 Contest. They are promoting family camps and a trip to Hwayang Yeonhwa.

Through operating various travel packages such as pine nut travels, we made efforts to promote insurance. As a result, we were able to promote insurance better than before. However, promoting insurance domestically was still not very effective, especially in terms of age groups. We are currently living in the era of social media, where platforms like Instagram and Twitter have become essential tools for sharing information and communication. These social media platforms greatly influence the promotion of local areas and attractions. Many people use social media to plan their travels or find places to eat, obtaining information about destinations or restaurants through reviews and photos shared by other users. However, according to the results of a survey conducted during the insurance cherry blossom festival in the past, social media platforms were actively involved.

It has been shown that the festival is visited more by middle-aged people or families rather than the younger generation of the mz generation who are being promoted. I believe there is a need to improve this through local branding. Based on this existing market research and analysis, I will talk about the local branding that would be beneficial. The first local branding is to improve social media strategy. In order to encourage the participation of the younger mz generation who are actively promoted on social media platforms, it is essential to more actively utilize social media platforms. During the festival period, popular travel bloggers and influencers active both domestically and internationally can be selected to conduct online challenges and share photos taken on the cherry blossom road on SNS, along with specific hashtags such as festival cherry blossom road or shop cherry blossom spots, to share the most beautiful moments.

Participants who share photos can be encouraged to engage with the Cherry Blossom Festival by offering cherry blossom-themed headphone cases, tumblers, or small capacity diffusers as rewards and providing special discounts. This can effectively enhance promotion through social media among the Gen Z population. Additionally, I will explain the improvement of the social media strategy just described in terms of consumer decision-making process. The first stage is problem recognition, where Gen Z consumers may feel the desire to participate in the upcoming festival. This can stem from the desire to enjoy the effects or seek new experiences. The second stage is information search. This can be done in various ways such as finding reviews online or searching for related content on social media. The third stage is evaluation. It involves comparing different activities that can be participated in during the festival to determine which one is the most appealing.

You can consider purchasing festival tickets or products to support during the festival evaluation stage. In the final purchasing stage, you can express satisfaction or dissatisfaction, share your experience on social media, recommend it to others, or leave memories. Moving on to the second local branding, it involves conducting an art project. The cherry blossom festival in Seoul is located in the downtown area, making it difficult to fully enjoy the beautiful natural scenery. However, in Bogu, it is situated in a rural area with abundant nature, offering the biggest advantage of being able to enjoy a more beautiful and peaceful natural landscape than Seoul. In Seoul, everything is buildings, so it is rare to see murals. On the contrary, in Bogu, being a rural area, there are many places where murals can be painted, which is why there is a great advantage in being able to see murals. There are several collaborations with famous mural companies like Basement 1 Art.

Through collaboration, art projects such as drawing giant cherry blossom paintings and murals in public places and streets in the Bokcheon World Festival area, organizing a painting competition with cherry blossoms as the theme for various art groups, can be conducted. This can turn the area into a popular spot for SNS photos. Furthermore, utilizing this strength, it is possible to fly drones to shoot beautiful cherry blossom paths from the air and produce promotional videos. The third local branding involves engaging with local residents to carry out various programs. Since the Memorial Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in a small village, it is good to create opportunities to interact with local residents. Conducting programs such as cooking classes using jujube, a specialty of the region, or operating a handicraft experience program with local residents are ways to interact with the local community. One of the most representative experiences in the area is making jujube bonbons with local residents.

Together with skilled artisans, we will conduct an experience of making various handicrafts, from iron agricultural tools to daily utensils, providing an opportunity to enjoy the cherry blossom experience and build understanding and intimacy through such cultural exchange programs. Lastly, I will mention the expected effects and conclude the presentation. By promoting exchanges between local residents and tourists, community strengthening and tourism activation will be achieved, leading to commercial activities and making a positive impact on the local economy with the participation of many tourists. Firstly, as the first expected effect, we can provide temporary employment opportunities. Manpower is needed for event operations during the festival period. Therefore, various job opportunities related to festival preparation and operation can be provided. This can offer temporary employment opportunities to local residents and contribute to the local economy.

It is possible to breathe vitality into it. The second expected effect is the strengthening of cooperation with local businesses. During the festival, local businesses can participate in the festival or gain promotional opportunities through sponsorship. It is expected to enhance cooperation between local businesses and local festivals, contributing to the development of the local economy. The next expected effect is that through the art project of the second local branding, the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival will be associated with the local identity and is likely to establish itself as a representative festival that comes to mind when you think of cherry blossoms. While Seoul's cherry blossom festival is located in urban areas making it difficult to fully appreciate the natural landscape, Bogu is situated in a rich rural area of abundant nature, providing a more beautiful and peaceful natural landscape than Seoul, emphasizing the unique charm of this festival. It will play a significant role. The last expected effect is the environment.

There will be efforts to promote conservation and sustainable tourism, actively utilizing the natural landscapes and cultural resources of the honored areas. This local branding can contribute to protecting and preserving the local ecosystem and environment. By making efforts to protect and maintain the surrounding environment during the festival period, raising awareness of environmental protection, and emphasizing sustainability in the tourism industry, local residents and tourists can enjoy the beautiful nature and culture of the honored areas together in a sustainable manner. These efforts can also be expected to establish the festival as a contribution to the sustainable development of the region and environmental protection for future generations. This concludes the announcement of the insurance cherry blossom festival local branding. Thank you.

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Rebranding the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival

The festival features unique cherry blossom roads on both sides of the Bocheon Stream, offering a different experience from typical festivals.

It is relatively unknown nationwide and lacks recognition compared to other famous cherry blossom festivals in South Korea.

Local branding efforts are focused on creative tourism activities and the promotion of the festival to increase its recognition and attract more visitors.

Improving Insurance Promotion Through Local Branding

Efforts to promote insurance, especially domestically and to specific age groups, have been somewhat ineffective.

Social media has become crucial for promoting travel destinations and insurance, with platforms like Instagram and Twitter playing a significant role.

The local branding strategy should focus on improving social media tactics, involving travel influencers to engage the younger generation, and families in promoting the cherry blossom festival and insurance.

Enhancing Cherry Blossom Festival Engagement

Offering cherry blossom-themed rewards can boost participation in the festival among Gen Z through social media.

Improving the social media strategy to align with the consumer decision-making process, from problem recognition to the purchasing stage, can further enhance engagement.

Additionally, conducting an art project in Bogu, with its natural landscape and abundance of mural opportunities, presents a unique branding opportunity for the festival.

Promoting the Bokcheon World Festival Through Art and Community Engagement

Collaborative art projects and a painting competition can make the festival area a popular spot for SNS photos.

Using drones to capture cherry blossom views and engaging with local residents through various programs can further enhance the festival's appeal.

These efforts are expected to strengthen the community, activate tourism, and provide temporary employment opportunities, ultimately benefiting the local economy.

The Impact of Local Branding on the Insurance Cherry Blossom Festival

Local businesses are expected to benefit from increased cooperation and promotional opportunities during the festival.

The festival aims to establish itself as a representative event for cherry blossoms, leveraging the unique natural landscape of its rural location.

The event also places a strong emphasis on environmental conservation and sustainable tourism, aiming to contribute to the long-term protection of the local ecosystem.