With over a 35-year record of success behind us, Asahi Agency has the skills, expertise, experience and resources to meet both the general and highly specific communication and marketing needs of our diverse range of clients. Our mix of young and mature staff provide the perfect blend of skill sets and insights into the vibrant and constantly changing Japanese youth and consumer culture, with the experience to strategize and plan, and the personal connections and ability to negotiate slower moving media channels.
Our consultation and research services focus on market entry and establishing the viability of introducing new products and services in the Japanese market, including product positioning, distribution and consumer interest.
Having determined their potential, we then conduct research to help shape a strategy and define a core target appropriate for the local market, and monitor market trends and competitive products. If required, our market entry services including assistance in finding appropriate local partners and negotiating the legal and logistical hurdles of market entry.
We specialize in optimizing marketing and communication spends with comprehensive media relations programs. Activities include creating relationships and supplying content to the media through press conferences and interviews, study tours, briefing material and press releases, as well as seminars and presentations for a wider audience that includes the trade, government and the public, and special events that attract media attention. We also provide press monitoring and analysis activities, and clipping services.
For websites, we provide strategy, planning, mapping, design and content creation through to on-line. Our websites for the Japanese market tap into the Japanese love of reading (often content rich), and the proliferation of mobile devices, which drive alternate on-line formats. We are also link into the rich social media networks that provide growing “word of mouth” channels of communication.
Japanese digital and social media might be different compared to your countries. From the point of view of journalism, it has not been established as media yet but it is obviously a significant media obviously to reach people. We help to set up SNS accounts in Japan and maintain as well as provide appropriate PR programs.
Creating a presence at point of purchase is critical to encourage sampling and converting consumers to your brand, especially in compact stories where hundreds of products vie for each consumer’s very short attention span. Together with merchandising, we work to define and promote the unique benefits of each client’s products to create sales promotions that will catch the attention and connect with consumer’s values and needs. We also provide the same resources at the trade level, to generate attention at trade shows, and create incentive programs for retailers.
To create brand awareness and drive sales, we help define objectives and develop appropriate strategies to meet them. We then undertake every step from concept to realization, planning, buying and placing media, and creating the content whether it is print, electronic or online.
We offer representation services for international companies and organizations, acting as their Japan office to provide a local physical point of contact, provide information about and coordinate their activities in the local market, and promote their products and services in Japan.