1) Industry Trend: Mobile Advertising Expenditure Reaches 39 billion yen
2) Mobile Research: Mobile Research: 74.7% have used mobile shopping sites
3) Carrier Update: NTT DoCoMo Provides Mobile Marketing ASP Service
4) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

2006 Japanese Advertising Expenditures Announced

Internet Advertising Grows by some 30% -- Mobile Advertising Expenditure Reaches 39 Billion Yen

 

On February 20, Dentsu announced its Japanese Advertising Expenditures for 2006, which provide estimates for the entire domestic advertising market listed by media and business sector. According to the report, between January and December 2006, overall advertising expenditure in was 5.9945 trillion yen, up by .6% over the previous year. This was the third consecutive year since 2004 with year on year increases. Leading the four main media and driving the overall growth with a strong showing was Internet advertising expenditure. At 363 billion yen, it recorded a 29.3% increase over the previous year.

 

Internet Advertising Expenditure Drives Growth

 

In terms of overall advertising expenditure in 2006, there was a strong trend toward major sporting events, including the Torino Olympics and the UEFA World Cup. In the latter half of 2006, the introduction of number portability in the mobile phone market led to an increase of mobile phone advertising; however, subsequent shrinkage resulted in only in .6% overall growth over the previous year, marking a fall in the growth rate.

 

Looked at by media, large-scale television advertising expenditure was 98.8% of the previous year, recording a second consecutive year of decrease. Overall advertising expenditure for the remaining three media of newspapers, magazines and radio was down 2% for the previous year.  By contrast, increases were seen in sales promotion advertising (up .9%), satellite media advertising (up 11.7%) and internet advertising expenditure（up 29.3%）.

 

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Mobile Advertising Show Further Growth

 

Of the 363 billion yen spent on Internet advertising, mobile advertising expenditure comprised 39 billion yen.  The search engine marketing sector made up 93 billion yen (up 57.6% over the previous year) and showed a much higher growth rate over other Internet-based media.

 

Mobile advertising recorded a substantial increase of 35.4%. Major factors behind this rise include the number of mobile phone subscriptions reaching 94.94 million handsets (December 2006), as well as continued activity by national clients running mass campaigns in the drinks and automotive markets.  In 2007, amid a backdrop of positive economic trends and the recovery of personal consumption, overall advertising expenditure is expected to reach 6.613 trillion yen, an increase of 1.1% over 2006. While advertising expenditure for the four major media is expected to continue to shrink, mobile Internet use is expected to contribute to increases in SP advertising and Internet advertising. Mobile activity should continue to rise due to a number of factors, including usage uptake, resulting from fixed-rate data services, the growth of content services such as mobile movies and electronic books, which benefit from increased data transmission speeds, and consumer-generated media, such as social networking sites, will also play a role. With the introduction of paid search on the operator portal menus, growth is anticipated for search engine marketing, and with the expansion of search services, the number of official corporate sites set up by companies is also projected to increase. This too is expected to driver further demand for mobile advertising. Already, major growth is evident for mobile advertising in 2007, which is further raising awareness of this robust sector.

 

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74.7% have used mobile shopping sites,

57.6% spend more than 10,000 yen per year

～ Survey Results for 6,398 i-mode Users

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【Survey Overview】

49.6％of users browse online shopping sites more than once per week

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When users were asked how frequently they visited online shopping sites via their mobiles, the most popular response was nearly every day (15.1%), followed by 2 to 3 days per week (14.8%), about once per week (13.5%), and 2-3 times monthly (12.6%). In addition, the combined number of respondents ranging from daily visits to once per week comprised a total of 49.6%. Looked at by gender, more females than males reported browsing mobile shopping sites more than once per week (males: 43%, females: 52.9%).

【See Table 1】

 

When asked about their experience purchasing goods from online shopping sites via their mobiles, the majority answered that they had shopped via mobile and wanted to continue in the future (69.9%), with 4.8% saying they had shopped via mobile but did not wish to do so in the future. 17.9% said they had never done so but wanted to try it, while only 7.4% responded that they had no experience with mobile shopping and were not interested in trying it. The total percentage of respondents with experience shopping via mobile was 74.4%. Looking at those with an interest in mobile shopping in the future, the total was 87.8%. Looked at by gender, women were more likely than men to have experience shopping via mobile (males: 66.74%, Females: 78.4%) particularly women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.【See Table 2】

 

 

Products Bought Via Mobile: 46% of Males bought CDs, DVDs, and Videos while 59.5% of Females purchased clothing and fashion goods 59.5%

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Looking at the kind of products purchased via mobile, male experience was as follows: CD, DVD, video (46%), clothing and fashion goods （36.9％）、followed by books and magazines (36.8%). In terms of females, the top responses were clothing and fashion goods (59.5%)、cosmetics (47.9%) and food and beverages (36.0%). Looked at by gender, men were more likely to buy books and magazines (males：36.8%, females： 28.2%), CDs, DVDs, videos (males: 46.0%, females, 30.1%, and video game software (males: 15.3%, females: 7.9%). By contrast, women were more likely to purchase cosmetics (males: 9.1%, females: 47.9%), and clothes and fashion goods (males: 36.9%, females: 59.5%). Looked at by gender and age, CDs, DVDs, videos were most popular among males in their 30s and females in their teens, while food and drinks were equally popular among men and women over 40. Women in their 20s were the most likely to purchase clothing and fashion goods.【See Table 3】

 

54.6% have spend over 10,000 yen on mobile online shopping sites in the past year

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Asked about how much they had spent shopping on online mobile sites over the past year, the most popular response was 5000-10,000 yen (20.9%), followed by 10,000-20,000 yen (19.6%), and 5000 yen (13.4%).  In addition, the combined portion of users who spent between 20,000 and 50,000 yen, when added to those who use 10,000 yen or more, numbers some 54.6%.【See Table 4】

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＜Survey Summary＞

Questions:

(1)     How often do you browse online shopping sites via your mobile (choose 1)

(2)     Have you ever purchased a product via your mobile from an online shopping site? (choose 1)

(3)     What sort of product have you bought via online mobile shopping? If you answered no to (2) above, please tell us what kind of purchases you would like to make (choose several)

(4)     Over the past year, about how much did you spend via mobile on online shopping sites?  (choose one)

 

 

Survey Method:  Open Survey on the i-mode Tokusuru menu
Target Audience: i-mode Users Nationwide

Survey Period：March 6 – March 13, 2007（1 week）
Valid Reponses: 6,398 (Male: 33.9%, Female: 61.3)

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(1)     How often do you browse online shopping sites via your mobile (choose 1)

 

【Table 1】= by gender and age =

 

Units%	Survey parameter	Nearly daily	4-5 days week	2-3 days per week	About 1 day per week	2-3 days per month	1 day per week	1 time every 2-3 months	Less frequently	Do not look at shopping sites on i-mode	Total more than once weekly
Total	6,398	1501	6.2	14.8	13.5	12.6	8.3	5.1	7.9	16.6	49.6
Males Total	2,172	12.3	5.1	12.5	13.1	10.7	8.9	4.5	10.4	22.6	43.0
Males Teens	42	9.5	4.8	11.9	7.1	14.3	4.8	4.8	16.7	26.2	33.3
Males 20s	444	8.3	4.7	11.3	11.5	11.9	10.6	5.6	11.7	24.3	35.8
Males 30s	989	11.3	4.7	12.6	12.1	10.8	9.0	5.5	10.6	23.4	40.7
Males 40s	579	16.4	5.4	14.0	15.9	9.8	7.6	2.6	9.5	18.8	51.7
Males 50 and over	118	16.1	8.5	9.3	16.1	7.6	9.3	1.7	5.1	26.3	50.0
Females total	4,226	16.5	6.7	16.0	13.7	13.6	8.0	5.4	6.6	13.5	52.9
Females teens	154	11.0	7.1	7.8	13.6	17.5	8.4	5.8	7.1	21.4	39.5
Females 20s	1,665	13.0	6.4	16.6	15.3	16.0	7.9	6.0	5.8	13.1	51.3
Females 30s	1,769	17.8	6.5	16.2	12.6	12.0	8.4	5.5	7.3	13.7	53.1
Females 40s	554	23.3	8.8	16.2	12.5	11.4	6.9	3.8	6.9	10.3	60.8
Females 50s and over	84	23.8	3.6	11.9	14.3	8.3	6.0	2.4	7.1	22.6	53.6

 

(2)     Have you ever purchased a product via your mobile from an online shopping site? (choose 1)

 

【Table 2】=males/females=age, gender

Units%	Survey parameter	Thinking of it, plan to in the future	Have in past but will not in the future	Have not yet but would like to try it	Have not and do not plan to in the future	Have done it before	Have not done it before	Likely to in the future	Not likely to in the future
Total	5,339	69.6	4.8	17.9	7.4	74.7	25.3	87.8	12.2
Males Total	1,682	62.4	4.3	23.1	10.2	66.7	33.3	85.5	14.5
Males Teens	31	51.6	3.2	45.2	0.0	54.8	45.2	96.8	3.2
Males 20s	336	61.6	5.4	21.7	11.3	67.0	33.0	83.3	16.7
Males 30s	758	63.9	4.2	22.0	9.9	68.1	31.9	85.9	14.1
Males 40s	470	61.5	3.4	25.5	9.6	64.9	35.1	87.0	13.0
Males 50 and over	87	62.1	5.7	16.1	16.1	67.8	32.2	78.2	21.8
Females total	3,657	73.3	5.1	15.5	6.1	78.4	21.6	88.8	11.2
Females teens	121	59.5	5.0	27.3	8.3	64.5	35.6	86.8	13.3
Females 20s	1,447	73.0	5.1	16.7	5.2	78.1	21.9	89.7	10.3
Females 30s	1,527	75.2	5.2	13.0	6.5	80.4	19.5	88.2	11.7
Females 40s	497	72.2	5.0	15.9	6.8	77.2	22.7	88.1	11.8
Females 50s and over	65	70.8	0.0	21.5	7.7	70.8	29.2	92.3	7.7

 

(3)     What sort of product have you bought via online mobile shopping? If you answered no to (2) above, please tell us what kind of purchases you would like to make (choose several)

 

【Table 3】=Gender/age=

Units%	Survey parameter	Books, magazines	CD/DVD video	Film, Concert tickets	Travel and lodging tickets	Food and beverage	Cosmetics	Video game software	Clothing, fashion	other
Total	3,989	30.6	34.6	16.8	15.3	34.6	37.0	10.0	53.2	30.0
Males Total	1,122	36.8	46	15.6	15.8	31.1	9.1	15.3	36.9	38.2
Males Teens	17	35.3	41.2	11.8	11.8	11.8	0.0	29.4	17.6	17.6
Males 20s	225	38.2	46.7	14.7	8.0	21.8	8.4	18.7	39.1	32.4
Males 30s	516	39.7	49.8	17.1	16.9	30.2	8.1	14.1	36.4	37.0
Males 40s	305	32.8	43.3	16.1	19.0	39.0	12.5	15.7	36.4	43.6
Males 50 and over	59	27.1	25.4	5.1	20.3	39.0	5.1	6.8	40.7	49.2
Females total	2,867	28.2	30.1	17.3	15.1	36.0	47.9	7.9	59.5	26.8
Females teens	78	34.6	38.5	11.5	6.4	16.7	28.2	14.1	41.0	21.8
Females 20s	1,131	27.2	32.0	17.9	15.0	28.3	45.7	6.6	63.0	22.1
Females 30s	1,228	28.3	29.4	18.6	16.4	39.8	51.3	8.6	59.1	29.1
Females 40s	384	29.7	25.3	13.5	13.3	48.2	47.1	8.6	54.9	32.3
Females 50s and over	46	26.1	30.4	10.9	10.9	56.5	52.2	4.3	56.5	41.3

 

(4)     Over the past year, about how much did you spend via mobile on online shopping sites?  (choose one)

 

■      【Table 4】=Gender/Age=

Units%	Survey parameter	Under 3000 yen	Under 5000 yen	Under 10.000 yen	Under 20.000 yen	Under 30.000 yen	Under 40.000 yen	Under 50.000 yen	More than 50.000 yen	Have not shopped this year	Total Over 10000 yen
Total	3,989	7.3	11.2	20.9	19.6	11.7	4.2	5.7	13.4	6	54.6
Males Total	1,122	7.1	12.2	22.7	18.4	10	3.8	4.7	15.2	5.9	52.1
Males Teens	17	11.8	29.4	35.3	11.8	5.9	0	0	0	5.9	17.7
Males 20s	225	8.9	16	22.7	17.8	8	4.4	3.6	12	6.7	45.8
Males 30s	516	7.6	11.4	22.3	16.9	10.9	3.5	5.2	15.1	7.2	51.6
Males 40s	305	4.9	10.8	23.9	19.3	9.8	4.3	4.6	19.3	3	57.3
Males 50 and over	59	6.8	6.8	16.9	30.5	11.9	3.4	6.8	10.2	6.8	62.8
Females total	2,867	7.3	10.8	20.2	20.1	12.3	4.4	6.1	12.7	6	55.6
Females teens	78	24.4	17.9	20.5	15.4	5.1	6.4	2.6	5.1	2.6	34.6
Females 20s	1,131	7.7	12	20	20.7	12.8	4.4	5.8	9.5	7.1	53.2
Females 30s	1,228	6.6	9.4	20.6	20	12.3	3.9	6.8	15.2	5.2	58.2
Females 40s	384	6	10.2	19.8	20.6	12.8	4.7	5.7	13.8	6.5	57.6
Females 50s and over	46	0	15.2	19.6	10.9	10.9	10.9	2.2	28.3	2.2	63.2

 

 

Mobile Operators Take Up Position with 2007 Summer Models

 

With the number of mobile subscriptions in Japan hitting 97 million in April 2007, it is only a matter of time before Japan breaks the 100 million mark. For mobile operators, competition has continued to intensify, especially with the introduction of number portability last autumn.  In May, operators announced their latest handset lineup for the spring.  A look at these devices suggests the specific approaches being pursued by each operator, including new services, functionality, design, and more.

NTT DoCoMo Launches New 2in1 Service
Starting in June, NTT DoCoMo launched five new 3G FOMA™ 904i models, the latest in DoCoMo's flagship 9 Series.With this series, DoCoMo has kicked off its new 2in1 service, which takes the capabilities of two phones and folds them into a single handset, providing two separate mobile phone numbers and mail addresses.
All of the models in the new series include 2in1, an intuitive motion game called Chokkan Game that can played by tilting or waiving the handset, along with Uta-hodai support, which allows users to download full music tracks from compatible i-mode sites for a flat monthly subscription fee.  DoCoMo has launched an aggressive advertising campaign to highlight this new phase of functionality, organized around the campaign slogan DoCoMo2.0 .
 
au Handsets to Match your Lifestyle
au has announced a new seasonal line-up if 15 handsets. The concept behind the latest series is to fit closely and support the individual lifestyle of each user.  Examples of this include a number of converging collaborations with the world of household electronics, such as the Waterproof 1-Seg mobile, which can be used safely around water, such as in the bathroom or kitchen; the Exilim mobile, which features a 5.1 megapixel image-stabilizing camera; the Walkman mobile, which supports 110 hours of continuous  music playback. The line-up features slim bodies packed full of functionality, with unique models to suit every different type of lifestyle.

Softbank Stands for Style
Softbank has announced the release of 12 new handsets under the keyword “style.” The lineup includes the world’s first full-face sliding format one-seg handset, along with a full range of body colors, customizable changeable panels, and LED illumination that support some 240 million variations to epitomize the pursuit of style in a mobile handset. 

Other key offerings in these new lineups include full track music downloads and games, mail, social networking sites and communication services that are a key part of daily life for users.  In addition, with the number of “osaifu keitai” mobile wallet users surpassing 30 million, the number of shops and retail outlets deploying Suica or iD readers is increasing rapidly. It seems certain the mobile phones will continue to become a powerful force in making the lives of users richer, more convenient, and more entertaining.

NTT DoCoMo Provides Marketing ASP Service

 

Starting April 1, NTT DoCoMo began providing a Mobile Marketing ASP service called “” which allows companies and organizations in the services sector to reach their customers via all three of ’s mobile carriers.

 

Mobile Avenue provides a one-stop suite of mobile marketing tools, system operation and metrics to companies wishing to attract customers using mobile phones and to increase their repeat customers. DoCoMo has built a platform offering everything required for mobile marketing and enabling total coordination in an ASP fashion. This has numerous benefits, including freeing companies from having to create their own mobile marketing systems and enabling them to reduce the time required to launch as well as their initial and operating costs.

 

In addition, the platform supports send-out of e-mail magazines and the driving of customers to original sites, as well as coupon-based promotions to drive customers to store fronts. It also allows for the delivery of sale information in a timely manner to customers.

 

Post-launch development plans include the addition of an optional menu that supports loyalty points that can be used with mobile wallets as well as reservation services.

 

McDonald’s and DoCoMo Join Forces in Creation of New Mobile Marketing Company

 

McDonald’s Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced the establishment of a joint venture company to plan and manage e-marketing promotions to McDonald’s newly planned membership club, along with the introduction in October 2007 of DoCoMo’s iD platform for mobile phone credit cards and ToruCa information-capture service at McDonald’s stores around Japan. McDonald’s plans to establish its membership club, and the new joint venture company will plan and manage marketing activities to the new club membership.

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