Blackberry Bold: The Next 'Gotta have it' in Japan?

The rise of the ‘smartphone’ is upon us. What I am referring to of course are the computer like mobile devices which are equipped with so many functions that essentially mirror that of one’s personal computer. We have already covered Apple’s iPhone in a few articles already and today I would like to take a look at RIM (Research in Motion) the Canadian based company which has been tearing up the North American markets for the past few years through the sale of its ever popular Blackberry line.

RIM entered into a partnership with NTT Docomo to distribute the Blackberry back in 2006 to mainly corporate users and has it is still going. Many questioned the move at the time as one of the main features of the Blackberry was its ‘always on feel’ which was created through its ability to connect seamlessly to office email networks and in effect sync that data with the Blackberry. To be honest though, this feeling of ‘always on’ has been a staple here within Japan for quite sometime. Maybe not in the same capacity as what the affectionately coined ‘Crackberry’ has been doing, but in essence the notion of being able to connect with whoever you need to, whenever you want was not a new novelty. In addition, at the time the move was also maligned for the fact that that the device didn’t even have Japanese input language capabilities.

Well, fast forward back to 2008 and you’ll find that RIM has been putting to rest a number of naysayer concerns and pessimistic outlooks for the Blackberry in Japan. It looks as though the brain trust at RIM were simply biding their time and craftily entering a foreign market one step at a time in order to get a better feel. Something a lot of other companies ought to do before diving head first into unknown waters. The initial market entry appeared to be mainly cautionary in nature with the testers being directed at mainly foreign corporate business world. Now, however the devices are being used in over 1200 foreign based companies and the Blackberry is starting to gain some traction. The toughest test is yet to come however and some see it not so far away.

With the confirmation that their newest device Blackberry Bold will be sold in Japan in 2009 and reading excerpts of comments made by officials at Docomo, it looks like the Blackberry is gearing up for battle on a new ground within Japan. This device was quoted as being “the most powerful smartphone responding to the needs of both business users and personal users," said Kazuhiko Kushima, managing director of NTT DoCoMo Solution Business. Additionally, DoComo has already begun to stimulate the demand of personal users by starting the "BlackBerry Internet Service," which allows users who don't have a dedicated server to access the Internet through the BlackBerry. It has also been stated that they would like to shift the ratio of users from corporate to individual down to 7:3 or 6:4. All signs point towards increasing the marketing efforts towards individual users.

Bold words and actions, but obviously Docomo sees a lot of potential in not only this device but the management at RIM to guide this venture to new reaches of profitability in this ever challenging and fickle Japanese market. It will be interesting to see how well this Canadian based company fares. However, judging from its initial positioning strategies and coupling those with the emergence of the smartphone market here in Japan the Blackberry could become the next must have.

As a side note, it is refreshing to see a successful Canadian based company challenging markets outside the confines of North America and doing so in a calculated and cool way. I will not hide my enthusiasm over that fact and look forward to reading more positive news from the mobile makers of the great north.

Canadian Chris

Cell phone-Web users.....a driving force

The expansion and exponential growth of the use of the internet via PC's has been astounding to say the least and it is now quite clear that advertising on the net is definitely a necessity of a company's advertising and marketing strategy. So, apart from the traditional mediums of TV, newspaper, magazines and radio and now obviously the internet, what is the next frontier of advertising?

Well, a recent article in the Nikkei Weekly, September 29th, 2008 edition, "Surveying cell pone-Web users" stated that people in Japan are not only using PC's to access the internet but indeed nearly as many are accessing via cellphones. At the end of last fiscal year 72 million subscribers accessed the web with their handsets while 78 million accessed using fixed-line PC’s according to Ministry data.

However, despite the near equal usage numbers, the ad-market for mobile websites was only 62 billion JPY compared to 600 billion JPY for all Internet ads. Definitely not a SMALL difference! In light of these somewhat surprising statistics, a group of some 40 companies including Coca-Cola (Japan), and Matsushita Electric Industrial and as well as web agencies such as Nifty, mobile phone site operator DeNA (Mobage Town site) and NetRatings Japan have established a study group to identify a common system to quantify mobile web usage.

"If we can conduct audience surveys targeting cell phone users, as we now do for PC users, the growth of the mobile ad market will accelerate" Mobile Internet Capital Inc. President, Isuo Nishioka.

Side note: Thank you to Wireless Watch Japan for the Nikkei Weekly pdf attachment.

Australian Chris

The 'iPhone' in Japan and how 'i' see it...

Well, as another week starts off so does another addition to this running mobile CRM blog. In this post I would like to get back to some more specific and timely issues relating to mobile CRM. I had a look through some of my most trusted sites for ideas and found an interesting piece from one of my favorite sites covering the mobile industry in Japan Wireless Watch Japan. The article covers Apple’s potential failure to reach it’s target of 1,000,000 iPhones sold in Japan. At present Mr. Job’s company is on pace to record less than 500,000 units sold according to market research firm MM Market Research. As the articles notes these assumptions were built on one year’s full sales coupled with competitive pricing centering on package price, handset and monthly fees. What gives you might ask? All of the above seem to be in line with what is being offered by Japanese competitors in terms of pricing.

Well, the possible explanations as in most cases are not found by analyzing surface based facts or assumptions. We need to dig a little deeper. The WWJ article notes the challenges any foreign mobile company faces here in Japan which is the maturity of the market within Japan in terms high end technology already being offered by most manufacturers. As I thought about this longer, I came back to some of my Japanese business cultural studies I have been formally embarking on these past couple months and one point flashed through my mind. It was a point regarding keys to success in Japan and it stated that whatever product or service a foreign company is attempting to offer it must research and produce the ‘right’ product for Japan.

Now here we have the iPhone selling nearly 200,000 units in the first two months and suddenly deadpanning to an averaged pace of approximately 30,000 units a month sold for the remaining ten months. I might add that this assessment is a positive one according to some. We clearly have some forces at work which are undermining the iPhone’s success. Could they lie within this notion of Apple underestimating the distinct tastes Japanese consumers have versus American’s? I am confident that this is part of it but a lot of it surely centers on the market and how advanced it already is. Sure, the iPhone has the touch screen and an interesting presentation which is a novelty and something new for consumers here, however notions of surfing the net, listening to music, playing games, checking weather and other useful functions the iPhone offers are all somewhat stale mobile CRM applications offerings for the average keitai user here.

Beyond this, I have read and also heard first hand grumblings from people over somewhat minor issues relating to no attachment loop for mobile straps, to the necessity of changing of one’s mobile email address despite already being a Softbank user. These issues I understand, are just a sampling and in no way can be thought of as the chief deficiencies relating to the poor sales forecasts, however collectively they offer a sampling of potential shortcomings.

To me, these issues add up to a particular company not providing a unique enough device for a truly unique market. The units sold speak for themselves thus far, illustrating that even huge conglomerates are no less insulated from simple market principles than any of us. And this folks, returns us to one of the keys to success here in Japan or any global market, which is researching and manufacturing the right product for the consumer. As always, comments would be appreciated!

Canadian Chris