Articles
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Jun 09 2021
Japanese Market Entry - A Checklist for Foreign Brands Setting Up Shop in Japan
Depending on how far down the road you are, you probably already have a long list of things to research, plan or implement as part of your Japanese market entry strategy. And as you gather more advice about your new venture, you might find this list growing almost exponentially. We’d say this is completely normal and an important part of entering a market as diverse and complex as Japan, whether you’re looking to register a new company here or simply sell products on popular ecommerce platforms. The important thing is distilling everything into a checklist that you and your team can use. As a Western-facing Japan-based marketing agency helping brands bridge the gap between their home markets and their dreams of Japanese expansion, we’ve helped quite a few companies flesh out their strategies and build their own checklists. This blog takes what we’ve learned over the years and offers some important suggestions for the kind of things you need to include in your roadmap f
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Jun 09 2021
Affiliate Marketing in Japan - What You Need to Know
In a country where performance-based digital marketing is gradually outpacing traditional marketing activities, affiliate marketing in Japan has been taking off in recent years. Both Western brands looking to gain traction in competitive markets and affiliate partners are now embracing the opportunities offered an approach to advertising that has initially been slow to take off here. In this blog, we explore how affiliate marketing in Japan — where publishers sign up to affiliate programs created by brands to promote and sell their products on a commission-based payment model — is developing quickly and how merchants can make the most of it by turning local partners into their best advocates. Building a Marketing Strategy for Japan? Get in Touch! Driving Factors of Affiliate Marketing Growth in Japan A few key drivers contributing the growth of affiliate marketing in Japan are: Japanese consumers utilise many s
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May 20 2021
Everything You Need To Know About Public Relations In Japan
Public Relations in Japan, like in any other place, is the work done to create public awareness about a specific company or brand. Not only that, but it also involves managing a brand’s reputation by constantly showcasing and providing positive news, updates to the media and, of course, crisis management when things go rough. The Evolution of Public Relations in Japan Public Relations originally made its way from the US to Japan, but developed in a different way compared to the US and other western countries. Even though from the outside the media and PR communication may look similar, if you dig a little deeper you’ll be able to recognize the difference. Japan is a very homogeneous and traditional society so it’s no shocker that the common media outlets are still traditional. Newspapers are still heavily relied on as a source of information.The top 5 leading daily newspapers in terms of influence and reach are Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shinbun, Senkei Shimb
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May 19 2021
Yahoo! Ads Japan - Should You Use it Over Google Ads?
Japan is quickly moving on from traditional-media advertising and heading towards digital advertising. In fact, digital ads are now having faster budget increases than TV ads (around 6% YOY increase in 2020). With that jump in digital marketing, PPC solutions have now become a necessity in almost all ad strategies. With this in mind, choosing the right digital platform to advertise on can be tricky, especially with the differences between search engines and social media platforms in Japan and the US or other western countries. To a lot of people Yahoo! Japan can be one of those platforms that they don’t fully understand. However, if you’re considering expanding your business into Japan, then Yahoo! Japan should be one of the marketing channels you use. What Is Yahoo! Japan? Yahoo! Japan History And Evolution Yahoo! Japan is a search engine just like Google, but while Google dominates the market share in Japan, Yahoo! Japan is ranked as the number 1 web portal and holds
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May 10 2021
5 Insider Tips for Making Online Sales in Japan - Ecommerce Like a Pro
Getting good at making sales online is one thing, but making high volume and sustainable ecommerce sales in Japan is another entirely. Various logistical challenges, varying consumer preferences, and procedural differences for the country’s most popular platforms like Rakuten and Yahoo! Shopping require an added level of attention, skill, and patience. While you might not get to the level you want overnight, taking on board some insider tips from those who have navigated the complex landscape of Japanese ecommerce before you is a no brainer. In this blog, we impart some of the most useful and important tips we’ve picked up while helping our international clients succeed in Japan. Need an Ecommerce Marketing Partner for Japan? We Can Help! 1. Don’t Scare Off Customers with Poor Product Pages and Descriptions We’re not just talking about avoiding product descriptions that aren’t translated (or translated poor
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May 10 2021
Ecommerce Logistics in Japan - Understanding Japanese Fulfilment and Cross Border Delivery Options
After taking the bold decision to enter the Japanese ecommerce market, the first challenge you’ll probably be wrestling with is how to practically do this. Warehousing, deliveries, launching your products on an ecommerce platform, setting up a post-purchase and customer service system and more are all real logistical hurdles you’ll need to overcome before you can start actually selling your products to Japanese customers. For merchants planning the logistics of their Japanese ecommerce strategy, we’ve outlined the most important considerations to make so you don’t let your new Japanese customers down on the logistics and fulfilment front. Got Some Questions? We’re Here to Help! The Japanese Delivery Market Japanese consumers have extremely high expectations for home delivery services. This includes everything from initial delivery, redelivery (if the recipient is not in when their package arrives), designated d
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May 10 2021
What Do PR Agencies in Japan Offer Foreign Brands? From Traditional to Digital-First PR Strategy
Japanese mainstream media continues to hold influence and many international brands still rely on traditional PR firms to get their message out there through newspapers, magazines, and TV. However, the nation’s rather puzzling and arcane press club system means that most non-Japanese businesses need a lot of help in actually getting the right coverage. The easiest route to achieve this used to be working with a good PR firm located here. Yet, while Japanese PR has long been a cornerstone of any successful market entry strategy, public relations in Japan, as an industry and a profession, has rapidly advanced over the years. We’ve seen the sector align with global trends in digital-first content marketing, but also evolve in a classically Japanese way that’s heavily influenced by the country’s undying love for traditional media, the dominance of Japan’s media giants, and the nation’s unique cultural landscape. In this post, we explain how foreign brands can get their
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Apr 11 2021
How to Advertise in Japan - A Glimpse Inside the World of Japanese Advertising
One of the best things about visiting Japan for the first time is immersing in its world of advertisements — whether it's fully-fledged, big brand celebrity-endorsed TV commercials or succinct yet high-impact 15-second spots. Even if you've never had an interest in ads your whole life, there’s something so captivating about the way the Japanese do them. Yet, while there’s a lot that seems bizarre and unusual, sometimes for the sake of it, there’s a science to the way companies produce and share branded communications in what is one of the biggest and most mature advertising sectors in the world. We explore some of the most interesting aspects of advertising in Japan and outline a few key strategies you can use if you’re in the process of conceiving, commissioning or producing your own ads for the local market here. Want to Advertise in Japan? We Can Help! How Big is Advertising in Japan? Japan has the third la
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Apr 11 2021
Advertising Design in Japan - Styles, Principles and Practical Advice for Foreign Brands
One of the great joys of Japanese advertising for foreigners is how removed it can seem from the actual products or brands being advertised. Whether you’re taking a ride on the metro and getting lost in several bizarre and nonsensical banner ads; scrolling through your phone and being absorbed in a captivating manga-style promotional campaign, or watching an ad on TV that makes you think “I don’t know what’s happening but I like it”, Japanese ads do more than just sell you stuff. However, what most newcomers don’t see is the many layers of formality in both messaging and design approach. Japan has a rich history of traditional artistic styles and motifs that still influence the techniques used in advertising today, from layouts and colors reminiscent of old-school woodblock printing to ornate calligraphy and unique typographic styles. In this post, we dig a little deeper into the styles and principles of Japanese advertising and offer some advice for brands lookin
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Mar 06 2021
Should I Use Shopify in Japan? Opportunities vs. Challenges
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platform options out there and is considered by some to be the best hosted solution in several countries. But how does this platform hold up in Japan? If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you already know about some of the platform’s major features, including feature-rich offerings and integration options. But, in Japan, with its incredibly unique and diverse ecommerce landscape dominated by Rakuten, Amazon and Yahoo, is setting up a platform through Shopify going to help you achieve your commercial goals? We explore these questions as well as a few reasons brands may or may not choose Shopify as part of their multichannel online sales channel when trying to break into the Japanese market. Building Your Japanese Online Sales Strategy? We Can Help! What Is Shopify and How Does It Work? Shopify is positioned to be a complete ecommerce platform that allows bus
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