Japan Marketing News

Kairo keeps Tokyo warm

If you're one of those people who dreads winter because your hands and feet are cold all the time, what do you do?

Well, if you're Japanese, you probably keep a supply of disposable kairo (懐炉) at your home or office.

Kairo are little packets containing (safe) chemical ingredients that when triggered heat up to 50-60 degrees Celsius (120-140 degrees F) and stay warm for 5-18 hours.
They come in a number of formats, including those that can be affixed to clothing, put inside shoes, or carried around in your pocket, and you can buy them just about anywhere, from the corner convenience store to your local supermarket. A typical pocket kairo costs about 50 Yen (43 cents). The kairo package pictured above is part of the Okamoto product lineup, which includes kairo for medical uses (backaches, etc.) and those to keep your backside warm when when camping, fishing or watching sporting events. The open pack photo comes from Wikipedia.

Even though places like Tokyo don't get particularly frigid in winter, plenty of people buy kairo, since many buildings still lack central heating. In particular, kairo are favorites of students because public school classrooms can be especially drafty.

Tokyo holiday window displays, 2007

It's that time of year again.

For those of you interested in holiday window displays in Japan, here are four examples of the efforts of some high-end retailers in the Omotesando / Aoyama area of Tokyo. They were photographed last week.

Dior's display is elegant. Bulgari's is understated. Tag Heuer's is clean and simple. And Kate Spade gets the enthusiasm prize for going all out on its flagship.

With luck I'll get around to posting a few more examples before Santa makes his rounds. . .

Top 5 Japanese Companies, Part V (travel agencies)

According to a survey conducted by Nikkei Research covering the period of August 2006 to July 2007, Japanese travel industry revenues grew almost 4% versus the previous year. The increase was attributed, amongst other things, to a rebound in traffic to China and the popularity of European travel connected to World Cup soccer amongst Japanese tourists.

Of Japan's top five travel companies, JTB and HIS saw the best growth, with sales expanding 10.5% and 14.7% respectively. In contrast, Kinki Nippon Tourist and Hankyu Travel experienced subtle revenue decreases (under 1% each), while Japan travel achieved very moderate growth of 1.1%.

Based on the Nikkei data, here are Japan's top five travel agencies as of July 2007:

1) JTB
2) Japan Travel (日本旅行）
3) Kinki Nippon Tourist
4) Hankyu Travel
5) H.I.S.

McDonald's Japan to get more "mega"

First there was the MegaMac, then the MegaTeriyaki, and now McDonald's Japan is set to launch its third series of "mega" burgers next month.

This time we're looking at twin sandwiches (fraternal, not identical) dubbed "MegaTomato" and "MegaTamago." They're to be available as limited-edition products from December 14 to January 10 at McDonald's throughout Japan.

These burgers differ from the seminal MegaMac in that they each replace one of the four beef patties with other mainstay McDonald's ingredients. With the MegaTomato, it's a slice of tomato and two strips of bacon. For the MegaTamago, it's one of those Egg Mcmuffin eggs ("tamago" means "egg" in Japanese), plus the same two bacon strips.

Why McDonald's Japan is coming out with this latest round of big sandwiches is obvious—they're hoping to repeat the success of earlier "mega" products.

Why they've chosen these particular iterations is likely a combination of practicality and the search for a marketing hook.

Lotte ties up with Coca Cola to promote new gum

In Japan it's not that uncommon for domestic manufacturers to collaborate in new ventures or promotions that can benefit both companies. More infrequent are tie-ups between Japanese and imported brands, but they do happen from time to time.

Here's an example where Lotte, Japan's leading gum manufacturer, has gained the cooperation of Japan Coca Cola in order to promote the newest flavor of its Glamatic sugarless gum. The tie-up benefits both companies: Lotte gains access to a desirable target that consumes No Calorie Coke (Diet Coke), and Coca Cola spurs sales by providing a promotional giveaway.

Brand names like Glamatic are typical in Japan where manufacturers like to fuse ideas during product development (sometimes in ways that strike non-Japanese as odd or funny). In this case the combination is pretty straightforward. The name is a mash-up of two English words—glamorous and dramatic—concepts meant to appeal to the intended demographic: young women (especially devotees of celebrity fashion).

The Glamatic flavor featured in this promotion is "Morning Dew Lychee." Click on the photo to see an enlarged version.

"Designer" bug repellent

Here's another Japanese mass-market product with a not-half-bad design (the product, not the package!).

The Mushi-yoke Cube (bug-repelling cube) from Varsan is almost reminiscent of art (all right, let's not get too carried away). Anyway, even if it's not to your liking, it's vastly better than many of the alternatives in Japan and probably wouldn't look too bad if you really had to have it around the house.

The cube is meant to keep away sandflys and other critters. You use it by peeling away a protective cover and setting it on windowsills or near doorways. It lasts for around 30 days and retails for about ¥800.

Japan Down Syndrome ads raise public awareness

Early last year the Japan Down Syndrome Network published a series of posters reminding people that March 21 is "Down Syndrome Day." Japan lags behind some nations when it comes to awareness of and institutional response to issues related to differently-abled people; these ads do a nice job of awakening the public to the potential of those with DS (for enlarged versions, visit the JDSN website and click the individual images).