Shopping Center Management Corporation / SM City Pampanga - Biggest Lantern of Hope 2018

Name of Organization / Company: Shopping Center Management Corporation / SM City Pampanga
Category: G01 - G07 - Award for Innovation in Events > G03. Award for Innovation in Entertainment Events

Entry Title: Biggest Lantern of Hope 2018

Essay:

SITUATION

The province of Pampanga, where SM City Pampanga is located, is widely known for its ownership to grand and traditional works of art such as the much celebrated Giant Parols (Christmas Laterns) of the City of San Fernando.

To highlight the craftsmanship that the Kapampangan artists pour into their work, held each year is the Giant Parol Festival which has always been flocked by locals and foreigners alike. A tradition which started as a normal procession of lanterns in the 1900s is now an awe-inspiring kaleidoscopic display of Christmas staples.

This is where the Biggest Lantern of Hope has been banked on: the Kapampangans’ natural character of taking pride in their culture, craft, & nationhood, and their aspiration to stay ahead.

BLOH epitomizes the Kapampangan aspirational shopping behavior. The integration of the circular colossus to a pyrotechnical magnificence, first to be done in the country, has related itself to the Kapampangan identity with the use of advance pyromusical and light synchronization technology. The BLOH event is indeed a work of beauty, both for its aesthetics, and the culture it represents.

ACTION

The Biggest Lantern of Hope draws inspiration from the annual festival mentioned above, employing thousands of dancing LED lights as well as on-ground, aerial, and circumferential fireworks that brought to life what was supposed to be a simple Ferris Wheel. The Biggest Lantern of Hope is a pyrotechnical marvel show that has put into the pedestal not only 213-foot Ferris wheel, but also the cultural tradition of Giant Parol Making which has given Pampanga nationwide recognition for its artistic innovation.

This could be the marketing formula that led 35,000, majorly Kapampangans, spectators to go out of their way just to witness the 30-min show -- the Biggest Lantern of Hope has appealed to them in a personal level, attaching its brand to their history and heritage. The Kapampangans felt that they were insiders, that their culture & heritage are worth a chin up.

In setting up the entire pre-Christmas celeb, it took a group of 20 men 3 laborious days of fireworks & light installation.

To make the play of lights even more visually entertaining, 12,232 dancing LED lights were lined along the spokes of the eye, connecting each major bar to the “gondola”, every bulb programmed to groove along the fireworks which have already been synced with famous Filipino Christmas jingles like Maestro Ryan Cayabyab’s “Kumukutikutitap”.

All the pyrotechnics installed around the circumference of the Eye combusts with cold fire, avoiding any untoward incidents that may have harmed the event spectators.

RESULTS:

In its second year, a 16% growth on the event attendee count was seen, for its 2017 crowd was at a remarkable 35,000 count as compared to its second run in 2016 where it closed at 30,000.

Christmas season is a common sales peak for any retail establishment, but the sales growth that BLOH elicited is pretty striking. The mall closed with total mall sales of USD 494,554.43, a 14% growth versus its 2016 sales of USD 435505.81.Skyranch Pampanga, the mall’s amusement park, closed with total rides sales of USD 8,837.70, a 62% growth versus its USD 5,452.63 sales the year before.

The Biggest Lantern of Hope also got the attention of the media. This year, the Pyromusical Show was covered live by GMA-7’s Saksi & 24 Oras, both primetime National News & Public Affairs Shows, and on the front page of the Philippine Star & Manila Bulletin, both national broadsheets.

The digital efforts for BLOH garnered 32,790 reactions & 5,699 comments, was shared a total of 7,191, and reached 1,479,667 people online.

NOTE: All amounts are based on USD 1 = PHP 51.94 exchange rate.

Links:
http://punto.com.ph/News/Article/28542/Volume-11-No-20/Feature-Article/Pampanga-shines-the-brightest-this-holidayseason
http://iorbitnews.com/biggest-lantern-hope/
http://iorbitnews.com/sm-pampanga-biggest-lantern-hope-2017/
http://iorbitnews.com/pyrotechnics-shower-biggest-lantern-hope-lighting/
http://iorbitnews.com/biggest-lantern-hope-brings-joy-fun-crowd/
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/lifestyle/2017/12/03/pampanga-eye-shines-bright-holiday-season-577900
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2017/12/02/giant-lantern-hope-draws-30000-spectators-577885
https://www.facebook.com/GNN44Pampanga/videos/1227709050663002/
https://www.facebook.com/iorbitnews/posts/545377132503528