Why I Shuttered my Marketing Agency for Tourism

I had started a new business venture about two years ago. It was a section of my company that was dedicated to tourism and travel and it was a very profitable business actually. Because of my background in the mass media and operating on the receiving end of marketing and advertising companies, I saw how clients were, well, getting ripped off. I knew I do do a hundred times better for clients. I set targets and goals and I saved the clients big money too!


I knew that I could make decent money by arranging huge promotions between client companies for 1/50th the cost of what a major Japanese marketing company like Dentsu or Hakuhodo or even the smaller agencies could do. 


I did arrange many of these campaigns for little cost to my clients. Many were nationwide internet and TV campaigns. Some were huge multi-media tie up with networks, major magazines and non-traditional media. My concept was to find clients that had needs that could be met with a sort of mutual promotional campaign. Everything had to make sense and be organic. Then I spread the costs evenly around to each client. Instead of charging them separately.


So, instead of spending, say $400,000 ~$500,000 (USD) on a campaign (if a sponsor bought it through, say, Dentsu) I could arrange it for $12,000 total or so. I did it too, many times.


Here's a good example:


Domino Pizza Japan wants to get more people ordering online in order to more efficient promote its product and cut down on expenses (telephone ordering is not cost effect nor efficient).


A airlines or foreign tourist board wants Japanese to go to visit their country.


A wine company wants to get the word out on their services.


What should I do? I thought about it and got them together and created a cost effective, mutually beneficial campaign that cost each of these parties next to nothing. 


In this example, I arranged for a vacation to a foreign country for anyone who would join and become a member of the Domino pizza online ordering system. The top winner would get a vacation for two, business class, to a foreign country and hotel. The airline & hotel prize supporting companies would get the massive promotion that goes along with the campaign. The wine company provided all the second place awards: 100 people win a set of quality red & white wine.


The campaign runs for two months!


Domino Pizza prints (get this):
7.8 million newspaper inserts
2 million menus
1.6 million direct email magazine to subscribers
250,000 pizza box top ads
750,000 regular direct mail


Airlines provides 2 business class tickets and 5-star hotel for 4 nights.


Wine company (iwine.jp) provides 200 bottles of quality Coppola wine. 


Cost to Domino if using Dentsu? Approximately $200,000
Cost to airlines if using Dentsu? (considering the reach of ad materials): Approximately $400,000 
Cost to wine company if using Dentsu? Approximately $100,000


My company total charge: $25,000 that's inclusive to all three clients!


You can see the results of this campaign here: http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.com/2011/09/two-people-win-vacation-business-class.html


(By the way, the campaign ends on 10/31 so you still have time to join the campaign and win the trip to New York!)


Why did I make these types of campaigns? A two reasons: First, I liked the clients. Second, I think Japanese advertising agency business is way too over priced. If I can help to lower advertising costs, then prices might go down and that makes life better for everyone, no?


But I am thinking about closing this business. 

All vacations come complete with helmet and baton!

Why would anyone close a profitable business, you ask? Well, since it was tied to tourism and travel every time I organize a campaign, something bad would happen:


Here's a list of those bad things:


1) Airlines goes bankrupt
2) Riots in destination cities
3) Huge earthquakes, tsunami and nuke disasters
4) Riots in destination cities


and, finally, 


5) Riots in destination cities, bankruptcies, etc., etc., etc., 


You might think I am just unlucky or have bad timing... But I don't. I am very lucky and have great timing that's why I am out of the tourism and travel advertising business...


Things tied up with tourism don't seem like good ideas in this day and age. The world economy is collapsing and things are getting nasty. As Gerald Celente says, "When people lose everything, they lose it." People are losing it all over the world. Read this from my friend, Mish Shedlock: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-protests-go-global.html


... I was about to line up an Italian campaign.... But, after watching that video on Mish's page... I think not!

Japan Travel Market Out of Favor with Europe

Yesterday, I had lunch with one of the chief directors of an organization called ANTOR. I work with him as an advisor for promotion for his country and help them with marketing and promotion for Japan.

While every other European nation has seen travel and travelers from Japan drop precipitously over these last 3 years his country has seen a 300% increase in travelers from Japan! Yes. Yes. Thank you for your kind applause. Thank you. Thank you.


... That is until the March 11, 2011 disaster struck. 


After that catastrophe, business across the board in Japan has dropped off a cliff for most sectors of the market and travel is one of the hardest hit. 


He related to me many of his worries and travails concerning Japan and the travel market.


Somethings he told me that really surprised me were that:


*After the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan, and some European nations citizens left Japan, many government tourism agencies have moved their offices permanently out of Japan and into China.


* Many European nations have slashed their promotional budgets for Japan. In his case, his advertising budget for Japan was cut by 70%!  

Annual ANTOR Japan event: Let's Go Kaigai!

*ANTOR Japan member countries have an annual summer promotion. Every year they have over 35 nations participate in this big promotion in Tokyo. This year they will have only 12 countries participating.


*The European Union Tourism Organization has cut the advertising budget  for Japan to.... Are you ready for it?.. To zero. ZERO! Zip. Nada. Nothing! They have completely given up on Japan and will not spend any more money on promotion on this country. They have redirected all the budget to China!


Sigh....


Most definitely a long hot summer coming for Japan. When will the tourism industry (all industry) recover in this country?

Japan to Hire Foreigners for Travel Advice

Wow! Look at this. Here's one place that the Japanese government seems to be allowing to practice of hiring foreigners!

(Reuters) - Japan is planning to recruit dozens of foreigners to visit the country and give advice on how to make things more travel-friendly for non-Japanese speaking visitors even as it aims for higher tourist numbers.

The government will pay travel allowances to about 100 native English, Chinese and Korean speakers to visit key cities and come up with ideas on how to make it easier for travelers to use public transport, stay at local hotels and eat at local restaurants, said an official at the Japan Tourism Agency.

Although Japan has made an effort to provide information in other languages in recent years, especially in major cities, these remain hit-or-miss and English still dominates.

But Japan's National Tourism Organization projects that the number of visitors from China will reach a record 1.5 million this year, many of them high-spending tourists eager to shop for Japanese electronics and other goods.

"What we hear is that there really isn't enough information on things like how to buy train tickets, or how to use the baths in traditional Japanese inns," said the official.

"It's hard for us Japanese to judge how prepared different parts of the country are -- we need people to use as monitors who really don't know Japan at all."

The official said one way to recruit these travelers could be over the Internet but that they would look at other methods such as asking the relatives of foreign students studying in Japan.

All expenses within Japan will be paid by branch offices of the Transport Ministry, which oversees the Tourism Agency. Part of plane fares to Japan may also be covered.

The information will be compiled by the government as part of a survey of tourism preparedness by late March next year.

From Reuters