As #8 in our ongoing series of the coolest Japanese mobile services, this week we take a look at BeeTV, a mobile video on-demand portal jointly operated by NTT DoCoMo and Avex Group, one of the largest players in music and entertainment content in Japan.
Launched in May 2009, the paid-subscription service features both content specifically produced for mobile, as well as formats adapted from TV and DVD, all of which users can access for a flat fee of ¥315 per month (more than 20 programs across 8 channels, updated several times per week). Uniquely, BeeTV features a business model under which profits are shared with the likes of video directors and cast members depending on viewing figures, providing a strong incentive for everyone involved to produce the most attractive content possible.
BeeTV gathered more than half a million users in the first two months, and is about to hit the the million member mark — aiming to reach 3.5 million viewers and generate ¥3.5 billion (approx. US$ 40 million) in yearly pre-tax profit by March 2013.
Kaocheki means “Face Check,” and the Kaocheki service does just that. From your mobile phone you send in a photo, and Kaocheki will tell you what star you resemble, what fashion might suit you best, or even what Pizza Hut pizza you should order.
With over 10 million unique users since April 2007, and a variety of advertising tie-ins, Kaocheki is a fun, simple runaway hit.
As #6 of our series of the coolest mobile services in Japan, this week
we are continuing our look at mobagetown.
With more than 14 million members, mobagetown was the first and still
is the leading mobile service in Japan to provide free games through a
social networking platform with avatar features.
Last week we looked at mobagetown’s use of free Flash games, premium games
and SNS functionality. This week we look at how mobagetown expanded their
CPA based model to advertising tie-ins with Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, and more.
Check out the video below!
Want to learn more about mobagetown? We have just published an in-depth
report that will tell you all there is to know.
Check out the details and take a look at the samples (around a quarter
of the whole report!) here:
Still not enough? We thought so. So we did the same for both Mobile
GREE and mixi Mobile, Japan’s other two leading mobile social
networking services, too:
As #6 of our series of the coolest mobile services in Japan, this week
we are taking a look at mobagetown.
With more than 14 million members, mobagetown was the first and still
is the leading mobile service in Japan to provide free games through a
social networking platform with avatar features.
However, mobagetown has evolved far beyond this initial concept:
Although free Flash and Java games on a social networking platform
with avatars still constitute the core of the service, it has
grown into a full-blown mobile portal with a diversified and highly
sophisticated business model. It relies on a combination of revenues
from mobile advertising, avatar-related revenues, in-game content
purchases and affiliate revenues from its portfolio of mobile commerce
partner sites.
In 2008, the site made parent company DeNA, Co., Ltd. almost US$20
per user - at above 40% operating profit, certainly a figure
that should makes most social networking services worldwide green with
envy.
Check out the video below!
Want to learn more about mobagetown? We have just published an in-depth
report that will tell you all there is to know.
Check out the details and take a look at the samples (around a quarter
of the whole report!) here:
Still not enough? We thought so. So we did the same for both Mobile
GREE and mixi Mobile, Japan’s other two leading mobile social
networking services, too:
As #5 in our ongoing series of the coolest Japanese mobile services,
this week’s program features Takutomo by Skymint Co., Ltd., a
taxi-sharing service that lets mobile users connect with people that
are going on similar routes. The service also includes a handy online
fare split calculator for figuring out who needs to pay what if you
have people getting off at different spots.
This is especially useful in a city like Tokyo where long hours
working (or drinking) often lead to people missing the last train,
which until now either meant a very steep taxi bill for that long ride
out to the suburbs, or a night in a tiny box at a capsule hotel.
As #4 of our series of the coolest mobile services in Japan, this week we’re taking a closer look at Mobile Suica, one of the two major services in the contactless mobile payments space (i.e. touch your
phone to the reader, and you’re done).
Otetsudai Networks in a location-based job finding mobile service that matches part time employees up with potential employers. Job-seekers enter their address into the site, and are shown a pool of local employers that need help *now*.
Location-based + real time + mobile = Otetsudai Networks. The service itself is not quite pretty, but the model can be extended to all kinds of industries, from employers needing help to shops having a quick sale to restaurants having a special.
