seoul convetion bureau

△ Unique Venue Selfie Event marketing poster & participants’ uploads

· Cafes, hanok, and art galleries frequented by Seoulites

· Seoul’s Unique Venues introduced on Instagram 

· ‘Selfie Event’ leading to increased Unique Venue visits 

“What does ‘Unique Venue’ mean?”

The Seoul Tourism Organization (CEO: Ki Yon Kil) conducted a marketing campaign to promote “Unique Venues” and to enhance citizens’ understanding of the MICE industry. Seoul MICE Unique Venue are MICE event venues in Seoul unlike typical convention centers or hotels, that provide MICE organizers and participants a space to experience and share Seoul’s beautiful sceneries, culture, heritage and history. Unique Venues can host exhibitions, meetings, banquets and performances of all scales. The STO conducted promotional activities in the first and second half of this year to encourage citizens to get familiarized with Unique Venues and actively utilize them.

In the first half of the year, the STO uploaded Unique Venue related postings three times a week through its Instagram account (@seoul_uniquevenue) and held selfie-taking events for visitors of Unique Venues once a month. The STO offered giveaways through a lottery to Unique Venue visitors who took a selfie and posted it on their own Instagram account with the event hashtags.

In September, the STO held an interesting online event that recommends Unique Venues depending on people's personality based on the MBTI test, which is familiar to the MZ generation. The winners were given chicken and beverage coupons and vouchers to Unique Venues. More than 100 citizens participated in the events in the first half of the year.

△ Favorite Unique Venue Test using MBTI

Card News introducing and recommending Unique Venues was published three times a week. The STO posted photos of various sceneries, foods and exhibition spaces for different concepts and preferences. In particular, Where is this place? event on which the Organization posted beautiful sceneries of different Unique Venues got three times more likes and comments compared to existing posts. More than 500 people participated, and 20 winners who answered correctly were given coffee coupons. 

A variety of events were held in the second half of the year for citizens including Instagram followers and event participants. The STO produced and distributed free digital goods (GoodNotes Travel Diary) where people can keep their own memories of visiting Unique Venues. The event was held in early November for two weeks. The Instagram post on the free digital goods received an enthusiastic response, with more than 2,000 likes. One citizen who downloaded the digital goods expressed joy by commenting, “Oh my god! I give this honor to Unique Venue in Seoul.”

△ Unique Venue themed GoodNotes Travel Diary available through the link in @seoul_uniquevenue Instagram account for free

As MICE events are downsized due to the pandemic and organizers prefer to hold business meetings in unique facilities, spaces that citizens are familiar with are transforming into Unique Venues. The STO has designated and is promoting 70 places in Seoul as Unique Venues.