Instagrammers brighten the Marianas, share their lifestyles

On Feb. 19, 2019, Instagrammer Ami Otsuka of Japan works on a mural in San Jose, Saipan, as the first of Marianas Visitors Authority’s latest social media campaign. (MVA)

Building on its digital marketing and promotions efforts, the Marianas Visitors Authority has launched a Resident Instagrammer Campaign to leverage the influence of the social media platform.

In November 2018, the MVA began a monthlong search for candidates in Japan for the position of “Resident Instagrammer in Saipan,” accepting applications from active individuals and artists willing to share their experiences in the Marianas.

The campaign involves selecting artists who post their work on Instagram and have at least 1,000 followers. Those selected will live in the Marianas for two months under the campaign, sharing their activities and daily life with their followers.

For the second part of the program, artists were sought to create new, eye-catching wall-paintings in public places throughout Saipan.

Nearly 250 people applied for the program.

The campaign is bringing new life to establishments in the Marianas, beginning with the Marianas kingfisher-inspired mural by Ami Ostuka on the MVA office building on San Jose, Saipan.

“We have many creative ideas on how to promote the Marianas in the Japan market, and this is just one of them,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “Social media is a very powerful tool many destinations use to promote themselves. Having a Resident Instagrammer living in the Marianas and working to promote the Marianas is a cost-effective way of exposing our destination to the mass market. These popular Instagrammers have a sizable following in Japan and elsewhere. We welcome them to our home and ask our community to extend that warm island hospitality that the Marianas are so famous for.”

Otsuka is joined by fellow artist Taiki Nagai and lifestyle bloggers Saori Ishikawa and Joji Idaka, who are posting their daily Marianas lifestyle activities. Ostuka recently finished as second mural featuring the official Marianas bird, the Marianas fruit dove, at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport arrivals area and is now working on another mural at the Commonwealth Health Center. On March 12, Taiki started his first painting at the Garapan Fire Station.

The campaign is also being covered by a film crew from international advertising agency Dentsu Inc., which will provide three movies about the Resident Instagrammers for the MVA. (MVA)