1) Case Study 1:Tower Records’ simple mobile campaign brings new customers to outlets
2) Case Study 2:Daiichi Kosho uses mobile to build membership, drive users to storefront
3) Industry Report:Understanding and Communicating with Generation Y
4) Mobile Research:60% of teens change their ring tone more than once per month
5) Carrier Trend:The Japan mobile market in 2005
6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

1)Case Study 1:Tower Records simple mobile campaign brings new customers to outlets

With people young and old all now owning mobile phones, mobile campaigns should be simple and easy to understand, enabling anybody to participate. This case study highlights a summer sale mobile campaign by Tower Records designed to be "simple and easy to understand."

 

During the campaign period, participants were offered original aluminum badges valued at 3000 yen purchase price. The badges were based on a hand-drawn design by a participating artist. In addition, users could enter a drawing via mobile phone in which 2500 winners were selected to receive T-shirts featuring the same design shown on the badge. To participate in the drawing, users receiving badges could enter a serial number listed on the badge packaging into the mobile campaign site to find out instantly whether they had won in the drawing. Users could also access the Tower Records campaign site by entering a Tokunumber via their mobiles. Those who did not win in the drawing for the T-shirt prize were awarded an animated screen saver as a gift, providing an incentive to everybody to participate in the campaign.

 

The campaign was effectively designed to be very easy to understand, and participants were instantly informed of results of the promotion, giving them an incentive to enter via their mobiles. Nearly all the customers who received the badges and were allowed to participate accessed the campaign site and entered the competition. The campaign was also linked with a mobile email magazine promotion to drive usage. Even users in higher age groups were able to participate easily. This type of interactive campaign featuring premium gifts to participants was very effective in attracting people to visit Tower Records who ordinarily might not have come to the store.

2)Case Study 2:Daiichi Kosho: Getting Users to Shop Outlets using Mobile-based Membership

Daiichi Kosho has developed a variety of music businesses, from Karaoke through ringing tones for mobile phones. The company also responded quickly to the appearance of mobile phones equipped with i-mode FeliCa functionality by devising an interface for building its membership community and driving customers to storefronts.

 

Starting in May of 2005, Daiichi Kosho launched its "DAM Remote Control" service, which enabled users to make Karaoke requests using an NTT DoCoMo Java-based i-appli. By downloading a special i-appli, users can make song requests via their mobiles. In addition, the applet increases users' contact with karaoke by providing a mobile service that incorporates special related functions, such as the ability to set favorite tunes or run song searches.

 

The launch of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode FeliCa in July of 2004 greatly strengthened the connection between mobile and Karaoke. Daiichi Kosho took advantage of this to devise a membership card system utilizing i-FeliCa as part of its strategy to bring in new members. Previously, members were managed separately according to their different points of access, either at stores, PC Internet sites, or mobile Internet sites. However, by setting up the club DAM Membership via all platforms, these different memberships were consolidated.

 

In the stores, Daiichi Kosho set up an always-connected broadband Karaoke terminal called "DAM Station." Members can simply swipe their membership cards or i-mode FeliCa-equipped phones over the terminal to verify their identity and login to their own personal pages. From there, they can compete against other members online for high-scores, or set up their own favorite songs lists. Furthermore, using FeliCa, they can make purchases via its electronic money service.

 

In this way, whether at home or out on the go, Daiichi Kosho users are now able to access the same information as they would in an actual shop, bringing in more customers and helping to drive more business to their storefronts.

 

According to a spokesman for the company, increased penetration of i-mode FeliCa in the future will both increase membership, and help place mobile more at the center of the company's business model.

3)Industry Report:Understanding and Communicating with Generation Y

Generation Y (youth in their teens and twenties) recently received very thorough exposure in Japan at last year's Mobile Ad Forum (MAF). The expert on the topic was Jam Japan Marketing's US chief Hisami Oshiba. As Oshiba emphasized, "Generation Y" are tired of corporate marketing and have a natural facility with IT, so they definitely merit a new marketing approach more tailored to their profile.

 

In the US, megabrands like Nike or Volvo are also taking the initiative to communicate with Generation Y. Marketing by Apple for the i-pod in Japan offers an example of this special successful approach.

 

In Japan as well, members of the teens and twenties "mobile generation" are undergoing changes in the way the encounter media as well as in their shopping habits. The difficulty of reaching this "new generation" with existing marketing methods is a hot topic in Japan and the US alike.

In Japan, where a large portion of the population has disposable income and free time, there has been a tendency to focus on traditional marketing to reach the baby boomers. Recently, however, the following approach has become essential for two reasons.

 

First, the falling birthrate in Japan has led some to simplistically dismiss Generation Y (the mobile Generation) as an unappealing market. Yet the Baby Boomer generation should invest in itself, as well as in its children and its grandchildren. In the latest i-pod advertisements, the goal has clearly shifted from just targeting this rather serious generation to investing more in their sons and grandsons.

 

To capture the money of the baby boomers, an investment also must be made to improve the kind of communication that will appeal to and reach Generation Y.

 

In addition, where existing marketing is not adequate for Generation Y, market share will crumble, which in turn will offer more than before the opportunity to acquire customers. In less than 10 years, the market of the baby boomers will begin to shrink. Yet rather than finding reasons not to deal with the small size of the market, people need to confront the "newness" of the market and adapt.

 

So how should we communicate with Generation Y? According to Oshiba, it is crucial to tell them that you are the brand of their generation. Furthermore, entertainment is essential, since their generation expects interactive access like the kind they encounter in a variety of music, video and games. Platforms like 3G mobile phones may be the key to this media by enabling users to interact with entertainment content like music and video, customize their entertainment to their own tastes, carry it with them, as well as enjoy communicating with their friends

 

In 2005, Japan has seen a rapid transition from 2G phones to next-generation devices. 5 or 10 years in the future, people will look back on the importance to the industry of having invested in communication with Generation Y as well.

4) 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 154th Survey October 25 - November 1, 2004
Respondents: 29,093 mobile users
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The following is a survey conducted to study how frequently people change their ring tone in Japan. It was conducted by the Internet-based research service INFO PLANT Co., LTD (Head office: Tokyo, Japan; Masaki OTANI, President). Survey data was collected via the surveys of subscribers to the networks of NTT DoCoMo, au, and Vodafone, based on valid responses from 23,093 people during a one-week period between October 25 - November 1, 2004. InfoPlant aims to expand the scope of research conducted using mobile phones.

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<Survey Results Overview>
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60% of Male and Female Teens Change Their Ring tone More than Once per Month.

 

Asked about how often respondents changed their ring tone, the most common response was every 2-3 months (26.1%), followed by every month (26.1%),every 2 weeks (15.1%),and every 6 months (15.1%). Overall, the number that changed their ring tone more than once a month was 45%. Looked at by gender, 39.9% of the group were men, while women accounted for 47.6%. Looked at by age and gender, there was a large portion of young people changing their ring tone more than once each month, including more than half of males 19 or under and females in their twenties or younger. Males 19 and under were 59.4%. Females in their 20s or younger were 66.4%. Women in their 20s numbered 50.6%. At the same time, as age went up, the frequency of changing ring tone decreased.15% of men over 50 said they had never changed their ring tone.

(Table 1)

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Over 70% of Users of All Ages Use Ring tone

 

Asked if they currently are using ring tone now, 83.5% answered positively, followed by those using ring tunes (19.3%), sound effects (9.9%), and voice ringers (8.9%). Looked at by gender, 78.3% of males used ringing tones, compared to 86.2% of females.

 

Looked at by age and gender, over 70% of users of all ages use ring tone. In addition, the portion of those using ring tunes was especially high among those under age 19, with a high portion of young people using them. Sound effects were somewhat popular with men over 50.

 

(Table 2)

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62.8% Download Ring tones from fee-based specialty sites.

 

As for where they got their ring tones, the majority downloaded them from fee-based ring tone specialty sites (62.8%), followed by 44% who downloaded them from free ring tone specialty sites, with 19.9% downloading them from other kinds of sites, and 17.1% getting them from product campaign-related sites. Looked at by gender, 56.1% of males downloaded their tones from fee-based ring tone specialty sites, as compared to 66.1% of females. Looked at by age and gender, the portion of those downloading from fee-based ring tone specialty sites was largest in the younger age groups, with usage decreasing among higher age groups. Meanwhile, the portion of those using ring tones preloaded in their phones increased with age, comprising 30% of men over 50.

 

(Table 3)

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<Survey Description>
Questions:
1)How frequently to you change the ring tone on your mobile phone? (Select 1)
2)What sort of ring tone are you currently using? (Multiple choices)
3)Where do you generally obtain your ring tone? (Select up to 3)

 

Survey method: open survey on i-mode, au, and Vodafone portals
Survey period: Oct. 25 - Nov 1, 2004 (1 week)
Valid responses: 23,093
Rate of valid response by gender: male 33.6%, female 66.4%
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Q1) How frequently to you change the ring tone on your mobile phone? (Select 1)
<Table1>(By Gender/Age)

 

Q2)What sort of ring tone are you currently using? (Multiple choices)
<Table 2>(By Gender/Age)

 

Q3)Where do you generally obtain your ring tone? (Select up to 3)
<Table 3>(By Gender/Age)

 

** 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
**********************************************************

5)Carrier Trend: The Japan Mobile Market in 2005/Continued Linkage between the Mobile and the Real

2005 may well be the year that 3G becomes the mainstream in the Japanese mobile market. As of November 2004, Japan had 84 million subscribers, of which some 24 million are 3G subscribers. KDDI has already discontinued the introduction of PDC handsets, and NTT DoCoMo's announced upcoming lineup of PDC handsets show both sales and development have shifted entirely to its 3G FOMA series of phones. Vodafone has also introduced a Nokia 3G handset as part of its global strategy.

 

In 2004, all of Japan's mobile operators introduced flat-rate payment plans for mobile data usage. This billing model enables subscribers to make full use of 3G without worrying about the communication costs, and encourages the use of rich 3G content. At the same time, however, it also places limitations on how much a mobile operator can earn from data transport fees. Since the launch of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service in 1999, mobile operators in Japan have used packet data fees to derive considerable new revenue streams. However, under the new system, their business models will no doubt have to change in the future.

 

One of the major new opportunities anticipated to circulate widely in 2005 are phones equipped with built-in IC chips, exemplified by NTT DoCoMo's i-mode FeliCa. NTT DoCoMo has already been selling its IC technology equipped FeliCa phones in the FOMA 900 series, sales of which have already topped 1 million.

 

Using an i-mode FeliCa device, users can make payments in a variety of situations, including convenience stores, parking lots, trains, and vending machines. In 2005, Japan Railways East Japan has announced it will introduce ticketing that embeds the FeliCa technology from its contactless train pass Suica into mobile phones using Mobile FeliCa, and KDDI has announced it will supply the phone that will support this functionality.

 

With these developments, we will see even greater linkage between mobile services and the real world, enabling mobile customers to use their phones in a variety of scenarios in daily life, including shopping in stores, buying train tickets, and much more, placing the phone increasingly at the center of people's daily lives. These circumstances should give birth to new business models for the operators and others.

 

2005 will be the year when the mobile phone will expand from being a communication tool to an essential tool in the lives of its users.

6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

Here is the latest Japan cellular subscriber data for your reference.
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