1) Case Study 1:NTT DoCoMo launches latest innovation in mobile promotions
2) Industry Report:Dentsu Publication Shows Mobile Ad Revenues Reach 18 Billion Yen
3) Mobile Research:58.6% of i-mode users download mobile games more than once per week
4) Carrier Trend:Mobile Suica with Mobile Wallet function to launch January 2006
5) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

1)Case Study 1: NTT DoCoMo launches latest innovation in mobile promotions

The biggest topic in mobile promotions is pulling in mobile users with something compelling and new. However, with the diversification of user’s needs and differentiation in the mobile environment, it is not an easy thing to supply users with something that strikes them as new and exciting.

 

One new service that addresses the problems facing sales managers at companies is NTT DoCoMo's new "DoCoMo Coin".Companies running mobile campaigns can offer a financial reward to users who register, purchase products or respond to questionnaires using DoCoMo Coin, which can be credited toward their mobile phone bills, which is attractive and also quite novel.

 

In previous campaigns, even if users were able to collect small amounts of credit such as 100 or 200 yen, there were very few opportunities to use them.Using the DoCoMo Coin system, users can at their own discretion apply even 1 yen toward their phone bills. Furthermore, companies are free to set the amount they wish to credit users, an advantage over traditional rewards or gifts that also helps them keep down any associated postal and management costs.

 

When users receive DoCoMo Coin, they first have to set up a DoCoMo Coin account. This is a simple and trouble-free process, and every user is provided with a virtual DoCoMo Coin account. After participating in the campaign, users may choose to accumulate DoCoMo Coin in their account or, from the very next day after registering, they can begin to apply it toward their mobile phone bills, or use it whenever they see fit.

 

According to a spokesperson from NTT DoCoMo, "This is a novel type of reward that benefits both companies and participants in their campaigns, and we anticipate it will drive positive results for campaigns. ”When companies collect the mobile phone numbers of their campaign participants or recognize their DoCoMo Coin account number, they can distribute the credit to their accounts the very next day. Starting in June 2005, it will be possible to connect directly from company campaign sites to the DoCoMo Coin site, which should enable users to collect their DoCoMo Coin on the spot. This system is expected to have a wide range of applications, not only for mobile promotions, but at actual storefront campaigns as well.

 

The DoCoMo spokesperson also added that in the future, this type of new service would produce a positive environment that will help bring down the costs of users’ mobile bills and also provide companies with an effective means to grow their businesses.

2)Industry Report:Dentsu Publication Shows Mobile Ad Revenues Reach 18 Billion Yen

On February 17, Dentsu released its publication on Japan Ad Revenues for 2004, showing that ad sales for the period January-December 2004 reached 5 trillion 857.1 billion yen, representing a 3% increase over the 2003. Of this, Internet advertising fees showed significant growth, surpassing radio advertising with 181.4 billion yen. Within Internet advertising, mobile advertising revenues made up a market of 18 billion yen.

 

2004 was the first time since 2000 that Japanese ad revenues showed an increase. Contributing causes for the rise may be recovery of the Japanese economy, as well as trends that have been continuing in the past few years such as the growth of broadband and growth of the digital home electronics market.

 

Among the four traditional mass media, newspapers were up .6% over the previous year's ad revenues with 1 trillion 55.9 billion yen. Magazine ad revenues were 397 billion yen, down 1.6% from the previous year. Radio ad revenues fell .7% over the previous year to 179.5 billion yen. Television advertising was up 4.9% to 2 trillion 43.6 billion yen. Only television showed strong growth, with the others faring only slightly better or a bit worse.

 

By contrast, Internet advertising sales were 181.4 billion yen, an increase over the previous year of 53%, surpassing radio as one of the traditional four media, which had 179.5 billion yen in revenue. Within Internet ad revenues, mobile Internet garnered some 18 billion yen, representing a huge increase of 80% over the previous year. One key factor in this growth was the fixing of major national accounts for mobile campaigns, such as drinks producers and auto manufacturers.

 

Also making a major contribution to this growth has been the proliferation of 3G mobile services such as NTT DoCoMo's FOMA, which have enabled high-speed wireless access and the transfer of large volumes of data, as well as the launch of flat-rate pricing for these next-generation services, along with the start of more expression-rich features on phones such as Flash that have enhanced the environment for mobile advertising.

3) Mobile Research:58.6% of i-mode users download mobile games more than once per week

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 162th Survey Dec.20 - Dec.27, 2004
Respondents: 9,681 mobile users
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The following is a survey conducted to study the download patterns of mobile game users. 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 9,681 people during a one-week period from December 20 ? December 27, 2004. InfoPlant aims to expand the scope of research conducted using mobile phones.
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<Survey Results Overview>
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58.6% of users download games via their mobiles more than one day per week

With regard to the frequency of downloading mobile games, the most common response was “almost every day” (29.3%), followed by 2-3 days per week (18.4%) and once per week (10.9%), adding up to more than half of users (58.6%) saying they downloaded games more than one day per week. Looked at by gender and age, most of the users who reported downloading mobile games every day were aged 19 and under (40.2%). In addition, the majority of those saying they downloaded games more than one day per week were from younger age groups, and became fewer in higher age groups.(Table 1)

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Of those downloading mobile games, males preferred table games and puzzles, while females liked puzzles.

Of those downloading mobile games, males mostly favored table games (45.5%), followed by puzzles (41.2%) and role playing games (30.3%). Meanwhile, females mostly favored puzzles (59.3%), followed by table games (40.8%) and role playing games (26.7%). In addition, more males than females favored sports games (males: 20.9

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37.6% download games from pay sites.

In terms of the sites from which users downloaded games, the majority got them from free sites (64.4%). 47.9% said they used the games preinstalled in their phones, followed by those who downloaded them from pay sites (37.6%). There were no noticeable differences in behavior along gender lines. However, when looked at by age and gender, the majority of those downloading games from pay sites were in the younger generation, with more than half being males under the age of 20. Furthermore, the majority of males and females downloading games from free sites were aged 19 and under. (See Table 3)

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<Survey Description>
Questions:
1) How frequently do you download games to your mobile phone (Select 1)
2)What kinds of games do you download to your mobile phone? (Multiple selections possible)
3)Where do you get your mobile games? (Multiple selections possible)

Survey method: Open Survey, i-mode Tokusuru menu
Survey period: December 20-December 27, 2005 (1 week)
Valid responses: 9,681
Rate of valid response by gender: male 33.2%, female 66.8%
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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) How frequently do you download games to your mobile phone (Select 1)

 

<Table1>(By Gender/Age)

 

Q2)What kinds of games do you download to your mobile phone? (Multiple selections possible)
<Table 2>(By Gender/Age)
*Population parameter: 8,014 users who play mobile games

 

Q3): Where do you get your mobile games? (Multiple selections possible)
<Table 3>(By Gender/Age)
*Population parameter: 8,014 users who play mobile games

 

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

4)Carrier Trend:Mobile Suica with Mobile Wallet function to launch January 2006

On February 20th, JR East, NTT DoCoMo and Sony announced that starting January 2006, the Suica contactless IC cards used for rail ticketing in Japan will be embedded in NTT DoCoMo mobile phones and called “Mobile Suica.” Mobile Suica will be enabled to support a mobile wallet function. Public trial demonstrations of Mobile Suica were carried out before the mass media on March 3 and 4th at Ueno Station in Tokyo.

 

Increasingly, Suica is being used for more than just rail passes and train tickets but is also being expanded to include the ability to make payments with digital money at retail shops and vending machines located within rail station buildings. Outside of stations as well, Suica payments have also been introduced at convenience stores like Family Mart, drugstores such as Matsumoto Kiyoshi, and Shinseido, which retails CDs as well as other products.

 

The advantage of Suica is that it takes advantage of pre-existing network infrastructure for the card services already being used inside station buildings. In addition, online settlement services utilizing Suica are also planned to be introduced in the latter half of 2006,

 

In the current demonstration, Mobile Suica handsets were used in field tests to pass through and make payment at a ticket gate, as well as to make purchases at a coffee shop and a bookstore within the station building. The test handsets were all preinstalled with special Mobile Suica software. One of the issues in testing Mobile Suica is the precision of its ID function, which according to JR Asst Section Chief Mr. Hajime Yamada is being refined and sharpened through extensive development. The current trial was concluded smoothly and the settlement function worked successfully.

 

According to representatives at JR East, NTT DoCoMo and East, field tests will be carried out until the fall in preparation for the launch of the future service. Although NTT DoCoMo has just announced plans to introduce mobile devices with this e-wallet function, rival KDDI has already announced plans to jointly develop a Java application and Vodafone is also investing in a similar solution.

5) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

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