SocialPeta: Marketing Trends in the Japanese Mobile Market in 2024
The approach differs a lot from the Western markets.
Before we start, I’d like to add a note to my post from April 18 - Konvoy Ventures: Investments in the Gaming Industry in Q1'24.
The report mentioned that there was a $20M deal with Halfbrick Studios, while in reality, it’s never happened. Thanks to my friend from InvestGame.net for pointing out this mistake in my writing and the report.
Market Overview
The Japanese market is conservative. There are 14.6 thousand advertisers on it; 62.23% of them had new creatives in the last year. The average worldwide figure is 72.31%.
On average, there are 81 creatives per advertiser per month. Of these, only 29.77% are new; the average worldwide figure is 59.68%.
The largest number of advertisers in the country are among developers of casual games (32.61%); puzzles (13.4%); and simulator developers (11.35%).
In Japan, over the past year, the share of video creatives was 80.17% (compared to 68.33% on average worldwide); static creatives accounted for 14.6% of the total volume (compared to 24.02% worldwide). However, over the past six months, the situation has changed, and Japan has approached global standards in terms of volumes of video and static creatives. Over the past six months, the share of Playable creatives in Japan has doubled the average worldwide figures.
Japanese Market Trends
In Japan, pre-registrations are actively used. Advertising launches 30-90 days before the project's release.
A good example of this approach is Legend of Mushroom. The project's advertising campaign started on iOS on January 18 and Android on February 2. Meanwhile, the game itself was released on February 22.
In Japan, it’s common to celebrate project anniversaries; large gaming events are launched for this purpose, and the event is actively promoted.
Brand collaborations in Japan are the norm; game developers often use this tool.
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Japanese creatives have their specifics. They are bright, many have exaggerated emotions. Because the market is already mature, creatives with old-school references are used (for example, Legend of Mushroom references the startup screens of classic JRPGs).