3G.co.uk
and WirelessWatchJapan have formed a unique partnership to
spread 3G and Wireless news around the world. More to follow on this
in the near future ...
The
following is an introductory article and fascinating video about one
of the little-known secrets behind the success of the mobile Internet
in Japan which is the tremendous effort that the carriers put into marketing,
promoting, and boosting their cellular and data products.
Kevin
Thomas of 3G.co.uk recommends Daniel Scuka's video report as highly
informative and a real eye-opener. In fact, the European and US Operators
should find this report of high interest.
To
view the video please click on picture below. Please note the video
is two parts so hang on to see the second part of the video too.
Report
and video by Daniel Scuka of WirelessWatchJapan.
World
Cup soccer kept Japan at a fever pitch during May and June, and Tokyo's
Wireless Watch Japan video website sent a crew over to the sports-Internet
cafe set up by superstar player Hidetoshi Nakata. Vodafone/J-Phone were
there too, illustrating the key role that celebrity sponsorship plays
in the sales and marketing of mobile in
Japan. To
view the video please click on picture. Please note the video is two
parts so hang on to see the second part of the video too.
But
is all that sponsorship effort -- the expensive booths, the even more
expensive booth babes, and the free give aways -- worth it? You bet
it is, and this 10-minute streamcast shows you exactly why. Oh, there's
also a live demo of Sha Mail -- J-Phone's uberpopular (and very lucrative)
picture mail system that now claims some 6 million users.
One
of the little-known secrets behind the success of the mobile
Internet -- and of mobile services in general -- in Japan is the
tremendous effort that the carriers put into marketing, promoting, and
boosting their cellular and data products. This massive effort,
involving the carriers' PR and marketing departments, a bevy of outside
PR firms, and many of the carriers' content and technology partners
(such as Disney, Bandai, and Sony), has successfully convinced the
average Japanese consumer that a cell phone is an absolutely required
fashion accessory.
As
a result, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and Vodafone/J-Phone compete tooth and
nail to win the greatest number of new converts to their networks, and
use every trick known to the marketing mind to convince prospects that
their system is best. This hypercompetitiveness can be understood when
one considers that churn -- the switching of existing subscribers to
competing networks -- is very low in Japan. The lack of number and email
address portability and significant long-term contract discounts combine
to make locking in a subscriber the first time absolutely vital.
Besides, in typical over-bureaucratic Japanese fashion, actually going
to a shop and canceling a contract, handing in the handset, and then
buying a new one is an expensive, time-consuming pain in the
<i>ketsu</i>.
We
came up with this programme after seeing the tremendous popularity of
Hidetoshi Nakata's soccer cafe and watching seemingly endless TV promos
for J-Phone featuring the handsome Nakata in a variety of "cinema
verite" real-life situations involving J-Phone handsets. We thought
it
absolutely key to find an actual user who would admit to switching
carriers due to just this sort of sports hero sponsorship, and we were
surprised to find one who **wasn't** a giggling teen. In fact, our
interviewee is an intelligent, mature homemaker and mother who clearly
doesn't make decisions based on mere fashion trends, yet she too
switched due to sports sponsorship.
Our
programme illustrates the tremendous power that this sort of
consumer-targeted promotion can generate, and, we think, teaches a
salutary lesson applicable to markets elsewhere where carriers are
struggling to find the right mix of voice, data, services, and pricing.
Please
note the video is two parts so hang on to see the second part of the
video too.To view the video please click on this link :
Daniel
Scuka Video Report
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and WirelessWatchJapan have formed a unique partnership to
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