Behind the Scenes of Event PR: Fully Conveying the Appeal of This Summer’s Hot New Dinosaur Exhibition, “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo”
Hello! I’m Miyazaki, and I joined SUNNY SIDE UP this year.
This time, I’d like to introduce a new dinosaur exhibition perfect for summer vacation that can be enjoyed both at the venue and online, along with its PR strategy. When you hear “dinosaurs” during summer vacation, you might think it’s for parents and children, but it’s packed with fascinating content that adults can enjoy as well.
“Sony presents DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo ~The Laramidia Dinosaur Story~ 2021@YOKOHAMA” (hereinafter “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo”) is a “new dinosaur exhibition” created by the Sony Group based on one of Sony’s Values: “Dreams and Curiosity.”
SUNNY SIDE UP serves as the PR office for this exhibition, which opened on Saturday, July 17 at PACIFICO Yokohama.
What is a PR Office (Press Office)?
A function that comprehensively handles corporate public relations operations, serving as a liaison for PR and functioning as a press room.
Our company can support public relations operations by leveraging our strong network with a wide variety of media and our flexible responsiveness.
Specific activities include working with the organizer, the DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo Production Committee, to create and distribute press releases about the event, respond to media inquiries, attract press coverage, and support press conferences and preview events—all while utilizing SUNNY SIDE UP’s extensive relationships for information dissemination and media relations.
Dinosaur × Science = “DinoScience”
“DinoScience” is defined as “a completely new dinosaur experience created by Sony from a scientific perspective.”
Traditional dinosaur exhibitions often display various dinosaurs from the Triassic to Cretaceous periods following dinosaur lineages, or exhibit a wide variety of dinosaurs regardless of their habitat regions, tending to treat dinosaurs merely as entertainment.
In contrast, museums in Europe and North America not only display dinosaurs as skeletal specimens but also approach them as living creatures from a scientific perspective, solving their mysteries and fascinating aspects to satisfy intellectual curiosity, positioning dinosaurs as one of the “doors to science.”
This exhibition leverages the creativity and technology of the Sony Group to focus on the “lost continent of Laramidia” that existed during the Late Cretaceous period (approximately 100 million to 66 million years ago)—a long, narrow continent corresponding to the western region from present-day Alaska to Mexico. It introduces the surprising characteristics, climate, and ecosystems of the dinosaurs that inhabited this continent.
Each member of the PR office has been preparing by communicating closely with the organizers, stakeholders, and media to determine how to accurately disseminate information about “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo”—a “dinosaur experience created from a scientific perspective” that only the Sony Group could realize.
We have conducted media outreach by establishing PR angles and information dissemination timing more than six months in advance, including personal interviews with “Kyoryu-kun” (Masashi Tanaka), who serves as planner and supervisor; articles featuring Sony’s technological capabilities; and entertainment-focused coverage of ambassador Nao Kosaka from Hinatazaka46, as well as Emiri Miyamoto and DAITA, who created the official theme song. As a result, we have not only secured extensive media coverage—such as a large newspaper interview with Kyoryu-kun taking up about one-third of the page and a full BS program feature—but also ensured quality coverage, contributing to the event’s success.
Highlights at the Venue
The venue features popular dinosaurs, including some on display in Japan for the first time, headlined by “Lane,” the real full-body skeleton of a Triceratops said to be “the most complete and beautiful in the world.” With the theme of “recreating the world of dinosaurs,” the exhibition is thoroughly supervised by planner and supervisor “Kyoryu-kun.” Through Sony’s various proprietary technologies, visitors can experience the excitement of traveling back in time to the age of dinosaurs.
Triceratops “Lane”
※Collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Profile: Kyoryu-kun
Science communicator. Fascinated by dinosaurs from an early age, he traveled alone to Canada at age 16 to study. He studied paleontology and science broadly at the University of Alberta, where dinosaur research is thriving. He works extensively in planning and supervising dinosaur exhibitions, hosting talk shows and workshops, creating illustrations, supervising robots and models, writing, and translation. Rather than simply aiming to spread knowledge about dinosaurs, his activities are themed around creating “opportunities” for people to look at various aspects of the world—including living creatures, nature, science, and environmental issues—through dinosaurs. While possessing specialized knowledge of dinosaurs, he does not belong to a research institution or university, making him the only person in Japan who conveys accurate dinosaur knowledge in an enjoyable, easy-to-understand, and entertaining manner. Official website: https://kyoryukun.com/
Sony’s technology and creativity are used throughout the venue. Among the most representative is the Cretaceous Experience Theater. From planning to production took approximately two years. “Kyoryu-kun” thoroughly supervised everything from the physical structure, texture, and movement of dinosaurs revealed by the latest research to the vegetation of that era. High-precision CG imagery meticulously recreated using Sony’s video production technology is displayed on Sony’s ultra-high-definition Crystal LED large screen, measuring 12 m wide and 6.8 m high, with overwhelming realism and powerful full-CG visuals. Through a 7.1.2ch surround sound system, vibrations from the floor synchronized with the video using Sony’s haptics technology (tactile presentation technology), wind effects, and various other proprietary technologies, visitors can experience the excitement of traveling back in time to the age of dinosaurs.
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- ⓒDinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo Production Committee
Online Tours Available
An online tour, “Xperia ‘True Remote EXperience’ powered by au,” is also available, offering new discoveries, emotions, and enjoyment different from the venue experience. During the tour, the venue is filmed with an Xperia™ smartphone and streamed in real time. The tour offers plenty of online-exclusive highlights that make you want to know and learn more about dinosaurs, such as filming skeletal specimens from angles not visible at the venue and bringing the camera closer to areas of dinosaur diseases and injuries for more detailed explanations.
You can participate in this online tour from your home or locations other than the venue using your own smartphone or computer to enjoy the real venue experience. It’s another “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo” with discoveries, emotions, and enjoyment that cannot be experienced in the real venue alone.
Please enjoy “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo”—a completely new dinosaur experience created by Sony from a scientific perspective—both through the real experience of visiting the venue and through the online tour.
※This exhibition is held with thorough COVID-19 prevention measures in accordance with government, Kanagawa Prefecture, and venue guidelines. For details, please refer to the official website.
https://dino-science.com/
Above, we introduced the appeal of “DinoScience: The Dinosaur Science Expo” along with “event PR” that maximizes event excitement. We will continue to update our PR methods to communicate the appeal of various events that are diversifying with the times!
About the Author
Public Relations Division
Bureau 1, Department 2: Ryo Miyazaki
Joined SUNNY SIDE UP in 2021. In his previous position, he handled corporate public relations and crisis management public relations consulting and practical operations for a wide range of industries, from B2B companies such as steel, non-ferrous metals, and chemical manufacturers to B2C companies including comprehensive entertainment groups, retail and distribution, and automotive. His favorite dinosaur is “Spinosaurus.”
※Affiliation is as of the time of writing
