Japan Marketing News

Heineken Japan taps a cool new angle

Historically, international beer companies have faced some difficult challenges in Japan, especially when it comes to getting distribution in restaurants, pubs and clubs. Oftentimes local proprietors receive very strong incentives (cash!) to stock the brews of just one Japanese company or distributor, and that means that the door can be slammed shut on international brands—and other Japanese brands—right from the start.

Things can be rough even if a bar or restaurant is open to the idea of serving competing beers. International brands have to go head to head with Japanese companies offering a multitude of excellent brews, to say nothing of fighting it out with other world players.

What's a foreign company to do?

Ingredient of the season: Citrulline

If you keep your eyes peeled in Japan this summer you're going to see several new products that contain the ingredient known as citrulline.

An amino acid first extracted from watermelon by a Japanese researcher in 1930, citrulline is said to reduce the buildup of ammonia in the bloodstream, dilate blood vessels, and promote production of nitric oxide, which amongst other things is supposed to help prevent muscle fatigue. So it's no surprise that Asahi is promoting its new Citrulline Water using sports-related advertising, and Lotte has launched Citrulline Gum to coincide with its support of the Beijing Summer Olympics.

In the U.S., citrulline supplements have apparently been marketed previously to promote circulation and prevent hardening of the arteries, but Japan's health ministry did not approve the ingredient for use in food until August of last year.

Other Japanese companies like Shiseido have also jumped on the citrulline bandwagon so it's probably only a matter of time before a dozen more citrulline products hit Japanese store shelves.

Effective Japanese TV ads: ANA

This ANA ad targets older Japanese who have both the time and money to travel. Many over 60 still have a very romanticized view of "things international" and overseas travel, and a good proportion are enthusiastic fans of Jazz, as well. While some younger Japanese might consider the use of the New York backdrop and African-American-band-playing-typical-Jazz-standard as somewhat hackneyed, it probably strikes just the right note (ouch) with the intended audience.

While the effectiveness of the branding is questionable (after all, it's pretty easy to substitute any other airline logo into this ad—nothing about it is truly specific to ANA), I give this commercial high marks for its ability to capture your interest and keep you engaged. On that measure, it outperforms most other airline ads, which are excruciatingly predictable, and forgettable.

Beer trend: "zero" brews

Look closely.

See any pattern?

Say hello to the latest trend in Japanese brews: zero sugar low malt beers.