Sports Marketing in Japan

TOKYO 2020 URL: https://tokyo2020.jp/en/games/emblem/

Various kinds of sporting events such as Tokyo2020 and 2019 Rugby World Cup will be held in Japan in the near future. This time on JapanBuzz, we’re looking at the digital marketing strategy of sports events campaigns in Japan compared to some sports events in countries outside of Japan. This article will be included following examples:

  1.    FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015
  2.    FIFA Club World Cup Brazil 2014
  3.    The Japanese Championship Series 2015
  4.    2015 Rugby World Cup

FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2015

The organiser of the World Cup, the Japan Football Association (JFA), and FIFA partners such as VISA carried out several campaigns. JFA did a photo campaign. Pictures with the #ClubWC hashtag on Twitter & Instagram were displayed on their website and Facebook page. User who posted pictures on the website had the chance to win special prizes including a uniform with an autograph by members of the Japanese national football players.

JFA Photo Campaign

URL: http://www.jfa.jp/match/fcwc_2015/campaign.html

VISA also ran a joint promotion with Softbank to win tickets. Users had to spend at least 10,000 yen on their cards to win the tickets.

VISA SoftBank Campaign

URL: http://www.softbank.jp/card/campaigns/list/fifacp-01/

FIFA Club World Cup Brazil 2014

There were a lot of campaigns for the FIFA Club World Cup Brazil 2014 in Japan. Not only official by the FIFA social media accounts but also other companies such as Coca Cola Japan, Adidas Japan, SONY, KONAMI, Le Creuset Japon, DeNA, and COLANCOLAN ran several campaigns to excite people about the Brazilian World Cup in Japan and to advertise their companies. For instance, Adidas Japan made some special videos, in one video some people form a circle (which is called “Enjin (円陣)” in Japanese) to support the Japanese national football team as one together. SONY created a webpage where a lot of information about the FIFA World Cup was displayed. Other campaigns ran included the ability to win tickets or goods which were associated with the Japanese team colour, blue (Samurai blue), or the World Cup on the whole.

The Japanese Championship Series 2015 (the 2015 SMBC Nippon Series)

After Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won the Japan Championship Series in 2015 which is an annual championship series for Japanese professional baseball teams, their official sponsor companies campaigned at the same time. Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS made a special campaign webpage. The users can win special goods, discounts, and extra points.

The 2015 Japan Series

URL: http://softbankhawks.co.jp/ex/special/2015/ns-champion/campaign.php

2015 Rugby World Cup

One of the worldwide partners, MasterCard, made a fun video ad and ran a campaign to win tickets. Other partners such as Heineken posted short video clips which made it easy to share on Twitter, according to DIGIDAY. Because the Japan national rugby union team did a great job during the 2015 rugby World Cup, many people now have an interest in rugby. One great example of Japan’s new interest in Rugby is the rugby anime called “All OUT!!.” It’s the first rugby animation in Japan due to broadcast in the Autumn 2016.

ALL OUT!!

URL: http://allout-anime.com/news.html

We will see many more sporting events in Japan, such as the Japan Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Japan Olympics 2020. Through taking advantage of social media and learning from previous examples, it will be possible to create successful sports marketing for events in Japan.

References

https://tokyo2020.jp/en/

https://tokyo2020.jp/en/games/emblem/

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

http://www.jfa.jp/match/fcwc_2015/

https://www.facebook.com/JFA.global/?brand_redir=907941365944062

http://www.softbank.jp/card/campaigns/list/fifacp-01/

http://smmlab.jp/?p=33285-

http://softbankhawks.co.jp/ex/special/2015/ns-champion/campaign.php

https://www.facebook.com/MasterCardNZ/videos/vb.336973686424237/758437094277892/?type=2&theater

http://adv.asahi.com/modules/overseas/index.php/content0099.html

https://www.marketingweek.com/2015/10/30/rugby-world-cup-2015-who-won-the-sponsorship-battle/

http://digiday.com/brands/brands-joining-rugby-world-cup-scrum/

http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/repucom-japan/rugby-popularity-japan_b_9322322.html

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-09-11/all-out-rugby-manga-gets-tv-anime-in-2016/.92797

http://allout-anime.com/

http://www.excite.co.jp/News/column_g/20160610/Cobs_459393.html

http://allout-anime.com/news.html

Home » Business » Sports Marketing in Japan

Related Posts