Immersive "Star Wars" Adventure for Its Return to Japan
When Star Wars Celebration returned to Japan for the first time since 2008, Disney Consumer Products enlisted Empire to design and deliver a five-day series of immersive experiences for 50 select media and creators. From intimate dinners to dynamic city explorations, the journey highlighted the creative breadth of the Star Wars franchise and its deep cultural resonance.
A standout moment included a Star Wars-themed gala dinner in a studio transformed into the bridge of a Star Destroyer. Immersive visuals gave guests the sensation of gazing into space, while si_oux performed a live DJ set that blended house and bass music with iconic Star Wars themes. Appearances from Anthony Daniels, Ashley Eckstein, and Ahmed Best—alongside a high-energy lightsaber performance from KAMUI—brought the saga vividly to life. The evening also featured a collector’s gallery curated by our team, with rare and imaginative merchandise from partners like LEGO, Hasbro, Hot Toys, CASETiFY, Her Universe, Suntory, and more.
Another core element of the program invited participants to explore Tokyo through a Grogu-themed scavenger hunt in Harajuku. Guided by Hot Toys figures, guests completed playful missions—ranging from purikura photo booth snapshots to capsule toy challenges—blending the whimsy of Japanese pop culture with the charm of Star Wars. The journey continued with visits to retail partners like Disney Store and Uniqlo to discover exclusive collaborations, and a hands-on LEGO Grogu-building activity that encouraged creativity and interaction.
At Star Wars Celebration itself—hosted at Makuhari Messe with over 100,000 fans from 125+ countries—Empire created a branded Content Suite for invited guests. This hospitality lounge offered a place to recharge, connect, and interact with Star Wars characters like R2-D2 in a relaxed, personal setting.
From concept through execution, we orchestrated every detail of this multi-day journey, bringing together storytelling, fan engagement, and cultural connection to celebrate the global legacy of Star Wars in Japan.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
