A front photo of a Toyota SUV (4Runner) against the sunset, symbolizing Japanese technological prowess and global brand value.
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[Marketing Seed 133: Does Japan Coexist with Advanced and Backward Aspects? (Part 7)]

A front photo of a Toyota SUV (4Runner) against the sunset, symbolizing Japanese technological prowess and global brand value.

🏯 Marketing is a “Weapon to Shape Japan’s Future”

Marketing is not merely a tool for promotion. It is a core strategy to bolster corporate growth, evolve culture, and enhance national competitiveness. And now, its importance has risen to a stage that will determine Japan’s future 😊. No matter how superior the technology or quality, we have entered an era where success in the global market is difficult without the ability to properly convey that and sell it at its fair value.

Successful examples from overseas eloquently tell this reality. Apple sells products with manufacturing costs of tens of thousands of yen for over a hundred thousand yen, maintaining a profit margin exceeding 40%. Louis Vuitton has set prices in the hundreds of thousands of yen for a single bag while expanding demand worldwide. South Korea’s K-culture, with a marketing strategy that integrates music, video, and fashion, saw export values reach $13.7 billion in 2023. These are all good examples of maintaining competitiveness by “maximizing value and competing in the high-price range.”

Japan also needs to break free from the mindset of “making good products” and, as companies, as a society, and as a nation, cultivate the ability to “convey value and sell properly.” To achieve this, brand building, information dissemination, strengthening negotiation power, and positioning strategies in the international market are indispensable. Related Article: STARNEWS ‘K-Content Industry’ Annual Sales of 157 trillion won – Export of 20 trillion won ‘The Highest Ever’

📊 Reference Data:

  • Best Global Brands (Interbrand 2023): The only Japanese companies in the top 50 are Toyota (6th) and Sony (42nd).

  • Average advertising expense ratio of US companies: 5-10% of sales / Average of Japanese companies: 1-3%.

  • Global luxury goods market size (2023): Approx. 380 billion euros (+8% YoY).

There is a demand for a determination to utilize marketing as a “weapon to shape Japan’s future” and proceed to the next era without fearing change. If we can review past ways of thinking and re-recognize the importance of marketing at the corporate, social, and national levels, Japan’s potential should expand greatly. (End)

You might also be interested in our past articles→Seeds of Marketing 38: ✈️Scam Advertising Tactics (Part 2)