In Japan which has the oldest market in the world, a new introduced gadget a picture frame that shares photos of family and friends instantly has become a great hit among this population. The picture frame has a mobile technology where the instant the picture is taken it is transmitted and loaded onto the picture frame that is present in the household. It allows people separated by miles to come close to each other and stay in touch. This is good for grandparents who want to stay in touch with their families and young growing grandchildren.
The picture frame is paid for by the person using it. They have an option to allow advertising on it as well. If they choose advertising then the household will get advertisements from various vendors. The strategy is to directlytarget the household with advertising in home. This allows greaterpenetration in advertising. The Japanese are the leaders in watching television commercials they spend an average of 7 years (of 8 hours a day x 7 days a week per year) worth in a life time. The highest watched in the world. Advertising is big in Japan. If you look on the streets there all sorts of posters, signs and other forms of advertising are ever present. The use of the picture frame is a new medium and is working well. The Japanese are the oldest market in the world. The market is worth around 120 billion dollars.
The picture frame was free, and tried and tested the new market. The frame adverting has achieved steady growth, something TV could not achieve. The frames are seen in Japanese households right next to the television set.
The advertising that is done is geo-positioned, to give local ads as much as possible in a particular region and based on the users profile. This makesadvertising very specific and the response to it will be better than wasting time on regular advertising. The person gets a custom set of advertising in their household. This seems to be a new trend in marketing. Where companies are giving trails at home and testing the market up front and live.
Gecko another innovator has started a trend where it makes custom made vending machines in offices and at home where it gives the latest products. This too is a marketing upfront process and is very effective. The products get marketed and tested live. This type of upfront marketing without open ended surveys as we are often subjected to seems to be working. Another Pharmacy has also put samples in offices of head ache pills and disinfectants. They are using a live scenario to market, test and gain insights into the consumer’s behavior. This trend is also played out by other vendors which give out trials and samples in public. The competition is very stiff and the need for accurate data on the consumer is the need of the hour. These described ways seem to be working well in Japan. Do you not wonder if it would work in other countries besides Japan?!
