No.10 June 10, 2004
Contents
1) Case Study 1: Distributing Images from TV Commercials: Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd.
2) Case Study 2: Mass Media + Mobile: Shizuoka Bank Limited
3) Industry Report: Mobile Marketing Conference 2004
4) Mobile Research: 43.0% of i-mode users visit mobile Internet sites daily.
5) Carrier Trend: Designer Mobile Terminal
6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data
1) Case Study 1: Distributing TV Commercials via Mobile for Corporate Branding: Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd.
Period: August -September 2003
In previous issues, we have shown how the expansion of mobile marketing has followed advances in mobile technology. (See "Column" in Japan Mobile Marketing Magazine, ISSUE 6"). A recent example of this can be seen in the enhanced usage of these hi-spec mobile phones to distribute Flash animation and images from TV commercials by Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd.
Matsushita introduced a new global brand campaign in May 2003 organized around the slogan, "Panasonic: ideas for life." To help build awareness of this, the company has made use of newspaper, TV, and mobile.
In the mobile segment of the campaign, Matsushita used picture (banner) ads, Message Free(*), and a Toku Number(**) to draw users with the latest 2G (505i series) and 3G (FOMA) a campaign site. On the site, they reinforced their message by offering exactly the same quiz and hint material shown on the air, including 30 seconds of motion content. Since users of 505i phones could not play back motion clips, the content was offered in a 505i-compatible Flash(TM) format (***). As a prize, winners of the online quiz were eligible to receive one of Matsushita's latest products in a drawing. All participants were allowed to download campaign-themed standby screens (wallpapers).
The campaign was successful, with over 30% of those receiving notification of the campaign via the Message Free channel clicking through to see the TV Commercial on i-mode.
Matsushita Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd. says "This campaign made us realize the high potential of mobile terminals. This time we used a TV commercial, but in the future we will produce original motion content."
*, ** For details, please see Our Lines of Business
*** For details, please see http://www.nttdocomo.com/
2) Case Study 2: Mass Media + Mobile: Shizuoka Bank Limited
Period: February 2004
In the world of banking, the advent of the ATM, along with telephone and Internet banking, have greatly improved customer convenience. At the same time, these innovations have reduced the amount of direct contact with customers, since they do not need to enter the bank for these services, and this has decreased opportunities to make them aware of new products. By using mobile marketing, Shizuoka Bank has successfully managed to deliver new information to account holders who may not visit bank branches.
The bank's mobile strategy was used this past year for the Shizuoka Bank My Car Loan (lower interest) campaign. The My Car Loan campaign was originally launched in 2001, the same year the bank started delivering information to customers via the PC Internet. Previously, campaign announcements have been delivered via a number of means, including in the bank and at ATMs, via email, newspaper, radio, and train. Mobile was added as part of the bank's seventh My Car Loan campaign.
Applications for My Car Loan are submitted via postal mail. Since a major segment of this program's customer base is in its 20s and 30s, Shizuoka Bank chose to use a mobile campaign to reach them, since members of this age group also tend to be heavy users of mobile email and mobile Internet.
In this campaign, mobile was used not only to notify customers of the offer, but also to enable them to request brochures. Using Message Free, which can be delivered in a targeted manner according to user's gender, age, region and mobile terminal, Shizuoka Bank announced the campaign to those in their twenties living in Shizuoka prefecture. As part of a mixed media campaign, the bank used newspaper and radio. It also made additional use of train ads, whose effectiveness was previously difficult to gauge, to drive customers to the mobile campaign site.
Although the results of the campaign are still not completely in, it has already resulted in increased request for brochures. Moving forward, Shizuoka Bank is expecting to use mobile to attract younger generation customers as well as to offer convenient bank services via mobile.
3) Industry Report: Mobile Marketing Conference 2004
On June 10th, the largest ever mobile marketing conference was held at ANA Hotel Tokyo. It was attended by over a thousand of advertising agents, advertisers, SPs, marketers, and telecommunications people.
Among the highlights was a discussion at the event's Leader's Forum about life-related mobile marketing, focusing on the current status and future potential of mobile marketing. The forum featured Takeshi Natsuno (MD of i-mode Strategy, NTT DoCoMo), Makoto Sato ( VP, Coca-Cola (Japan) Company. Ltd.) and Akihisa Fujita (CEO, D2C Communications), with moderation by Lisa Tanaka, Chief Editor of Sendenkaigi, a specialized journal devoted to marketing and advertising. The main topic of the Forum was collaboration between mobile and real or other media, looking both at ways that mobile can provide linkages to various other media, as well as its importance in integrated marketing. The panel also discussed the potential of using contactless technology for traditional mobile advertising and marketing.
The event also featured the announcement of the Grand Prize winner of the 3rd Mobile Marketing & Advertisement Awards. There were 86 entries in the Creative category as well as 26 entries for the Mobile Marketing category from Japan, Italy, Germany, and Sweden. For the Creative category, 6 Grand Prizes were awarded for Picture Banners, and 4 Grand Prize Winners were given awards for entries in Infotainment. Criteria include advertising expression, and offering high levels of entertainment or convenience value to users using multimedia technologies such as java-based applets, Flash, i-motion, or BREW. Competition submissions tended to offer enhanced use of high-resolution digital mobile screens with their richer expressive capability. In the Marketing category, there were 5 Grand Prizes and 2 awards for Special Recognition for Mobile Marketing.(http://www.d2c.co.jp/english/news_e/index.html)
All reservations for the smaller seminars held by mobile-related companies were completely filled and concluded successfully. The event also made active use of different mobile marketing technologies. For example, a sweepstakes was held in which visitors were given IC card seals to stick on their mobiles, which they presented at booths to be scanned with an IC card reader, and were entered in a sweepstakes sponsored by 16 participating companies. In addition, two-dimensional QR codes were used for entrance control and admission to the event.
4) Mobile Research: 43.0% of i-mode user visit mobile web site every day.
Mobile Research
In Japan today, a wide variety marketing surveys are conducted directly from participant's mobile phones. These surveys can prove extremely valuable in collecting otherwise inaccessible information about new consumer markets. The survey featured below focuses on the frequency with which i-mode users visit mobile Internet websites.
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Result of 116th Survey February 24, 2004
43.0% of i-mode user visit mobile web site every day.
Respondents: 24,609 i-mode users
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As of the end of April 2004, some 41 million of NTT DoCoMo's 46 million customers possess Internet-enabled i-mode phones. (for details, see http://www.d2c.co.jp/english/news.php). The following is a survey conducted to study the usage habits of i-mode users. It was conducted by Internet-based research service INFO PLANT Co., LTD (Head office: Tokyo, Japan). Survey data was collected via the "Tokusuru Menu (*) " on i-mode from 24,609 i-mode users between February 2 to 9, 2004.
* The Tokusuru Menu is an original service developed by D2C, accessible by selecting item no. 4 from the i-menu of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service portal. It carries beneficial information such as campaign information.
<Survey Results Summary>
43.0% of i-mode users browse a mobile web site every day, followed by 23.1% who visit a site 2 to 3 times a week, 16.5% of 4 to 5 time per week, 10.4% of once a week. There is no outstanding difference between genders. However, when compared within both gender and age, groups of males under 19 and over-50 groups of both genders reported a rate of i-mode browsing lower than others. (Data 1)
40.2% of respondents browse mobile Internet sites from 7pm to 11pm on weekdays, and 33.8% browsed weekdays from 11pm on. Only 18.3% responded that they browse mobile Internet on weekdays between 12 and 4pm. By gender, 38.0% of females browse on weekdays after midnight whereas 25.5% of males do so. A slightly higher proportion of males showed habits of browsing on weekday mornings and weekday afternoons.
By both gender and age, under-20s showed the highest responses in browsing mobile Internet after midnight. Under-19 also showed the highest response in browsing mobile Internet on weekday afternoons, weekend nights, and after-midnight on weekends. On the other hand, under-19's usage during afternoons is lowest. As age goes up, browsing mobile Internet after midnight decreased among both genders. (Data 2)
In terms of details of time segments, 53.8% of those surveyed say they browse i-mode before going to bed. 24.3% responded they browse after school or work. Only 15.2% responded they browse on the way to/from school or work. By gender, 17.5% of males said they browse during work or school whereas only 5.1% of females did so. On the other hand, 61.4% of female browse mobile Internet before going to bed compared to 38.5% of males who do so.
By both gender and age, as age goes up, fewer people browse mobile Internet both after work / school and before going to bed. (Data 3)
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<Survey Description>
Questions:
(1) How often do you browse the Internet via i-mode? (Choose one)
(2) Choose the time length you browse the Internet most. (Multiple)
(3) In what situations do you browse Internet with your mobile? (Multiple)
Survey method: open survey, using Tokusuru Menu on i-mode site.
Survey period: February 2 to 9, 2004 (one week)
No. of valid responses: 24,609
Rate of valid response by gender: male 33.3%, female 66.7%
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Q1) How often do you browse the Internet on i-mode? (Choose one)
<Data 1> By gender and age
| Everyday | 4-5 Times/Week | 2-3 Times/Week | Once a Week | 2-3 Days/Month | Less Than 1 Day/Month | |
| All | 43.0% | 15.6% | 23.1% | 10.4% | 4.0% | 3.0% |
| Male | 45.6% | 15.6% | 22.3% | 9.8% | 3.8% | 2.9% |
| Under 19 | 38.5% | 20.7% | 24.4% | 10.2% | 4.0% | 2.2% |
| 20-29 | 46.5% | 16.1% | 22.5% | 9.1% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| 30-39 | 46.5% | 15.7% | 21.5% | 9.7% | 3.9% | 2.7% |
| 40-49 | 45.4% | 12.7% | 23.4% | 11.1% | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| Above 50 | 37.5% | 14.8% | 21.5% | 11.3% | 9.4% | 5.5% |
| Female | 41.9% | 16.9% | 23.5% | 10.7% | 4.0% | 3.0% |
| Under 19 | 42.0% | 21.3% | 22.6% | 9.2% | 3.4% | 1.5% |
| 20-29 | 42.5% | 17.4% | 23.6% | 10.6% | 3.6% | 2.3% |
| 30-39 | 41.8% | 15.4% | 23.2% | 10.7% | 4.7% | 4.2% |
| 40-49 | 39.2% | 14.7% | 24.3% | 11.9% | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Above 50 | 33.3% | 15.0% | 23.1% | 17.7% | 4.8% | 6.1% |
2) Choose the time you browse mobile Internet most. (Multiple)
<Data 2> By gender and age
| WeekdayMorning | Weekday 12-16 o'clock | Weekday 16-19 o'clock | Weekday 19-23 o'clock | Weekday 23 o'clock and after | |
| All | 14.3% | 18.3% | 10.2% | 40.2% | 33.8% |
| Male | 18.9% | 22.9% | 11.9% | 40.5% | 25.5% |
| Under 19 | 13.3% | 10.9% | 17.8% | 44.9% | 34.4% |
| 20-29 | 16.3% | 20.9% | 10.6% | 38.7% | 35.4% |
| 30-39 | 20.4% | 25.8% | 12.1% | 41.3% | 21.4% |
| 40-49 | 21.7% | 23.1% | 12.3% | 41.1% | 15.7% |
| Above 50 | 19.9% | 24.6% | 10.9% | 36.7% | 13.7% |
| Female | 12.0% | 16.0% | 9.4% | 40.1% | 38.0% |
| Under 19 | 9.8% | 10.2% | 18.0% | 42.7% | 42.0% |
| 20-29 | 10.3% | 15.9% | 8.7% | 39.5% | 42.1% |
| 30-39 | 14.6% | 17.2% | 8.4% | 40.3% | 32.8% |
| 40-49 | 15.8% | 18.0% | 8.9% | 41.0% | 26.0% |
| Above 50 | 15.6% | 13.6% | 10.2% | 44.9% | 20.4% |
| WeekendMorning | Weekend 12-16 o'clock | Weekend 16-19 o'clock | Weekend 19-23 o'clock | Weekend 23 o'clock and after | |
| All | 5.9% | 5.8% | 4.7% | 11.1% | 12.6% |
| Male | 8.5% | 7.6% | 6.0% | 12.7% | 10.6% |
| Under 19 | 8.4% | 8.4% | 11.1% | 21.1% | 22.9% |
| 20-29 | 7.7% | 7.4% | 6.4% | 13.9% | 15.2% |
| 30-39 | 8.2% | 8.2% | 5.8% | 12.2% | 7.8% |
| 40-49 | 10.9% | 7.1% | 4.6% | 9.2% | 5.5% |
| Above 50 | 8.2% | 4.3% | 5.1% | 11.7% | 3.5% |
| Female | 4.7% | 4.9% | 4.1% | 10.4% | 13.6% |
| Under 19 | 7.4% | 8.5% | 10.0% | 18.8% | 25.9% |
| 20-29 | 4.5% | 5.2% | 4.1% | 10.8% | 15.3% |
| 30-39 | 4.3% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 8.1% | 9.5% |
| 40-49 | 5.0% | 3.5% | 2.8% | 8.1% | 6.1% |
| Above 50 | 2.7% | 6.8% | 2.0% | 9.5% | 4.8% |
3) In what situations do you browse the Internet on your mobile? (Multiple)
<Data 3> By gender and age
| After Waking | During Breakfast | Commuting | During Lunch | During Work/School | |
| All | 4.0% | 1.6% | 15.2% | 14.1% | 9.3% |
| Male | 4.4% | 1.4% | 20.3% | 18.6% | 17.5% |
| Under 19 | 3.8% | 1.1% | 19.3% | 8.0% | 14.2% |
| 20-29 | 4.7% | 1.0% | 20.5% | 17.5% | 15.7% |
| 30-39 | 4.0% | 1.4% | 21.5% | 20.9% | 19.3% |
| 40-49 | 4.9% | 2.0% | 17.9% | 18.9% | 18.5% |
| Above 50 | 6.3% | 3.9% | 16.8% | 19.1% | 14.5% |
| Female | 3.8% | 1.8% | 12.6% | 11.8% | 5.1% |
| Under 19 | 3.4% | 1.0% | 18.1% | 7.2% | 9.5% |
| 20-29 | 3.8% | 1.5% | 13.9% | 11.9% | 5.0% |
| 30-39 | 3.9% | 2.2% | 10.0% | 12.7% | 4.4% |
| 40-49 | 3.3% | 2.8% | 8.7% | 12.4% | 4.6% |
| Above 50 | 3.4% | 4.1% | 5.4% | 12.9% | 4.1% |
| After Work/School | During Dinner | Before Bed | Other | |
| All | 24.3% | 2.5% | 53.8% | 12.2% |
| Male | 28.5% | 2.7% | 38.5% | 11.7% |
| Under 19 | 35.8% | 5.3% | 54.2% | 13.1% |
| 20-29 | 29.9% | 2.9% | 46.9% | 11.2% |
| 30-39 | 27.1% | 2.3% | 33.7% | 11.5% |
| 40-49 | 27.9% | 2.5% | 29.9% | 12.7% |
| Above 50 | 23.4% | 3.1% | 34.4% | 11.3% |
| Female | 22.2% | 2.4% | 61.4% | 12.5% |
| Under 19 | 36.0% | 4.6% | 65.9% | 7.9% |
| 20-29 | 23.0% | 2.2% | 63.8% | 11.7% |
| 30-39 | 17.9% | 2.1% | 58.0% | 14.6% |
| 40-49 | 19.8% | 2.8% | 52.7% | 13.8% |
| Above 50 | 20.4% | 6.8% | 53.7% | 15.6% |
** Questions and Interviews for this survey******
INFO PLANT CO., LTD.
Email:info@info-plant.com
TEL :+81-3-3367-1967, FAX :+81-3-3367-1961
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5) Carrier Trend: Designer Mobile Terminals
Mobile phone design has been undergoing a lot of innovation. In the past, most phone designs fell into the straight- or bar-type category. After the launch of i-mode, folding-type phones gained popularity for their comparatively larger screens and ability to display more text, graphics and other images. According to mobile handset manufacturers, sales of straight "bar-type" phones are on the decline.
The adoption of folding-type phones have had further impact on phone design. For example, since users with these phones must open the terminals to see the screen, designs have begun to feature a display on the outside back of the terminal, so that users can get convenient notification of an email arrival or missed call. Without flipping open their phones. With the widening circulation of camera phones, this external display has been further enhanced to serve as a view-finder or monitor when shooting a picture.
This is not to say there is no interest in bar-type phones For example, there was enormous interest in the sleekly designed INFOBAR handset produced by Sanyo Multimedia Tottori Co., Ltd for use on KDDI's au network. This straight-type handset is made of magnesium alloy, weighs 87g and is only 11mm thick. It was produced in three colors, black and white, red, and silver, and targeted to appeal to style-loving mobile users. More product information can be found at http://www.au.kddi.com/seihin/kinobetsu/seihin/infobar/ (Japanese only)
Meanwhile, NTT DoCoMo has released a phone it dubbed the "pre-mini," an abbreviation of "premier" and "mini." It is an ultra-compact phone only 90mm in height, 39mm in length, 19mm thick, and weighs under 69g. This credit-card sized phone is even more compact than ordinary flip-type phones in folded position, and was created by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.
In a market where mobile phone functionality is seen to have reached a level of maturity with the introduction of Java applets, motion content, and TV phones, it is anticipated that these hi-spec phones will undergo increasing miniaturization. Under such conditions, we can expect to see more direct competition purely at the design design level so as to appeal to the needs of more style-conscious customers.
6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data
Here is the latest Japan cellular subscriber data for your reference.
Please go to: Latest News
