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Harnessing Anime’s Growing Popularity for Effective Marketing Strategies
Once a niche interest, anime has become more and more popular in the U.S. over the years, with the number of U.S. anime fans growing more and more each year.
The increasing popularity of anime in the U.S. is further evidenced by the attendance figures of Anime Expo, the largest anime event in North America. Once a small gathering of under 2000 attendees, the event drew in over 385,000 anime fans this July at Anime Expo 2023!
The ‘未ル (Miru)’ Exhibit
The ‘未ル (Miru)’ Project: A Collaboration Between Yanmar and btrax
From July 1st to 4th, the btrax team had the incredible opportunity to participate in Anime Expo 2023. At such a large-scale event, btrax was thrilled to secure one of the most prominent exhibition spaces in the venue! In collaboration with our esteemed client, Yanmar, we successfully executed an incredible exhibit, booth, and discussion panel.
The unveiling of the original commercial anime project titled ‘未ル (Miru)’ drew the attention of event goers, with a full house attending the Concept Video premiere and subsequent discussion panel.
Yanmar and btrax Team Group Photo at Anime Expo 2023
The original anime ‘未ル (Miru)’ tackles the theme of “confrontation and harmony between humans and nature” and is in line with Yanmar’s mission to provide us with “A Sustainable Future.”
At Anime Expo we premiered the concept video for the new, original anime giving fans a first look at ‘未ル (Miru).’
Set to release in 2024, the btrax team is excited to see where this project goes! Interested in learning more about ‘未ル (Miru)’? Learn more about ‘未ル (Miru)’ by clicking here.
While anime marketing enjoys immense popularity in Japan, it presents a fresh and unexplored avenue for engaging U.S. consumers. Currently, the popularity of anime is on the rise both in the U.S. and globally. This project will capitalize on the increasing popularity of anime to spread Yanmar’s brand awareness to a global audience.
The Growing Popularity of Anime
Video streaming services like Netflix, Crunchyroll, and MyAnimeList have facilitated the growing popularity of Japanese anime by making it more accessible to U.S. audiences than ever before! One of the most popular sites for viewing anime in the U.S., Crunchyroll, boasted over 10.7 million paid subscribers by March 2023 -with an additional 120 million unpaid users on the site.
As fan communities grow and develop online, pop-up shops, collaborations, and exhibitions (such as Anime Expo) stand to further enhance fan engagement within these communities.
Examples of Anime in Marketing
Anime has been successfully used to promote companies and products in Japan for years, one powerful example is this Anime ad for Tokyo Disney. Even without speaking the language, the emotion and story of the ad is clear and heartwarming.
Another interesting example of Anime style marketing is the KFC Anime-style dating simulation game featuring an anime heartthrob version of Colonel Sanders and fittingly titled “I Love, You Colonel Sanders.”
This 2019 KFC campaign was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback as consumers were shocked and amused in the best ways.
Another U.S. brand that has harnessed the power of anime for marketing is Taco Bell, releasing an anime ad titled “Fry Force” that was even shared on the Crunchyroll official Facebook page.
To Anime or Not To Anime
Approximately 18% of Americans (60 million people!) watch anime. Anime is an especially lucrative marketing tactic when it comes to reaching younger audiences in the U.S. as 42% of millennials are reported to watch anime!
Worth $25.62 billion (USD) in 2022, the Anime Market is expected to soar in the years to come! As anime is only becoming more popular in the U.S., we will likely continue to see anime-style marketing campaigns used to promote goods and services to U.S. audiences.
So, what companies would you like to see take advantage of the growing popularity of anime by creating captivating animated ad campaigns?
Interested in creating a similar marketing campaign for your company?
We can help!
Contact us to see how we can help, whether you’re looking to enter or grow your brand in the Japanese or US markets.
