Japan Marketing News

Coca Cola Japan brings "functional" Coke to market

The Japanese market is so inundated with functional drinks that it had to happen eventually. Finally, Coca-Cola Japan has introduced a vitamin-fortified Coke drink. Coca-Cola plus vitamin was launched earlier this month and is now making its way into shops around Japan. Known as Diet Coke Plus or Coca Cola Light Plus in European markets, Coca-Cola plus vitamin is a Diet Coke* variant that apparently provides you with 81% of your daily requirement of vitamin C—with no calories. Check out the Japanese website here.

* Known as "No Calorie Coca-Cola" in Japan

Great Japanese print advertising: Sapporo

Here's an recent print ad from Japanese beer giant Sapporo that employs solid composition to create visual interest and convey the message that Draft One is a great brew to enjoy with food.

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.

Beer trend: "zero" brews

Look closely.

See any pattern?

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

Fanta Japan shakes up the beverage market

I discovered this new and unique Coca-Cola Japan product the other day in the vending machine near my home. It's called Fanta Furufuru Shaker.

In some ways it's reminiscent of those jelly drinks marketed by Weider Japan. If you're not familiar with them, imagine a semi-soft version of Jello that's drinkable.

Where Coca-Cola Japan has added a twist is in adding carbonation that's activated by shaking the can.

The first mouthful feels a bit like Jello, but then the carbonation hits you, producing the sensation that you're actually eating your soda.

Less adventurous souls and the conventionally minded (in other words, adults), may find this off-putting.

But Japanese kids are going to, ahem, eat it up.

And you are simply not going to believe the TV ads.

Fanta Japan regularly produces fairly "out-there" commercials, but you won't want to miss the ones currently posted on their website. After you reach the top page, click on TVCM, then play the video that comes up in the main screen.

In particular, keep a close eye out for this character, whose can shaking technique is going to stimulate a lot of chatter in some quarters.

Starbucks Japan brews up new approaches

A couple of months ago, the international papers were buzzing about Starbucks' woes in the U.S. Analysts have been worried that the American market has been saturated, and this has been reflected in the stock price, which is down almost 50% versus last year.

The situation is somewhat different here in Japan. The market is not quite saturated and the brand continues to grow. Nonetheless, a number of threats loom on the horizon and the brand isn't going to be enjoying a cakewalk going forward.

Besides the ongoing encroachment of competing chains like Doutor, Excelsior, Tully's and Seattle's Best, McDonald's has also joined the fray in earnest by launching its McCafe shops which feature a broad lineup of specialty coffee drinks. Additionally, the burger chain recently introduced a better quality brew called Premium Roast at its regular restaurants for just 100 yen per cup (about $1).

But that's not all.

Effective Japanese TV ads: Kirin Sparkling Hop

When it comes to making effective TV ads, sometimes you can capture viewers' attentions with the judicious use of graphics and animation.

Here's a great example from Japanese beer giant Kirin. It's a TV spot for their "Sparkling Hop" beer liqueur, which they've positioned as a kind of refreshing, wine-like drink.

It's extremely straight-forward, but it's intriguing in an refreshing way that leaves you with a very positive first impression.

Roughly translated, the voice-over reads:

Kirin Sparkling Hop

The secret to enjoying Sparkling Hop is to:

1. Swirl it in your glass
2. Concentrate on the fragrance of hops
3. Delight in the surprising fruitiness

Introducing Kirin Sparkling Hop

If you want to see an online version of the commercial, go here, click on the CM button, then select page two and choose the second item from the top. While you're there, enjoy the website, which is very well designed (and that goes for the brand's packaging, as well).

Japan marketing news tidbits

* * * Giorgio Armani Japan announced on January 5 that it had selected actress Aoi Miyazaki (Eureka, NANA) to be the face of Emporio Armani in Japanese advertising. This is an interesting turn of events in that most European brands stick with "worldwide" approaches—using the same talent in every country—not recognizing that localized communications can be leveraged very effectively in Japan.
* * * Asahi and Kagome are about to introduce their second offering in vegetable-based alcoholic beverages. Vegete, which contains 21 kinds of vegetables, follows the success of tomato-based Tomate, which rumor has it has sold around half a million cases so far.
* * * If you're one of those people who has trouble getting up in the morning, Takaratomy may be able to lend a hand. The company is releasing the Jinsei Tokei (Human Clock), an alarm clock that's reminiscent of Bandai's Tamagochi digital pets of years past. Inside the clock is a character whose life is affected by your morning behavior. If you don't get up in time or if you hit the snooze button too often, the character's life gets thrown into the same kind of disarray that yours does. . .

Kirin goes against the grain with shochu package design

Here's an innovative, award-winning package design from Kirin for their shochu* brand Tarucho.

In Japan Shochu is usually packaged in bottles or in rectangular coated paper boxes; this is the first time I've seen it sold in a square container. The idea of using a woodgrain pattern to elicit the image of wooden casks (taru means cask in Japanese) is also a nice touch to convey tradition and to differentiate the brand from the clear bottles and white packaging employed by most rivals.

I'm particularly enthusiastic about the bold kamon-like logo at the center of each box, which is both extremely eye-catching and further enhances the sense of tradition. Yet the manner in which they're rendered is very modern, allowing the brand to (hopefully) appeal to both young adults and mature consumers. Additionally, the variant-specific kamon unambiguously convey that one is made from grain, while the other is made from yams.

All in all this is a great effort for a mass-market product. The Tarucho website is also worth a look.

*Shochu is a distilled, nearly flavorless alcoholic beverage made from ingredients like sweet potatoes, rice, barley, or sugar cane and has a fairly high alcohol content (25%-40%). See this article for a take on how Suntory, one of Kirin's rivals, marketed one of its shochu brands last year.