How Japanese Companies Create Successful Brands
They keys to successful brand marketing strategies in Japan
This week we’ll be hosting a new class on Japanese brand marketing and the process that it takes to build a new product, brand, or startup.
Within that course we’ll review the top techniques that both American and Japanese brands use to develop products and services that both consumers and businesses can’t get enough of.
These learnings were taken from over 15 years of brand building experience, 10 different brands we’re currently working with here in Tokyo, and also insights/feedback we’ve received from Japanese brand teams and the struggles they face here and when it comes to building a brand that can go global.
Now many of you might look at the title and assume this is a course or a class that has to do with creating a marketing campaign, but it’s not.
You won’t get any growth hacks here.
You won’t learn how to get Instagram famous.
Nope, you’re getting something better, something MUCH BETTER.
You’re going to learn why Instagram was called Instagram and not “Cool Pics Now”.
You’re going to learn why Uniqlo is called Uniqlo and uses certain colors over others.
You’re going learn why brand management and product marketing in Japan is actually often considered more of a priority over marketing campaigns.
And of course, how this organically has lead to the success to some of the largest brands in the world.
But more importantly, we’re going to teach you how to do the same.
Because building a great brand is about solving problems
That’s why in this class we’re going to walk you through how to look at the solution you want to bring to the market and what it takes to make it even stronger.
This includes a comprehensive outlook at the following items:
Problem scenarios: How to do research around the problem your idea is solving and why it matters for the product you are building.
Customer identification: What it looks like to build out a customer portfolio and what attributes you need to know in order get traction that leads to satisfaction.
Solution mapping: We’ll also show you how to build out a solution map so that you can tie your customer pain points to service opportunities that are both tangible and experienced.
But that’s not all…
Building a great brand is also about strategy
It’s one thing to come up with a catchy name or a powerful north star, but what if you’re not the only player in the market?
What makes your fashion line, consultancy, or even coffee shop more appealing and worth visiting than the next one?
Which is why we’ll also look at the following:
Competitive barriers: What are all the things keeping you from success or market entry?
Competitive segmentation: How can you look at the market and analyze it in order to map out where your strengths are and opportunities might be to win?
Competitive opportunities: And then how can you identify the core areas for growth and market domination.
But don’t show up in the market empty handed…
Lastly, building a great brand is about emotion
Isn’t funny how some brands stick and others are forgotten?
Will anybody remember your name when it’s gone?
It’s a hard thing to ask, but definitely worth thinking about because the same goes for the business you’re building.
Which is why we’ll use all of our data to review the following:
Brand positioning: How to create a brand positioning statement that will captures that space of the market you’re looking to own.
Brand pyramid: How to use your brand positioning to map out a pyramid full of colors, words, and tones to use that your customer will relate to.
Brand story: Finally, how to build a brand story that connects to the emotion of your customer and the triggers that drive decision making.
And all of this will be taught so that your business can do what it was meant to do, make life better for your customer and in turn, the world in which we all exist.
