PRedictor 2016

Dentsu PR Yomu-Yomu

Trend Prediction Guide

Dentsu Public Relations Inc.

What kind of year will 2016 be for the Japanese market?

In this guide, making the most of Dentsu PR’s know-how and research resources, we

present our predictions for 2016, divided into “Trends” and “Topics.”

So which trends and topics will come to the fore in 2016?

However you choose to use this information, whether as advice for planning or as fuel for

discussion, we hope it proves helpful.

* “Dentsu PR Yomu-Yomu” represents the individual views of the editors and not of the

company as a whole.

TRENDS

From “owners” to “sharers”

The form of “sharing” is currently expanding from connections between people to

connections with items and services. Developments such as the “C-to-C market,” involving

transactions of goods and services between consumers, and the “sharing economy,”

utilizing available resources of individuals and companies, are attracting a great deal of

interest in the business world. While the arrival in Japan of certain services from overseas

has been in the news, we are also seeing the launch of Japanized versions of services such

as private lodging rental/listing and car-sharing. What’s more, there is increasing

diversification of sharing services provided by companies, for items including clothes, bags

and accessories, to the point where “buying” something no longer necessarily means

“owning” it. With growing numbers of “simplists” and “minimalists,” as sharing, to only use

things when they are really needed, becomes a more widespread consumer trend, this will

likely transform the way we view “ownership.” Could it also change the form of goods and

services that businesses should sell?

“Double-cropping” lifestyle

Alongside diversification of values, we are beginning to see changes in the way that people

live and work, reflected in aspects such as company policy and sales style, with “nimousaku”

(literally meaning “to raise two crops a year”) as a keyword.

This “double-cropping” lifestyle involves people being based in the big city but living a

number of months of the year, or a few days a week, somewhere in the countryside. You

may work for a regular company while also being attached to another company or NPO at

the same time. With an increasingly wide range of living options, this new kind of lifestyle

should become even more common in 2016, to the point where it is no longer restricted to

the special few.

As individuals adopt a double-cropping lifestyle, so we can also expect to see more

double-cropping business policy and sales philosophies. An area where this is already

happening is the restaurant industry. While it’s not unusual for restaurants and cafes to

pursue quite different business concepts and target customers between lunch and dinner

time, Editor-in-Chief Suga of the Japan Food Service News is confident that this trend will

start to spread widely into other locations such as food courts. The attitude that “you are

missing out by living or doing things just one way” and “you only live once so try and have

double the fun” looks set to become more and more prevalent.

Non-serious sports

The world’s grandest sporting festival, of which the latest installment is due to take place in

Rio de Janeiro this summer, is an occasion that always ignites a passion for sport in adults

who used to be sporty as children As such, this year is certain to be a big one for sports. On

top of this, a partial revision to the Industrial Safety and Health Act, making stress checks

compulsory for businesses, should help to spur a further rise in health consciousness. In this

sporty climate, one trend drawing increasing attention is non-serious or non-competitive type

sports. Some examples of this are “home delivery fitness,” involving large buses loaded up

with fitness measurement and training equipment, and so-called “yuru-spo” (laid-back

sports) such as hand soap ball (a version of handball where players are required to apply a

liquid hand soap-like colored lotion which makes their hands slippery) which offer the appeal

of an easy, light-hearted form of exercise. You could say that the aspect of being able to

participate casually matches the lifestyle of people nowadays. In addition, more companies

are introducing “office sports,” which allow employees to enjoy playing sports with each other.

For people who tend to only get enthusiastic about sports once every four years, this could

finally be the year where sports and fitness becomes a regular part of life.

Beloved wives and devoted husbands

In 2016, we predict an increasing number of women in their late 20s and early 30s who are

aiming to be an “ai-sare-tsuma,” or beloved wife. On SNS platforms, articles by women

proclaiming how kind, loving and devoted their husbands are to them are attracting plenty of

“likes.” It seems that, for many, marriage is no longer a goal in itself. Rather, the proof that

you’re a “winner” is being treated as a beloved wife by your husband after marriage.

While they’d be expected to have moved on from the “man-hunting” phase of their life, these

married women, who wish to “be loved by one man alone,” are reading books and attending

seminars to learn how to be desired once more. It looks like there will be a boost in demand

this year for services giving advice on behavior, fashion, makeup and cooking, in order to

become a beloved woman and in turn wife. At the same time, there are more men who are

publically professing how much they love their wives, and we can expect to see more focus

on activities promoting how loving one’s wife can enhance communication between couples.

TOPICS

Tokyo’s transformation

2016 will be a year which witnesses the further evolution of Tokyo. Looking ahead to 2020,

various parts of the city, including Ginza, Shinjuku, Akasaka and Otemachi, are undergoing

major redevelopment, and new spots are emerging one after another.

A key aspect in this development is enhancement of inbound tourism. The upscale shopping

district of Ginza will see two large-scale facilities open in 2016. Firstly in the spring on the

site of the old Hankyu department store, and then in November on the site of the old

Matsuzaka department store, both sites will house a wealth of luxury brand outlets. With

these exciting renewals in the pipeline, Ginza looks set to become even more popular as a

center for “bakugai” (literally “explosive buying”). Also, in the summer, the former site of the

Akasaka Prince Hotel will reopen as the new, top grade hotel in the Prince Hotel family. The

business district of Otemachi, near Tokyo Station, is also experiencing a hotel construction

rush, including traditional Japanese inns, or ryokans, in response to predicted demand from

inbound tourists. There’s sure to be a lot of attention on whether Tokyo can transform itself

into a truly international tourist capital.

Big Bang for entertainment?

There’s a sense that we are approaching a turning point for music fans. Some big venues in

the greater Tokyo area, such as Yokohama Arena and Saitama Super Arena, will be

undergoing major refurbishment in 2016. As a result, this year is expected to be a problem,

one, in terms of the lack of large-scale live music venues, already referred in some circles as

the “2016 problem.” However, this could also give rise to completely new forms of culture.

Already, we have seen examples of music events offering new experiences, like an outdoor

festival held on reclaimed land under development, and a club event taking up a whole train.

In the entertainment world as a whole including music, we should see even more of these

unique live venues springing up. There could also be more small events, allowing for greater

interaction between fans and performers, which is surely good news for fans!

The rise of the Ninja

It seems that ninjas, which are already a prominent content of “Cool Japan,” will emerge

further from the shadows in 2016. “Ninja tours” are proving a big tourism hit and foreign

tourists dressed up as ninjas are an increasingly common sight, as the “Ninja boom” gathers

pace. Another sign of this is the formation of the Japan Ninja Council in October 2015, made

up of regional governments from areas with ninja connections, including Kanagawa, Nagano,

Mie, Shiga and Saga. The governors of each of these prefectures have all declared their

high hopes for the “ninja effect.” What’s more, February 22, 2016 will be the inaugural “Ninja

Day” (the date being chosen as 2 is pronounced “ni” or “nin” in Japanese), with events

planned all over the country to mark the occasion. Looking ahead, expect to see more

businesses getting involved in addition to local governments, as ninja contents spread

throughout Japan and around the world.

Delicious local delicacies

The impulse to share one’s delicious food experiences shows no sign of stopping. Following

those “in the know,” the hit sweets for 2016 should include some traditional confectioneries

that have remained a well-kept local secret until recently. According to sweets blogger Amai

Keiki (“sweet cake”), since the Italian pastry sfogliatella was featured on TV last Year, a

series of other similar, previously little known, local pastries, such as coda di aragosta, have

already been discovered by Japanese enthusiasts, and their popularity is growing. It also

seems likely that we will see the reevaluation of some existing well-known sweets, such as

marshmallows, with new ways of eating being suggested.

“Local” looks set to be the keyword in the world of food as a whole this year. The government

is expected to form an investigative committee to look into a domestic unified labeling

standard for wild game, which may well result in various delicacies, which until now have

only been eaten locally or in particular restaurants, spreading more widely to other parts of

Japan.

Dentsu PR Featured Projects

International PR award-winning projects utilizing fundamental problem solving and

opportunistic planning

●Marukome: Rocking out with miso soup!

In the autumn of 2014, Marukome Co., a dominant name in the miso

soup business for 160 years, released a new, unique product with the

aim of attracting the young people of Japan back to this quintessential

Japanese food. With its president at the forefront, the company was

determined to connect with a more youthful demographic, and launched

a campaign with a rock music theme to “soup up” its “uncool” brand

image. Collaborating with popular rock band “Miso Shiru’s” (The Miso

Soups) the world’s first “miso bathed in rock music”

was created by playing the band’s own blend of rock

to the miso during the manufacturing process. The

brand’s familiar mascot, a shaven-headed apprentice

monk named Marukome-kun, was also given a major

rock-themed makeover with the addition of a mohican

hairstyle, while the company hosted a food stand at a

rock festival and opened a pop-up store in the trendy

Tokyo district of Harajuku. These various initiatives all helped to pique the interest of young

people around Japan. The company’s SNS fans increased 1.5 times thanks to the campaign,

and the number of people accessing its new graduate recruitment webpage doubled from

the previous year. The new miso soup variety also sold out in no time on Japan’s premier

e-commerce site Rakuten, and was introduced by three of major domestic convenience

store chains, helping sales to reach over six times the original goal.

From autumn 2015, Marukome launched a follow-up campaign on the concept of “MISO

KAWAII” (cute), featuring the company’s first female character Marukome-chan, to promote

the appeal of miso soup to the world. And 2016 should see the launch of another special

edition miso soup, too!

(Dentsu and Dentsu PR)

◆Point

By changing the design of a long-established brand icon, there was

a risk losing some of the existing fans and prompting negative

reactions from consumers, but the company boldly went ahead with

the idea. As well as helping with the marketing communication

objective of sparking demand among younger target consumers, this dynamic image change

contributed to solving an important corporate communications issue that the company was

experiencing, namely low graduate recruitment.

●DOLE: The “Wearable_Banana”

Dole Japan Inc. has been a sponsor of the Tokyo Marathon since 2008. For the 2015 edition

of the event, it focused on promoting the recovery effects of its sports bananas for runners,

and capitalized on the upcoming release of the Apple Watch,, to create a wearable device

from a banana. Media from around the world was caught up in the buzz, generating

headlines such as “Forget the apple watch, Dole makes a wearable banana“ from

technology-centric website CNET, which spread to make the news in Japan as well. A video

on the campaign posted on YouTube was accessed by viewers in 178 countries, and

attracted a host of media inquiries. Thanks to this campaign, sales of Dole bananas doubled

in the week following the Tokyo Marathon.

(Dentsu Y&R/Dentsu PR)

◆Point

The campaign succeeded in generating buzz by making bananas a highly relevant

“wearable device” for runners. By formulating a sharable story based around the concept of

“Apple vs Banana,” this PR campaign was realized with impeccable timing.