The Challenge
Wagamama Cyprus returned with its annual Hanami celebration, inspired by the centuries-old Japanese tradition of cherry blossom viewing. The challenge for 2025 was to deepen the emotional and cultural resonance of Hanami while expanding its presence beyond the physical space. The goal was to deliver an immersive and authentic experience that not only captivated in-restaurant guests but also extended meaningfully into the digital landscape, by positioning the brand at the intersection of cultural storytelling, modern digital interaction and vibrant, shareable content.
The Project
At its heart, the campaign sought to transport customers, physically and virtually, into a serene, celebratory moment that felt distinctly Japanese, yet universally joyful. Therefore, we executed a full activation action plan to implement the campaign across multiple touchpoints and also remained closely aligned with the client in terms of its promotion, to maintain its effectiveness.
a beautiful bloom, a season to celebrate... 🌸 hanami comes to life at wagamama. step into the magic of spring and embrace the beauty of the blossoms 🌸 #wagamamacy #hanamiwagamamaway #blossomandsavor #thewagamamaway #sakura #cherryblossom #spring
Wagamama’s Hanami campaign execution was conceived as a full-spectrum experience that merged visual beauty, cultural education, and digital interactivity, with activations that felt original and modern, yet relevant and interesting. Strategically, it set out to educate audiences on the meaning of Hanami, elevate the customer journey with interactive elements, and deliver memorable experiences that would naturally translate into social sharing and user-generated content.
The Execution
To bring this multi-layered vision to life, we launched a series of creative activations tailored to digital audiences, in order to ultimately increase brand engagement and in-store traffic. On TikTok, we introduced a bespoke filter that gently swept cherry blossom petals across the screen, offering users an aesthetically romantic visual cue that mirrored the ambiance inside Wagamama restaurants, while also strengthening brand heritage.
blossom your feed 🌸 use the hanami blossom filter, tag us and you might win your favourite dish for free! 5 winners every week until 31/05.
Simultaneously, we developed an immersive landing page that welcomed users with a blooming cherry blossom animation and a Japanese proverb, immediately setting a tranquil, uplifting tone. The page introduced the Hanami menu, educated visitors about Hanami’s origins and featured a coupon redemption mechanism, creating a clear incentive for digital visitors to head back in-store.
Strategically, the campaign created a two-way engagement loop: we drove people from the digital world (landing page) into physical stores through exclusive coupons, and from the stores back online.
Social media content was also of vital importance, as we leveraged the strong visibility of short-form reels, as well as a unique CGI video, to capture attention. These were implemented with trending audios, catchy voiceovers and hooks, and current trends, celebrated the campaign’s signature dishes, spring décor and feel-good energy as an additional way of inspiring customers to visit and engage with the Hanami campaign.
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