Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

The goals of this work were to generate interest among the main target users, students and young people, in two manga magazines "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE," and to create an access point to all currently running manga titles in the magazines. As a result of this campaign, the manga magazines succeeded in gaining new manga readers and establishing a strong bond with their target users.

Background

This project aimed to communicate the interesting titles available in manga magazines to young people who usually do not read such publications, and turn them into fans. "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE" are the two top manga magazines in Japan. They also have been rivals for the 50-plus years since their publications. However, with the prevalence of mobile games and social media, the increase in entertainment options has led to the reduction of manga magazine publications, and is threatening the livelihood of manga magazines. The manga industry as a whole had to work together to gain and cultivate new fans.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We carried out "JUM-MAGA," a project that crossed the barriers of long-time rivalries between the two manga magazines and their publishers, and united "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE." The idea was to have the publishers SHUEISHA and KODANSHA join hands through the union of their respective popular publication to generate news and broaden the base of manga magazines. To increase new readers, we released "JUM-MAGA CAMPUS," a limited-time free manga service. We also created "JUM-MAGA," an anthology of the first chapters of all currently running titles in the two manga magazines, as well as OOH and a music video.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

With the digitization of manga, we now live in an era where numerous titles are available for free. "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE," Japan's top manga magazines each with over 50 years of history, developed an unexpected method to grab people's attention and gain new readers. The approach was to have these two rivaling publications collaborate.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

April 1, 2019: On April Fools' Day, "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE" tweeted announcements of their collaboration on their official Twitter accounts. April 8, 2019: At the timing of the new school year in April, we launched a free manga service featuring 164 titles. April 22, 2019: We created new manga magazine "JUM-MAGA," a super thick anthology featuring the first chapter of all currently running titles in "JUMP" and "MAGAZINE." April 26, 2019: We released a music video featuring over 300 manga characters. May 6, 2019: We displayed in Shibuya Station a 30-meter giant poster containing 120 manga characters.

List the results (30% of vote)

The "JUM-MAGA" project was featured on over 750 TV and online media, and generated huge buzz on social media. In the first two months after launch, over 1 million under-22 readers used the "JUM-MAGA CAMPUS" service and discovered new favorite manga titles. A total of 30 million chapters were read. The "JUM-MAGA" anthology and OOH also attracted attention, and the music video gained over 7 million organic views. This publisher-crossing project showed readers a revolution in the manga industry, and succeeded in creating a new path for the entire manga world.