Who is that behind Pikachu?
Pokémon at Changi
Pikachu and friends warmly welcomed passengers and visitors to Changi Airport as part of the year-end celebrations in the airport. Taking centre stage at T3 is a huge seven metre tall Pikachu, right next to a gigantic gingerbread house. As part of the activities, 10 life-sized Pikachu danced together to entertain those present for the launch on 18 November 2016.
This year's toy-themed celebration is a partnership between Changi Airport Group and The Pokémon Company (TPC). Helping to bring smiles and happiness to all our visitors and passengers is a dedicated team of CAG officers across divisions, working hard since the start of the year, to plan and carry out this memorable activation. Changi Journeys caught up with one team to find out what it takes to put together such an awesome show.
Pokémon at Changi
With other Pokémon events happening in Singapore, it was vital that Pokémon at Changi stood out from the crowd, with its own special qualities. The team worked with TPC to create a slew of pre-event publicity initiatives to generate curiosity and interest in the event.
"We wanted a 'big bang' to launch the event, to showcase how Pikachu 'invaded' Singapore by arriving in Changi Airport first. As such, both CAG and TPC agreed that Changi Airport should host the first ever Pikachu Parade in Singapore," said the Experience Creation team.
Two Pikachu Parades with 10 life-sized dancing Pikachu were organised on the launch day, drawing throngs of fans to T3. With the overwhelming response from the public, it was important that terminal operations, including carpark resources, departure operations and even restaurant capacity, were all ready for show time.
10 Pikachu marched through T3, thrilling crowds of fans.
The team was thankful for the support of colleagues and airport partners who stepped forward to help with crowd control, as well as contributed ideas and resources for the launch ceremony and other related activities. The support from the airport community enabled the two Pikachu Parades to excite and entertain all those present smoothly and successfully.
Invasion of the heavyweights
Over at Terminal 2, three life-sized Snorlax each 1.5m tall and weighing 12 kg, were brought in to create a Snorlax Garden in the airport. Due to the large size of the plushies, extreme care had to be taken during the delivery, to ensure the exciting secret was not leaked before the event.
Snorlax 'relaxing' in the Snorlax garden.
Fun transcends all
To ensure the success of the event, both TPC and CAG carefully selected committed partners of high quality, to ensure that the event went successfully as planned.
"We were very lucky to have worked with an exceptionally dedicated interpreter who helped to bridge the language barrier and differences in cultural norms between both companies. The journey was not without challenges but fun nonetheless, with a good exchange of cultural norms and new Japanese vocabulary for everyone!" the Experience Creation team enthused.
The Pokémon launch event was just one part of the entire Pokemon at Changi activities CAG has put together for the year-end festivities. Even before the event, the Corporate and Marketing Communications team had started engagements with Changi's fans on the airport's social media platforms. Sneak peeks of the Pokémon plush toys that would be available for sale to the public after the launch event, and entertaining videos featuring Pikachu at various parts of the airport won Changi Airport many fans. A subsequent video showing the delivery of Snorlax as a prize to a Pokémon contest also gathered good reviews from the public.
Toys bring joy and the plush toy contingent on sale at the airport was made possible by CAG's Commercial team. The selection of plush toys was carefully curated by the team, to ensure that it catered to as many fans as possible. The toys have proven very popular, judging by their sales over the counters.
The magic of Pokémon at Changi continues all the way into the start of the New Year. There is definitely more to look forward to, with even more surprises coming up! Look out for updates on Changi Airport’s social media channels, and more great stories about Pikachu at Changi here on Changi Journeys.
© 2016 Pokémon. © 1995–2016 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.TM and ® are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures inc. and GAME FREAK inc.
Other Articles
Enhancing safety and productivity at Changi Airport's runway
A new runway maintenance process is now in place, giving a big boost to Changi Airport’s ongoing productivity and safety drive. The enhanced approach includes a new way to cut the grooves across the runway, the use of a stronger asphalt mix for resurfacing, and the introduction of the latest runway maintenance machines – all of which have helped to increase operational efficiency.
Designing the Changi Experience
When you think about the design of an airport, chairs may not be something that come to mind. However, at Changi Airport, every passenger touch point is carefully thought through and designed for passengers’ comfort, down to the chairs in the terminals.
What may seem like a random spread of chairs at first glance is actually a well-curated selection of seats. Changi Journeys speaks to Kenneth Ho, Senior Manager of Changi Airport Group’s Facilities Management team to find out more.
Getting ready for Changi’s record-breaking busiest day of 2016
The busiest day of the year for Changi Airport is historically the last Saturday before Christmas Day. Last year, the busiest day was 19 December 2015, where as many as 192,000 passengers passed through Changi Airport. With more travellers expected this year going by air traffic figures so far, Changi Airport looks set to break its own record this year. Changi Journeys finds out how various functions within the airport prepared for operations on that day.