【Original】"Tokyo Projection Mapping Projection" is entrusted to Dentsu Live - Dentsu of the group is suspended by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

It was revealed in an interview with the editorial department of Yoi Tabi News that Dentsu Live, a group company of Dentsu, which has suspended bidding from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government until August 2024, is in charge of the operation of "TOKYO Night & Light," an event held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in the form of an executive committee and projection mapping projected to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. (Photo: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Square on March 3)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's projection mapping project began in March 2023 at the west exit of Shinjuku Station, followed by events at the Nishi-Shinjuku skyscraper, Meiji Jingu Shrine, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building at the end of the year. From February 26, 2024, along with the Guinness World Records certification, the year-round projection mapping "TOKYO Night & Light" was launched at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1. The opening event on February 25 was reported by many media outlets. On the other hand, there are criticisms of the projection mapping business on social media, saying that it is a waste of taxpayers' money.

On February 27, the editorial department announced that the "Projection Mapping Association" press release When we asked the Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism Department, which has jurisdiction over the project, whether the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had outsourced the project to the association, we received a reply that the project was outsourced by the operating company to the association. At that time, I replied, "Since the event is held in the form of an executive committee (Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Tokyo Convention & Visitors Foundation), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is not considering announcing the operating company," but after that, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government contacted us and said, "As a result of discussions within the department, we would like to inform you of the name of the operating company," and we were informed that the trustee of the project was "Dentsu Live."

Dentsu Live is a 100% owned subsidiary of the holding company Dentsu Group, and is one of Japan's leading event companies. Most of our work is dealing with Dentsu, a comprehensive advertising company within the Group. In addition, on the company's official website, you can see the notable projects that the company is working on. introduction and achievements press release It is published in. However, at the moment, there is no appeal for the projection mapping of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which has been recognized by Guinness World Records.

▮ Similar to the "Hanshin Orix Victory Parade" in Osaka Prefecture?

In Osaka Prefecture, it was revealed in January this year that "Dentsu Live" was in charge of the Hanshin Orix championship commemorative parade while "Dentsu" was suspended from bidding amid allegations of Olympic fraud. This was considered a "loophole" and was controversial. However, "Dentsu Live" has not received a suspension from bidding from Osaka Prefecture, so there are no legal problems. However, when Governor Yoshimura repeatedly stated at the press conference that "the executive committee has decided," it gave the impression that he was hiding his involvement in "Dentsu Live," which did not need to be hidden in the first place. This fact was revealed when a Hanshin fan filed a request for the release of administrative documents while the contractor of the parade was not announced on the prefectural website.

▮ Budget of "Tokyo Metropolitan Government Projection Mapping Project"

In fiscal 2023, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government spent 700 million yen on the projection mapping project of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and a total of 1.8 billion yen including related projects outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In addition, the budget for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's projection mapping project is expected to be about 2 billion yen (currently under deliberation) in FY2024, and there has been criticism on social media about how the budget is used.
The person in charge of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government replied, "It has not been decided whether Dentsu Live will be entrusted with the project in FY2024."

▮ Lack of transparency in business processes

Currently, Dentsu, the core company of the holding company Dentsu Group, is under a lease from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to suspend bidding nominations. Even under these circumstances, there is no legal problem with the fact that Dentsu Live, a group company, is entrusted with the projection mapping business of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Accounting Department, Bureau of Finance, Tokyo Metropolitan Government). However, due to the fact that "Dentsu Live" was raided by the Special Investigation Department in connection with the Olympics rigging allegations and that it has a close relationship with "Dentsu", there is a possibility that it will be pointed out that "loopholes" are being used in the same way as the parade in Osaka Prefecture when entrusting the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's business.

Considering these backgrounds, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government should have proactively announced the fact that it has outsourced the operation of the projection mapping business to Dentsu Live, as well as that there are no legal problems, and that it should have increased its transparency in accordance with the process of the project. This behavior is also at odds with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) consulting perspective that Dentsu itself provides to its clients.

▮ The success seen in the first weekend and the on-site operation that did not take advantage of the opportunity

The projection mapping of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, which began on February 26, was welcomed by a large audience at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Square on Sunday, March 3, the first weekend. Foreign visitors to Japan, families, and groups of elderly people stood out. There were no attractions of any kind in the vast venue, and the audience quietly watched the projection mapping screening. Several times, the audience said, "There's nothing." During the screening, there were no cheers, probably because the audience was concentrating on projection mapping. At the end of the 15-minute screening, some people applauded.

In addition to the security guards, I did not see any management staff at the venue guiding the audience or walking around the venue. In the management of the event, if there was contact between the staff and the audience at the venue, there would have been an emotional empathy for the screening, and cheers and applause may have spread.

▮ The number of visitors was not ascertained.

On the afternoon of Monday, March 4, we contacted the Tokyo Metropolitan Government about the number of visitors on weekends. The response from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was that "the number of visitors is not counted because the venue is an open space." When I asked further, he said, "I want to check again," but in the end, I was told that the number of visitors was not counted.

At the venue, visitors voluntarily watch the exhibition quietly in a fixed position, so it is not difficult to estimate the number of visitors even in an open space. Normally, in the event business, the number of visitors and sales are the most important performance indicators (KPIs). However, the fact that there is no need to grasp the number of visitors in the Tokyo Projection Mapping Project seems to be a good "hit and miss" for the event management company entrusted with the project.