Japan is the third largest luxury market in the world – behind the United States and mainland China – with 3.01 trillion yen (about $28.6 billion) spent each year in luxury goods. The luxury industry encompasses various sorts of goods such as drinks, fashion, cosmetics, fragrances, watches, jewelry, luggage, and handbags. In the past few years, this market experienced a steady climb in Japan.
Continue reading “Understanding New Trends and Opportunities in Japan’s Luxury Industry”
Marketing in Japan could drive even the most reputable entrepreneurs up the wall. The branding, language, and cultural differences are the biggest hurdles for foreign companies to succeed in the country. Moreover, the Japanese consumer values reputation and quality before purchasing anything in the market. So how can a new product or brand become a household name in the country?
The Japanese use social media apps and sites every day. In fact, there are approximately 82.6 million social media users in 2019. Most of them signed up on popular social media platforms like LINE, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with their friends and favorite celebrities. Digital marketers see these frequent engagements as an opportunity to tap into Japan’s online consumers. Every recommendation or endorsement uploaded on celebrity accounts influences their followers’ buying behavior.
Nowadays, the influencer marketing arena is not only limited to celebrities as social media influencers entered the scene. Discover the most relevant lifestyle personalities and growing stars essential in today’s Japan’s digital marketing landscape.
The most populous country on Earth, China, has over 800 million internet users within an ever-changing landscape of innovation and evolution. This presents endless opportunities for both businesses and consumers.
For domestic and international businesses, or for anyone involved in the digital world, China should not be ignored. However, whenever China is mentioned, their complexity, cultural differences, internet censorship, and language barriers are the first things that come to mind.
This article aims to guide and inform anyone wishing to embark on a digital strategy in China with a series of useful insights on China’s search engine market, an introduction on the structure and features of Baidu, as well as the advertising options in it.
In today’s digital world, people are constantly being connected through the World Wide Web. The widespread use of online social media platforms has brought forth new opportunities in terms of marketing.
One of the recently emerged marketing trends is the collaboration with social media influencers. These influencers are not only exclusively celebrities since social media is accessible to almost everyone. Anyone can have a huge and loyal following by providing the right content to the right audience.
As markets continuously grow and change, people have become more particular with the products and services that they want. The prevalent use of technology in their daily lives has also influenced their buying behavior. Furthermore, the endless influx of online content has shortened people’s attention spans.
Marketers now have to accept the challenge of creating content that stands out and engages the target audiences on a personal level. By collaborating with the right social media influencer, companies can effectively roll out their campaigns and achieve success.
For years, businesses have struggled to reach consumers online using traditional advertisements such as banners and embedded videos. These businesses are often unsuccessful in making an impact due to ad-blocking software that has become widely used. Additionally, numerous Internet users may find these forms of marketing to be more annoying than engaging because these are content that they did not choose to view. Rather than interrupt a user’s content with advertising, marketers can use inbound marketing as an alternative approach.
Inbound marketing is the strategy of engaging with potential customers through content and experiences in which they find value. This method is characterized by creating entertaining and informative content, using various media, which users will willingly seek out. This more personal approach to marketing has the extra benefit of reaching those who have already taken the initial step toward a purchase. This article will discuss and elaborate on what is inbound marketing, provide several examples, as well as enumerate current trends.
With a population of over 7 million, Hong Kong serves as a gateway to opportunities in Mainland China and also a strategic location in Southeast Asia. This city holds much potential for marketers because it is a multicultural hub wherein more than 1,500 regional headquarters of global companies are located.
Due to the rapid digital transformation across the globe, and Hong Kong, in particular, there has been an increase in demand for digital advertising and online marketing services. In fact, a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Advertisers Association (HK2A) and market analytics company Nielsen found that the region’s 100 major marketers plan to spend about 60% of their budget on digital advertising and 40% on traditional media strategies. Additionally, a survey also done by the same institutions in 2020 indicates that online advertising spending is expected to continue to rise with most respondents saying that their company will spend more money on online advertising in the upcoming years. Out of the budget allotted for digital, a substantial portion is spent on social media marketing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of today’s trending topics across different business sectors. Simply put, AI is a term to describe types of technology that can simulate human intelligence. AI is used to analyze data in a contextual manner to provide requested information, supply interpretation, or trigger an event based on the results.
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There is value in the consumers’ perception of a brand’s image, whether true or false. Thus, it’s every company’s task to maximize positive user experiences and minimize customer pain points online in today’s digitized world. One of the solutions to this challenge is content marketing.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is defined as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” With this approach, brands provide genuinely relevant and useful content to prospects and customers to help them solve their issues rather than directly pitching products or services.
Within content marketing’s definition, the word “valuable” must be emphasized. This quality is what sets content marketing apart from other forms of advertising. Content can be identified as part of a content marketing campaign if people seek it out and want to consume it instead of avoiding it.
In most places across the globe, comics are considered as something merely for children. However, in Japan, manga can be a brand’s key to penetrate the market. Manga are comics or graphic novels corresponding to a style developed in Japan.
Rather than being for children, manga can be for anyone. Manga is consumed by readers of any age, from elementary school students to senior citizens. In fact, a survey by Shinfield, a Japanese firm specializing in manga marketing, found that 69.7% of respondents aged 40 and up still read manga. One of manga’s greatest strengths is that it appeals to readers, whether young or old.
For a long time, manga has been a staple reading material in Japan, appealing to nearly all social classes and age groups. Even though the market for manga in Japan has been steadily declining and domestic sales of printed copies have been falling since 2002, the market has slowly started to rise once more in 2013 due to an abundance of newfound digital manga apps and services for mobile devices. In 2019, digital sales for manga rose 29.5%, totaling 259.3 billion yen (about US$2.37 billion).
South Korea is the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 10th largest in the world. The country boasts powerful industries in mobile, automotive, beauty, fashion, entertainment, and technology as a result of its substantial workforce that has usually put career over family. In the past, the average worker in Korea worked around 70 hours a week. However, to achieve a better work-life balance and change the Korean working culture, the national government lowered the maximum working hours to 52 hours. Consequently, Korean consumers now have more time to spend their disposable income.
In addition, South Korea is also recognized as the trendsetter for Asia. As such, the country holds a lot of potential for international brands who wish to penetrate the Asian market. If a brand is successful in the Korean market, it is most likely to succeed across the continent.
Continue reading “How to Win the Hearts and Trust of Korean Consumers”