1) Case Study 1:Japan Racing Association (JRA) uses mass media transport ads and mobile in mixed media campaign
2) Case Study 2:Asahi Beer uses mobile to promote limited-time products to a select target group
3) Industry Report:Drill creative group opens for business
4) Mobile Research:55.2% of users don’t have an i-mode FeliCa phone but would like to try one
5) Carrier Trend:Mobile phones brands undergo refinement through participation by creators and TV producers
6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

1)Case Study 1: Japan Racing Association (JRA) uses Mass Media Transport Ads and Mobile in Mixed Media Campaign

In recent years, the Japan Racing Association (JRA) has hammered out a fresh advertising strategy to totally transform the conventional image of racing in Japan, including breaking new ground to win over women as racing fans. This has resulted in the appearance at the track of couples as well as people bringing their families to the races. In its recent autumn campaign, the JRA sought to further extend the racing fan group with a campaign that would get the attention of the youth demographic using a luxurious gift campaign timed to coincide with the national sale date of new race tickets. Well-known celebrities were used to represent the campaign, with a large-scale campaign including TV spots, newspaper and magazines, and public transport. These were also combined with mobile in a mixed media campaign.

 

People were invited to participate in the campaign by applying via post card, PC, or mobile, but a special emphasis on mobile was reflected in the ad strategy. In order to draw people to the specially created mobile campaign site, a Toku Number was set up to enable customers from all three of Japan's mobile operators to easily access the site.

 

Since past campaigns have shown nearly 30% of all participants sign up via mobile, it was essential that special effort be made to facilitate easy access to mobile users.

In terms of processing sign ups and generating results and the data from questionnaires, a mobile campaign in which participants' type in their information directly is especially rapid and inexpensive in comparison to postcard campaigns, which require data to be input by hand.

 

In addition, by securing registration for special racing tutorials at the same time as sign-ups for the gift campaign, the mobile site boosted enthusiasm for racing and also made it possible to send out via email a lot of other race-related and event information at the same time to individual fans.

 

Furthermore, on the fee-based JRA members' web site, access to the service via mobile is already provided. Members can compete by selecting a favorite horse to win and thus accumulate points depending on how it finishes. If a horse comes in first, users receive a mobile email alerting them of the race results and they are able to download a free wallpaper. According to a JRA representative, "mobile makes the experience interactive, enabling us to provide race-related information, to provide valued-ads like special coupons that can be used on the racing grounds, and this makes it very compelling as a way to stay in communication with racing fans."

 

In these ways, mobile media is showing strong results as a promotional tool to extend the racing fan base and as a communication tool to help strengthen fan loyalty.

2)Case Study 2: Using mobile to promote limited-time products to a select target group/Asahi Beer

This past November, Asahi Beer put on sale its winter season product called "Asahi Cocktail Partner". In recent years, canned cocktail drinks have been important primarily in increasing the size of the youth market. However, very few in this group show continuous brand loyalty, and there is a trend toward sampling various brands. Given these special conditions, Asahi Beer inserted a temporary product line that had a special seasonal appeal to capture their attention.

 

The company chose to make use of a mobile promotion as the most effective and promising communication method to reach the target group of males and females in their 20s and 30s.

 

A promotion for a limited-term product requires immediate results to be effective. It must transmit information to the target with pin-point accuracy, reinforcing product branding, and driving awareness and designated purchasing in shops.

 

In this campaign, a special mobile campaign site was developed where 1,000 special campaign gifts were given away to participants. The campaign made use of the Message Free channel to notify potential prospects. Message Free is a special opt-in advertising service that delivers messages free of charge to people who have registered to receive them. There are over 4 million people signed up for it, and the system enables sending of messages to select target groups based on their profile data. In addition the Tokusuru menu was also used to help draw users to the campaign site.

 

There are many men and women in their 20s and 30s who do use a PC but only browse websites with their mobile phones. In order to strengthen communication with these groups, promotion via mobile was favored for the campaign. Users who wanted to sign up to win a free gift had to access the campaign site and were required to register on the Asahi Beer mobile membership site.

 

The campaign was designed to capture customers and guarantee future communication with the target segment of mobile users. As a result, the impact was very strong and store sales of the product exceeded targets and estimates.

 

This campaign provides more proof of how a membership-based mobile site can be very effective in strengthening relations with customers as well as promoting product branding and sales.

3)Industry Report:Drill, Creative Group without Set Approach, Opens for Business

In December, Dentsu and Asatsu DK launched a joint venture company called Drill, dedicated to creative development for next-generation advertising. The company aligned itself with a new approach it says is "media neutral". To find out what this means, we interviewed the CEO, Morihiro Harano.

 

D2C: Tell us what is special about your company.

 

Harano: If you look at a textbook on advertising, you will find that advertising strategy is divided up into two sections, expressive strategy and media strategy. In fact, this same structure can be seen at advertising agencies, where they are organized into two different divisions to manage these areas independently. These two sections have separate responsibilities, and are unified under the management of one account executive.

 

This divided structure was systematized in the 1960s with the establishment of the mass media advertising as an industry and has continued through to the present day. Although we do not challenge this approach, at Drill, we do not necessarily assume this divided structure as a requirement. Depending on the specific advertising client, our goal is propose the best possible strategy, which we refer to as "creative without a set approach" In planning we may find it impossible to separate expressive and media strategy, and in some cases we will even propose strategies other than advertising to yield the best results, including suggestions about product development or retail outlets.

 

In order to support this approach, we have gathered not only copy writers and art directors, but also experts and producers to perform media planning, interactive work, strategic PR, spatial planning, event planning, and business strategy. Collectively, they are organized into a single creative unit. That is what Drill is all about.

 

What do you think has created the need for a new approach?

 

We have had to adapt to a changing environment.We are now surrounded by circumstances that are drastically different than those which created mass media advertising in the 1960s. We are awash in information, and consumers regard advertisements with a skeptical eye. Furthermore, advertising clients' product lines are becoming increasingly mature, diverse, and complex. Given these conditions, there is good cause to do things differently than the way they were done in the 1960s.

 

For example, take an ad for potato chips. These days, the way in which consumers tend to select potato chips is to look over what is on the shelf at the convenience store and pick one. Under these circumstances, package design is going to play a decisive role in the decision to purchase a particular brand. So instead of dealing with package design along the way, it is better to take it as the starting point for developing the ad. Or we might consider targeting a different shelf in the convenience store. We will think of an appealing freebie, or try to create display in the snack section with a freebie, and this may result in a better strategy for the ad plan. This is what we mean by "creative without a set approach."

 

Do you consider retail outlets to be a type advertising media?

 

Well, the fact is that we sometimes think it better to start by questioning the very notion of "advertising media." For example, as part of a basketball shoe campaign, Nike has placed a plaque with a swoosh on it on a trash bin in a public park. This attempt to put the Nike touch on a scene such as a local park represents the birth of a new type of media neutral campaign.

 

In addition, the media most trusted by consumers is in fact people themselves. The recommendation of a friend can be the strongest motivation to a purchase. These days, a picture message from a friend's camera phone is one of the best advertisements. Without a person's recommendation, there is no way to overcome the overflow of information and skepticism. This is the area that Drill focuses on.

 

Siodome Sumitomo Building 18F
1-9-2 Higashishinbashi,
Minato-ku,Tokyo 105-0021 Japan
Phone:+81-3-6252-3100
Fax:+81-3-6252-3111
Email: award@d2c.co.jp

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 161th Survey Dec. 13 - Dec. 20, 2004
Respondents: 9,424 mobile users
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The following is a survey conducted to study usage of mobile phones with built-in contactless prepaid FeliCa cards (i-mode FeliCa) 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 NTT DoCoMo network, based on valid responses from 9,424 people during a one-week period from December 13 - December 20, 2004. InfoPlant aims to expand the scope of research conducted using mobile phones.
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<Survey Results Overview>
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55.2% of users don’t have an i-mode FeliCa phone but would like to try one

Responses from 9,424 Users

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55.2% of users don't have an i

Regarding i-mode FeliCa, 1.1% of respondents reported they were using one, while 6.1% said they had an i-mode FeliCa compatible handset, but were not using it. In terms of future plans, 55.2% said they did not have an i-mode FeliCa handset but would like to use one. Broken down by gender and ge, over 60% of the latter group were males and females in their teens or younger. Furthermore, about 7% of the entire group of respondents said they did not understand i-mode FeliCa, and this answer was more likely in higher age groups for both males and females alike.(Table 1)

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79.1% of males want to use i-mode FeliCa to make payments at convenience stores and shops, 68.6% of females want to use them to accumulate loyalty points on membership cards.

When asked how they would like to make use of i-mode FeliCa, males mostly wanted to use i-mode FeliCa to make payments at convenience stores and shops (79.1%), followed by accumulating loyalty points on membership cards (69.2

Looked at by age and gender, those who wanted to use i-mode FeliCa to make payments at conveniences stores and shops were mostly men in all age groups and women in their 40s. Those who favored using them with coupons were mostly women under 20, and the majority of those favoring use to save loyalty points on membership cards were women in their 30s. Furthermore, most of those favoring use with coupons were younger males and females.(Table 2)

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89.5% are concerned about having trustworthy security when using i-mode FeliCa.

The majority of respondents (89.5%) were concerned about trustworthy security when using i-mode FeliCa, followed by concerns about being able to use it in more places (68.1%), and the special benefits of collecting points (55.7%). Looked at by gender, the majority of those concerned with ease of use were female (males: 39.1%, females: 46.5%), while most of those concerned about being able to use it in more places were male (males: 72.3%, females: 66.0%). Looked at by gender, the majority of those concerned with the special benefits of collecting points and making it easy to charge things were younger males and females.(Table 3)

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<Survey Description>
Questions:
1)Are you using i-mode FeliCa? (Select 1)
2)Among the functions of i-mode FeliCa, select all of those you wish to use (multiple answers)
3)In using i-mode FeliCa, which points are you concerned about? (multiple answers)

Survey method: Open Survey, i-mode Tokusuru menu
Survey period: December 13-December 20, 2005 (1 week)
Valid responses: 9,424
Rate of valid response by gender: male 31.7%, female 68.3%
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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. For more information, please contact D2C Communications at press@d2c.co.jp
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Q1) Are you using i-mode FeliCa? (Select 1)

 

<Table1>(By Gender/Age)

 

Q2)Among the functions of i-mode FeliCa, select all of those you wish to use. (multiple answers)
<Table 2>(By Gender/Age)
*Population parameter: 5,086 people other than those who do not understand i-mode FeliCa

 

Q3): In using i-mode FeliCa, which points are you concerned about? (multiple answers)
<Table 3>(By Gender/Age)
*Population parameter: 5,086 people other than those who do not understand i-mode FeliCa

 

** 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: Mobile Phone brands gain refinement via participation of creators and TV producers

In the past, Japanese mobile phones showed a lot of design problems and lacked appeal in comparison to devices in Europe and the US. However, this is being addressed by a lot of planning and production work by Japanese creators and designers

 

At NTT DoCoMo, mobile phones are regarded as a part of fashion. In the effort develop and sell them as the latest fashion accessory, it has announced it will call on Masato Ochi, who has planned, produced and casted for a number of well-known TV shows. The project has been dubbed D-mo (pronounced 'Dot M O'), with the naming being based on the dropping of the 'C and two Os' or CO2 from DoCoMo's name in the effort to produce an image and branding campaign that will increase customers' sense of familiarity with mobile phones.

 

Under the d-mo campaign, along with the productions by Masato Ochi, there is a limited edition of the FOMA P901i bearing the original d-mo logo, along with specially a designed jacket and fashion accessories and a custom phone strap created by various designers. In addition, in order to market the mobile phone and custom jacket, DoCoMo will open a flagship d-mo store located at Omotesando in Tokyo as part of its strategy to go beyond the framework of selling just phones and develop a line of d-mo branded goods.

 

Meanwhile, KDDI has also diversified its activities. Building its plans around the three main themes of communication, marketing, and collaboration, it has established the KDDI Designing Studio in Harajuku, offering live handsets on display and a variety of seminars and events. The KDDI Designing Studio is located in a five-story building and features a roof garden cafe, a space for people to check out the latest next-generation handsets, virtual reality video, mobile content, and enjoy mobile phones and the Internet in a new, hands-on environment. In addition, the facility has a space for accommodating live performances by hot contemporary artists and creators.

In Japan, where the mobile phone has become an essential part of daily life, efforts are currently focused on advancing the mobile to become a more integral part of fashion and culture. Now that Japanese users have become completely comfortable talking about mobile phones, mail and surfing the mobile Internet, mobile phone companies are embarking on a new phase of taking things to the next level to further integrate mobile communication into other areas of peoples' lives.

6) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

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