Final Post - Media Relations in Japan and Reflections on Colosoul Japan

Hi guys!

This is going to be my final post in the PR393 Reflective Blog.

The experiences in Colosoul Japan has been stressful but also rewarding. I have learnt many things from this internship, including management, journalism and human resources skills.

I have promised earlier that I would talk about the Japanese public relations industry with academic backing. So I would like to share with you all sections from my report:

Like in Australia, public relations in Japan also cover various activities in the industry. According to Clements (2009), “the firms operate in different areas of public relations including: corporate, product, marketing, government, academic related, investor relations, crisis communications, health, IT, and others. Areas of specialization vary between companies, but may include: consultation, press relations, production, research, events and more”. The main focus of public relations in Japan, however, is media relations (Gibson, 1998).

In Australia, media relations may be important in some context but not all contexts of public relations. However, according to Gibson (1998), “Japanese public relations practice, however, is almost entirely dominated by media relations”. Sakae Ohashi (1984), president of Kyodo Public Relations, supports this point by stating that "[In Japan] public relations is most often used to build good working relationships with the media. The media provide the best opportunity to influence public opinion. Major newspapers are centralized in Tokyo, and they make a huge impact on the public".

The reason for the importance of media relations is that the media play a huge role in the Japanese society and holds an inordinate amount of power and control over the country (Clements, 2009). According to Takata and Maygar (2006), “Japan has more than 120 daily national and regional newspapers, with a total circulation of 70 million copies: the highest per capita figure in the world. The three newspapers with the highest circulation in the world are all Japanese, and Yomiuri Shimbun, the world leader, sells more than 10 million copies every day”. In addition, Japanese television is dominated by five private networks that have a vast reach throughout the country (Clements, 2009).

I hope that wasn't too long for you guys to read! But I was surprised to see how dominated the Japanese public relations industry is by media relations! Perhaps this could explain the use of the term "PR" on advertisements for maybe there are misunderstandings of what PR is.

Good luck everyone!

Cintya

References:

Caruba, A. 1984. Exclusive interview, Ohashi, public relations in Japan. Public Relations Journal 16.

Clements, D.P. Public relations in Japan. http://www.prssa.org/prsic/japan.aspx (accessed October 1, 2010).

Gibson, D.C. 1998. Japanese media relations: A quick overview. Public Relations Quarterly 43(3): 30-34.

Hofstede, G. http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ (accessed September 15, 2009).

Takata, T. and Maygar, R. 2006. Embracing PR in Japan.

http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/outcomes/issue10/article3.html (accessed October 3, 2010).

An Insight to the Japanese Fashion Magazine Industry

Hi again guys!

Today I would like to talk more about fashion and share with you a video I have found online.

Link here!

The video talks about the Japanese fashion magazine industry and how freebies plays a big role nowadays as not only to promote the magazine but also the brands.

The video is in Japanese but Kirin (the lady that owns the blog) has kindly wrote a translation for non-Japanese speaking readers! So please do have a watch, especially if you love Japanese fashion (like me!).

I'm actually a huge fan of Japanese fashion magazines myself, so I understand the situation of the readers that are featured in the beginning of the video. I think collaboration with famous brands is a good way to promote your magazine as well as create good relationships with industry leaders in the fashion world.

Cintya

Cool Kids in Japan

Hi again guys! How are your reports going?

I hope all is well and ready to hand in on Friday!! I'm still working hard on mine.

Tonight I would like to share some more of my experiences in Japan.

This time I hope to be more interesting than my previous post because the topic is Fashion!

For those who didn't read my previous posts, I was working in Japan for my practical on my own but have support from my supervisor and colleagues in Colosoul Japan through email and Windows Live Messenger. I was also given a guideline of what to do while I was there. Although it was stressful because I was on my own, I also had the opportunity to create connections for both myself and the company.

One of the assignments I had while I was in Japan is making connections with fashionable young people in Sendai and also collecting fashion street snaps. The street snaps will be featured on the upcoming Colosoul Japan website, while the connections will be kept for future reference and for when the company is ready for their grand opening in Japan.

One connection I'm hoping to keep strong is with JOINT SNAP. JOINT SNAP is a fashion blog in Sendai. It also features street snaps as well as event snaps. I actually was introduced to some of the team members while I was taking street snaps for Colosoul Japan.

Also, another valuable connection is Ms Shiho Hayasaka. She is the owner of some of the boutiques I approached. Her fashion taste is amazing!

Although my Japanese isn't perfect yet and I do stumble in my use of Keigo(honorific form), I appreciated how patient and helpful everyone was. I also appreciated the help of my friend, Masami, whom I met through my first connection in Sendai, Siobhan (she's a fellow foreigner). Both Masami and Siobhan have introduced me to many valuable contacts and helped me explained to them what it is I am doing in Japan and why they should affiliate with Colosoul Japan. They also made me realise the importance of connecting with people in, not only a PR perspective, but also in a social perspective.

I shall end my post with a bonus shot of some fashionable customers!

Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to get their names, but I hope to see them again next time I visit Sendai!

Good luck with your reports everyone!

Cintya

Writing Media Releases and Media Kits in Japan

Hi guys!

I just realised today that I didn't write much about what I did in Japan in terms of my practical.

Well one thing I did was help write a media kit and media release for Colosoul Japan.

The biggest challenge we face was, of course, the language barrier and making sure that there are no grammatical mistakes in what we wrote.

The good thing about writing for the media in Japan is that the structure of the article itself is generally similar to Australia. This means that the article with start with an eye-catching headline and lead paragraph, followed by the background information and ending with a summary of the main points of the article.

The difference with the way media writing is written in Japan is that there is a different grammar structure where more kanji (Chinese characters) are used to simplify the sentences. This, therefore, makes the task more challenging for foreigners.

I hope this was informative for all of you! I don't know how many of you are aware of the Japanese language so I tried to make it as simple as possible (and not so much technical lingo)!

I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Cintya

Back In Perth

Hi guys! I am back in Perth for the last few days of my internship with Colosoul Japan.
Sorry for not blogging for a while.. I actually lost internet connection towards the end of the trip, which was a real pain since I had to contact my supervisor (who is in Perth) via email!! But all is well~ And I had a plan and to-do list to help me going.

Anyway, I found something interesting while I was out and about and reading Japanese magazine and other media. This is only based on experience and without academic backing (I will do that in the next post!) but I found that young Japanese kids have no idea what PR is! I mean young as in around 18-23. I found out when I was talking with some of the locals.. They knew what marketing and advertising is but not PR! It took me a while to explain to them what I do..

Also, I found that websites and magazines gives the label "PR" for advertising! Here is an example from the old Colosoul Japan blog (we used a free Japanese blog host called Ameba)

What do you all think? Is this advertising or PR in your opinion?

Hope you all have a great week!

Cintya

My internship in Japan

Hi guys!

I have been in Japan for my internship with Colosoul Japan for two weeks now and so far I am starting to see the challenges in working in a non-English speaking environment.

I am starting to see that I need to improve my Japanese language skill considerably in order to operate effectively in a business environment but I am learning along the way.

Colosoul Japan is looking to have their grand opening in Japan very soon so I am here right now doing preparations as well as working on the tasks that are left for me in Perth.

We are a very small team so work has been extremely strenuous and the production speed has been slower than we hope for it to be but we are getting there!

Does anyone have any suggestions for free promotion opportunities?

Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Nice to meet you all :)

Cintya