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Japan: Case Studies
| The Ones that Got It Right  1. Mobagetown This site, operated by DeNa, is considered one of the fastest growing mobile sites in Japan and the world. Mobagetown is a game site which incorporates elements of social networking as well as avatars. Since its launch in Feb 2006 it now boasts a user base of 5 million, with approximately 400 million page views a day. Mobagetown's business model is basically designed such that users who want to outfit their avatars etc will need to earn Moba Gold (the site’s virtual currency). The way this is done is through clicking ads and purchasing mobile content or physical goods on partner sites. DeNA is said to have made USD 24million in the first year since mobagetown’s launch. It is also expected to have contributed to the additional USD 42 million that DeNA-operated mobile affiliate advertising network Pocket Affiliate generated over the fiscal year 2006. [Source: Japan Mobile Market News: “mobagetown and its 5.5 mio users: Why it's much more than a free mobile games and SNS site” via Wireless World Forum”] Even companies such as Nike and Coca Cola have initiated tie-ups with mobagetown. This includes branded games and promotional avatar items from the brands. 2. Nissan Motors  In Naked Conversations, the authors highlighted the successful Nissan Motors blog which was used to launch and sell a new car, the TiiDA. What was most interesting about this blog was the fact that each blog post began with the project manager announcing “I am Yamamoto from Nissan Motors”. This informal tone is one that is usually reserved for the home and is unexpected of managers of large companies (refer to cultural issues above). It is expected that this factor was what led to the great interest in the site. This case demonstrates how a personal tone is the best way to reach consumers and that corporate information can still be presented on blogs.3. J-Magic Inc  Making use of facial recognition technologies, J-Magic Inc. provides a service in which users send in photographs of themselves or others in order to generate a list of three celebrity matches. Launched in late April, J-Magic Inc’s service saw an interested audience of more than 22 million try it out within the span of two months. The interesting point to note about this case was that most marketing was done via word-of-mouth through blogs and sns. "I didn't expect it to become such a big hit,” said Takuya Miyata, the 34-year-old founder and chief executive officer of J-Magic. “The popularity has spread through mixi and blogs. I didn't do much promotion.” If businesses are looking to target the younger crowd who participate in these sites, making use of the services is an increasingly popular way of reaching them. [Source: The Japan Times Online: “J-Magic Sees Market For Picture Based Search”] 4. Proctor & Gamble  Proctor & Gamble introduced a blog to launch one of their new laundry detergents. This blog was set up to initiate story sharing among housewives and potential users of the P&G product. Nobuhiro Seki, in an interview with the authors of Naked Conversation, said, “The major focus was to get housewives to talk about their experience regarding washing. They could answer by email, Trackback or their own blog. The results were great. Housewives introduced many interesting and funny stories regarding washing. Housewives are heavy browsers, perhaps more than men.” [Source: Global Neighbourhoods: “Interview with Nob Seki”] This example shows how blogs can target different audiences and the social media should not be limited to the younger generation. What is important however, is the sense of community that is built and the users' ability to interact through trackbacks. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ The One that Got It Wrong NTT DoCoMo
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