COVER Corp. note (26 July)

Note: The "Event Planning Team", responsible for Japanese event planning, and its relation to hololive EXPO.
>Hello! I am Kuwae, COVER's HR and PR manager. Is everyone doing well during these hot summer days? We have planned various events to beat the heat, including our fourth annual celebration for hololive's 5th year and "hololive CITY'24" events in six cities across Japan.
>The Event Planning Team is in charge of real [non-virtual] events where fans can go to venues and be in the presence of the talents. The largest event is "hololive SUPER EXPO", which was inaugurated in 2022 and was held most recently at Makuhari Messe on March 16-17, 2024, attracting around 30,000 attendees. Some of our readers may have attended the event.
>What was going on behind the scenes of such an exciting event? We asked two members of the Event Planning Team, Y-san and K-san about "hololive SUPER EXPO 2024", job satisfaction, and what the future holds!
Event Planning Team: In charge of in-person hololive events
>--Before we ask you about the Event Planning Team, introduce yourselves.
>Y-san: I joined COVER Corp. in 2022 and am now the manager of the Event Planning Team in the Marketing Department. My responsibilities include planning, project progress checking, and team management.
>K-san: I am also a member of the Event Planning Team, Marketing Department, and just finished up my first year here. Within the team, I am involved in event production originating in other departments and events our team organizes, in addition to progress management.
>--Y-san, what is the goal of the Event Planning Team within COVER Corp.?
>Y-san: Our team plans and produces entertainment events using our IP. By "our IP", I mean events focused on talents belonging to hololive production.
>--What events do you produce in Japan?
>Y-san: Our events are generally aimed at Japanese fans. The largest event is hololive SUPER EXPO, but we also organize other events at exhibitions such as Comic Market and KYOMAF [KYOTO INTERNATIONAL MANGA ANIME FAIR]. in addition to smaller fan meetings for talents and units.
>In addition, since events cannot be put on alone, the team is also in charge of coordination with relevant parties. Horizontal coordination is essential, including with the MD Department (in charge of merchandize), the PR Department (in charge of publicity), and the Management Planning Department (in charge of live-streaming projects).
>--What, if any, have you set as KPIs [Key Performance Indicators]?
>Y-san: When I first joined, we were mainly focused on "acquiring new fans" and "improving engagement with existing fans" owing to the COVID-19-induced depression. However, after that time passed and the desire for real events came back in full force, we began focusing on "connecting with overseas fans" and "creating a revenue structure not solely dependent on merchandise".
Why move to the Event Planning Team during COVID-19?
>--Thank you for your responses. I would like to know why you two joined the company despite the restrictions on events owing to COVID-19.
>K-san: I have always worked in events, having previously worked for a live-streaming company and in the marketing department of a BtoB [business-to-business] company, where I was involved in acquisition and event work.
>When I joined COVER in 2023, events were starting to make a come-back, and I joined because I wanted to be involved in events related to live-streaming, especially large events. It was also at that time when I was beginning to become interested in VTubers, so it was a good opportunity to work with IP-based events.
>--Thank you. What about you, Y-san?
>Y-san: Like K-san, I also have a background in events. At my last job, when COVID-19 became prevalent all events were canceled and I was unable to do any events work. However, starting around 2021, I began to see some more real events, and decided to change jobs so that I could get back into managing real events.
>I was introduced to COVER through a recruiter, and although I had no knowledge of VTubers, they offered me a job based on my background.
I have done events for anime, manga, and video games, but I wanted to broaden my horizons, and I saw that VTubers were gaining momentum.
New things at hololive SUPER EXPO 2024
>--You both joined the company with a desire to put on events. 2024 feels just a strong as before COVID-19. Did you feel that from the attendance at hololive SUPER EXPO 2024.
>Y-san: I experienced it twice, in 2023 and in 2024, but in 2024, with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, I really felt the explosive feelings of the fans' feelings. We had so many attendees, including many from overseas.
>--Please give us an overview of hololive SUPER EXPO 2024 to give us a sense of scale.
>Y-san: We have many talents, but just looking at our one IP, hololive production, it is one of the largest in Japan. 30,000 from Japan and elsewhere attended the EXPO just this year. We very much appreciate the record-breaking numbers we have seen in ticket and merchandise sales.
>--It really is massive. That event is, of course, a very large project for the Event Planning Team. In which areas did you focus for this event?
>Y-san: We focused a lot on inbound demand. [Inbound demand is people reaching out to you, outbound demand is a company reaching out to people.] In the past, we heard a lot from overseas fans that they wished to attend events but could not owing to COVID-19 restrictions, and that they wished that tickets could be sold overseas as well. In response to this, in this year we tag-teamed with a travel agency to examine inbound demand and allowed for ticket sales to overseas fans. This is a big difference from our previous events.
>Because of this, we translated not only the event Web-site, but also all signage at the event, so that it could be viewed by overseas fans. Beyond just translation, we carefully reviewed the text so that difficult words and phrases would be properly understood by foreigners. [That is, they checked the translation so that the translation would not have words or phrases which would not be comprehensible.]
>--K-san, what did you do with hololive SUPER EXPO 2024? Were there difficulties?
>K-san: As a progress manager, I made sure to manager the team's progress. I was also in charge of the "entertainment area", or "stage", and the "sponsors' area", which were two of the four areas of the EXPO, which meant that I was in charge of managing sponsors and stage work.
>I was assigned to work on hololive SUPER EXPO 2024 just a few months after joining COVER, so I started by building relationships with other teams. Since there were many teams, sometimes it was difficult to get everyone connected. However, everyone was very cooperative, and we were able to smoothly coordinate work from an early stage.
>--How much time was spent in preparation for hololive SUPER EXPO?
>K-san: About a year.
>Y-san: For the Event Planning Team, the work for the next event starts when the last event is over.
>--A year! It seems difficult to design an event in terms of trends when the final date is a year away.
>Y-san: That is something which we always need to watch out for. Just because this event was successful doesn't mean that everything will be the same next time, so we're always looking to make improvements.
>As for trends, we work with the Management Planning Department, which overseas the projects, and with those in planning positions. I also watch various streams regularly to get information.
The talents' work and the fans' passion the best rewards
>--How was the response to hololive SUPER EXPO 2024? Tell us about your experience after executing the event.
>K-san: I was in charge of the stage, and there was so much tension that I don't really remember much from the first day.
What left a strong impression on me was the "Closing Ceremony" on the second day, and the audience's delightful reaction to the "holo Indie" announcement video.
>I was very moved by the unity in the venue at the time. It was such a good experience to be able to feel that what I had put on was being enjoyed by so many people.
>--Were there any unexpected problems at the event?
>K-san: I can't give the details, but I was nervous at one point when one part hadn't been delivered in time. But even with that suspense, I felt invigorated by the knowledge that I was working at an event. That's really the best part.
>--And you, Y-san?
>Y-san: When I meet colleagues who I've worked with in the past and tell them that I worked on hololive SUPER EXPO, they always say, "Wow, you're in charge of such a big event!". It makes me happy to hear such positive feedback from people outside of the company.
>When I see so many people waiting outside before we open the doors, my hear is filled with excitement. It makes me realize how much love and support we receive from fans, and we are grateful to the talents who can bring out that feeling in fans. It is because the talents do so much streaming on a day-to-day basis for fans' enjoyment that we are able to put on these in-person events.
Quality of events and overseas work
>--I would like to hear about the challenges facing the team and the difficulties of you as individuals.
>K-san: We had some difficulty coordinating illustrations. While making adjustments, we have to be careful not to lose in quality or individuality of the creators. I have re-learned the important lesson of treating others with respect, both within and without the company.
>Y-san: For hololive SUPER EXPO 2024, we did a lot of work to meet inbound demand. Separately, the team in charge of overseas work is starting to get very excited about new events overseas. I talk with the overseas team regularly, and in the future I would like to work together to produce overseas/domestic events.
>In addition, as all members of a team have different levels of experience, it is important to maintain a consistent level of quality so that people won't notice a difference. As the number of cross-department projects increases, the content of events can depend on which people from which departments are involved; stabilization of this potential issue is also on our minds.
>--K-san, you did progress management for hololive SUPER EXPO 2024, how did that go?
>K-san: I don't think that there's a big difference between that work and the work of a production manager for an event company. There is some more work involved, such as communicating with talents, but it's not much different from communicating with clients in that role. If you have a good mind to create and follow a schedule, it's easy to handle without problems.
Challenges, from "stable operation" to "improving customer satisfaction"
>--What do you think will be challenging in the future?
>K-san: I hope to make use of my experience at this year's EXPO to improve future events. This EXPO was focused on "a safe and enjoyable place for customers". In the future, I would look to have more "fun" and "engaging content".
>Y-san: There are a number of things, but I would like to focus on "getting as many fans to participate". This is both an issue of capacity and an issue of accessibility. We want to meet fans' expectations by expanding on our existing work, rather than sticking to the same formula. This would involve expanding the size of venues, increasing the number of venues, and various streaming options.
>We plan to hold many more events in the future, and like receiving positive comments from visitors where they compare our events to previous events and events held by others. We are also making progress on overseas expansion, which will enable us to meet greater demand.
>--Thank you very much.