AKB48 Virtual Baby Online Ad
(AKBaby, 2011)
It all started in the fall of 2011, when the Japanese pop music sensation AKB48, Guinness World Record holder (Guinness World Records, 2010) for the world’s largest 64 member pop band, started a new marketing communication blitz launching the pop group’s latest addition to their media empire, a new Internet Service Plan called “AKB48 Official Net” (Koh, 2011). A joint promotional activity with an existing internet service provider, NTT Flet’s (fiber optic cable), the master producer and marketer behind AKB48 and its amazing marketing machine, Yasushi Akimoto, had much bigger plans in mind: Make a service plan that brings fans together and offers them things they want, like an “@akb48.ne.jp” email domain and the prestige of showing their dedication to the group. The service makes “AKB48 Official Net” the home page as users open their web browser and links directly to the official fan club page for the group. The page is a paid membership site where fans gain special access to AKB48 daily show tickets, a place to vote (more on this further down), and access to new and exclusive content as it becomes available, such as the application to make an “AKBaby”, or virtual baby, with one of five of the leading women in the group. For AKBaby, a fan submits a personal photograph and the service uses a facial algorithm to offer a preview of a potential baby face born from the genes of the user and the mega pop star. In the promotion, the push to action is to try and get people using other Internet service providers to switch to NTT because the other ISPs don’t have access to the same exclusive content.
Screenshot of the AKBaby Promotional Web Site
(AKBaby, 2011)
AKBaby is just one of the pop group’s many marketing campaigns that have been directed to consumers. The band’s empire extends well beyond music and this campaign. AKB48 hosts several of its own TV shows and it has its own TV series that stars its members in almost all the roles. There is an associated manga with made up characters that are supported in the storylines by real-life band members. In 2012, a televised anime series was also produced by Akimoto where nine of the characters are voiced by AKB48 or its sister groups. In fact, AKB48 has been labeled one of the “hottest global brands” by Advertising Age (Beattie, 2011).
Why the strong appeal?
There are a number of potential reasons for the band’s strong appeal to its fans. Some of the appeal comes from positioning the band members as being accessible to the public, “idols you can meet every day” (Beattie, 2011), holding “meet the fans” events and concerts all over the country (and even outside the country), using social media to exchange messages (Yamaguchi, 2012) and promoting the image that the band members are on “the same level as consumers” (Beattie, 2011). The latter was dubbed by Beattie (2011) as the band’s “biggest appeal.” However, Koh (2011) points out that the group’s success may really be because of the “democratic power” it gives its fans. St. Michel and Kikuchi (2012) call this democratization of the band “one of the smartest marketing moves the people behind the group have ever made” and “marketing brilliance.”
There are a number of ways the democratic process is enacted by AKB48. First, fans that purchase AKB48 CDs are given a ballot to vote for their favorite group member in an annual general election. In 2011, the band released three consecutive singles that each sold 1.3 million copies or more within their first week of sale (Oricon Japan, 2011), shattering records with credit being given to the ballots (Beattie, 2011; Oricon Japan, 2011). There are two major elections annually, one includes a general election where fan votes determine who the group’s top member is and the other is an internal election among the group members using a paper-rock-scissors tournament (the public can watch). The votes directly choose which girls will also be highlighted on a future single, and other votes are cast to determine the voice of a character in the next anime series (AKB48’s AKB0048 Anime Cast Roles Revealed, 2012). The group also takes submissions of cheers (like chants that cheerleaders use) to support the girls, offering tickets to an event for winners decided by judges (Yamaguchi, 2012; AKB48’s AKB0048 Anime Cast Roles Revealed, 2012).
One fan was so excited that a picture was taken (although blurry!)
A sample ballot as contained in the CD purchased by a fan (Kunody, 2009)
Group so successful it has expanded outside of Japan
The group’s success has led to the creation of a number of offshoot groups in the franchise with sister groups SKE48, SDN48, NMB48 and HKT48 being formed in Japan. In 2011, the franchise decided to let sister groups develop outside Japan as well: JKT48 in Indonesia, TPE48 in Taiwan and SNH48 in China (GhostWriter, 2012; Yamaguchi, 2012). They have even opened a theater in Singapore, with an AKB48 theme shop, similar to an Apple store, and café to make the band members accessible to their fan base in the country (AsiaOne, 2011).
Target audience
The original target audience was older men and “otaku,” Japan’s computer/anime/manga-loving subculture, but the group’s appeal has extended and now the target audience includes teenage girls and older women (Yamaguchi, 2012). This may be attributed to the fact that the band is always looking for new members, providing a chance for average girls to have a chance for fame and fortune. Also, another factor may be the positive, hard-working image the group has. Members of the group are expected to give the group’s work their full attention, which also means that they aren’t allowed to have a boyfriend (Yamaguchi, 2012). The rules are strictly enforced (AKB48 Rumi Yonezawa and Natsumi Hirajima withdraw from group, 2012), which resonates well with the Japanese culture and working values.
Integrated marketing
From an integrated marketing perspective, the band is doing so many things right. First of all, the band has created a way to make their ideas stick (Heath & Heath, 2008). For example, the fact that they have the core message that a girl doesn’t need to be an “outstanding beauty” or have “special talents” to become a performer has a place in the hearts of its audience (Yamaguchi, 2012). The band uses surprises or unexpected strategy such as the recent announcement of one of its top star’s graduation from the group (Brasor, 2012). The group also offers an unexpected chance to allow the audience to actively participate in their success or failure. This has led the choices made by their producer and manager to be more credible and liked by the fans, and has earned a significant amount of money (they are worth more than $200 million USD (Herriman, 2012)), demonstrating a way to revive and improve the music industry. The marketing communication appeals to emotions of excitement as the fans interact with their favorite girls and have direct exchanges with them both in person and through various media, the chance to participate in helping to shape the future of the girls and watch as the band members grow and expand their talents in the music and the other “talent” segments, such as the TV shows, anime voice overs and whatever will be thought of next. The excitement continues through the use of sex appeal, sometimes somewhat controversial depictions of young girls in lingerie and having them kiss each other (Ashcraft, 2012). The band members are the true “story” of the success the group is having because fans become a part of the act, feeling as though they are taking an active role in the creation of “their girl’s” life story (Heath & Heath, 2008).
Upon further review, the communication effort also indicates that it is aimed at affecting the behavior of the fans, using a very apparent outside-in approach (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2010). Because the group has been able to connect so well with its audience using its voting system, it has now been able to extend its list of products and services to include things like the aforementioned Internet Service Plan. The group uses a variety of contact points that work well with its communication activities as part of its strategy (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2010). Finally, it seems to have centralized the communication efforts so that the message is consistent, while still cross-referencing its activities, managing to keep its fans engaging (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2010).
While this is impressive, it is clear that it is because of its fan network (customer database) that the group has expanded well beyond the original targeted demographics and markets to inspire other aspiring teenage girls and older women (Yamaguchi, 2012). Mr. Akimoto clearly has not forgotten that it was these fans that got them there in the first place.
While I may not want to have a baby with them, I think this group may be on to something, and as a student of marketing, there is much to be learned through careful observation and review of their activities.
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Sources:
AKBaby. (2011). Retrieved June 3, 2012, from AKB Official Net: http://www.akb48.ne.jp/service/akbaby.php
AKB48 Rumi Yonezawa and Natsumi Hirajima withdraw from group. (2012, January 28). Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Natalie [Music News]: http://natalie.mu/music/news/63495
AKB48’s AKB0048 Anime Cast Roles Revealed. (2012, February 1). Retrieved July 12, 2012, from Anime News Network [Translated from Oricon Style Original Post]: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-02-01/akb48-akb0048-anime-cast-roles-revealed
Ashcraft, B. (2012, April 23). Controversial idol commercial leads to complaints about homosexuality. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Kotaku Web Site: http://kotaku.com/5904228/controversial-idol-commercial-leads-to-complaints-about-homosexuality
AsiaOne. (2011, May 3). S’pore to house Japanese girls idols’ first overseas theatre. Retrieved July 7, 2012, from AsiaOne News [Online]: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20110503-276871.html
Beattie, A. C. (2011, December 5). AKB48 takes equal parts choir, slumber party and beauty pagent, mixes well. Retrieved July 6, 2012, from Advertising Age [Online]: http://adage.com/article/special-report-hottest-global-brands/hottest-global-brands-akb48/231340/
Brasor, P. (2012, April 15). An idol ‘graduating’ should not be front-page news. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Japan Times [Online]: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fd20120415pb.html#.UAB-K_XjKGQ
GhostWriter. (2012, April 21). AKB48 to create sister group based in Shanghai, China, SNH48. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Tokyo Hive: http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/04/akb48-to-create-sister-group-based-in-shanghai-china-snh48/
Guinness World Records. (2010, December 1). Largest pop group. Retrieved July 9, 2012, from Guinness World Records [Web site]: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-8000/largest-pop-group/
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2008). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.
Herriman, R. (2012, May 28). The answer to Japan’s debt crisis: AKB48. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-answer-to-japan-s-debt-crisis-akb48
Kitchen, P., & Burgmann, I. (2010). Integrated marketing communication. In Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Koh, Y. (2011, October 31). Japanese pop group asks fans: ‘Will you make a baby with me?’. Retrieved July 6, 2012, from Wall Street Journal [Web log]: http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/10/31/japanese-pop-group-asks-fans-will-you-make-a-baby-with-me/
Kunody, C. “. (2009, June 29). Senbatsu Exit Poll [Web log post]. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from My Sweet Meetan: http://www.megumiohori.com/?cat=11&paged=2
Oricon Japan. (2011, May 31). AKB48 new song, smashes record for single albums with more than 1.334 million copies sold in first week. Retrieved July 7, 2012, from Oricon Style [Web site]: http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rankmusic/88249/full/
St. Michel, P. K. (2012, May 31). AKB48 ‘election’ shows marketing brilliance. Retrieved June 7, 2012, from Japan Times [Online]: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fm20120531a1.html#.UABoevXjKGQ
Yamaguchi, M. (2012, June 12). AKB48: Japan’s Massive Pop Music Sensation. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from The Huffington Post [Online]: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/akb48-japan-music-videos-sensation_n_1589228.html