The Content Business Laboratory: An Expert Content Business Support Team by Hakuhodo and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners

 Insights gained from a unique nationwide Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey
 Content Fan Ignition Model supports business activities through real-world events, social media platforms, and more

Hakuhodo Incorporated and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Incorporated (HDYMP), both headquartered in the Minato-ku, Tokyo, have put together a new expert team called the Content Business Laboratory. The group will specialize in content-based advertising communications and emerging business support. Hakuhodo is headed by Hirokazu Toda; the president and CEO of HDYMP is Hisao Omori.

Businesses are demanding more from content than ever before, and the specialized Content Business Laboratory team will address these needs using insights gained from its uniquely developed survey, the Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey, to help design advertising and business strategies that use content as a starting point. The group will use their own Content Fan Ignition Model to design advertising communication initiatives that grow out of the content issued by companies and content holders. This same approach will also be used to craft marketing strategies aimed at developing new business activities or services.

The team itself consists of marketing planners and R&D experts from Hakuhodo, content business development from HDYMP, and other content specialists. Members of the Content Business Laboratory are themselves devoted fans of a broad spectrum of interest categories, including sports, TV drama series, anime, video games, music, and more. Coupled with their professional expertise, these personal passions give the team members even greater insight into the content they are working with.

□ Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey

The Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey is a lifestyle survey independently designed by the Content Business Laboratory. The survey targets a total of 4000 men and women age 15 to 69 throughout Japan, and is used to identify consumer behavior towards content in eleven different categories (such as entertainment or sports). The first of its kind in the industry and unique in that it allows market researchers to fully grasp the way sei-katsu-sha actually consume content, the Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey is able to capture information that existing content-related surveys, with their focus on deliveries or sales of individual business groups, cannot. The analytical results of the first survey (which covered nine categories) were announced in July of last year, are currently being used by the team to support companies and content holders in a wide variety of fields.

The second round of the survey was conducted this year, and spanned eleven different categories. Young-adult fiction and leisure facilities were among the new categories of question items, and naturally the results were compared with last year’s during the analysis stage. Data from the second survey allowed the team to conduct an even more detailed analysis on how different forms of content are being utilized and how consumers are spending their money.

□ Content Fan Ignition Model

The Content Fan Ignition Model was developed by the Content Business Laboratory as a way of inspiring and driving consumption among content fans. Using analytical results from the Content Fan Consumer Behavior Survey, case studies from businesses that have launched hit content, and other related data, the team was able to put together a model that outlines exactly what hooks and procedures spark consumption and emotion among content fans. In essence, the model looks at how to take the sei-katsu-sha who have casually put their foot in the door with no monetary commitment and “ignite” them into full-fledged fans by engaging them in “synchronized content experiences”, which include real-world experiential events, social media, and more (see page 2 for details).

The ultimate aim of the Content Business Laboratory is to use their extensive data and insights related to content consumption trends among sei-katsu-sha to provide a valuable array of services that support client business activities.