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In the second issue of our interview series, three ambassadors from Indonesia talk about the media contents market in their home country, a market in Asia with strong potential, and the current situation of Japanese media contents in Indonesia. The first half covers the keys to understanding the media market in Indonesia, and the second half will follow up with the lively voices and observations of ambassadors to explore what kind of media contents particularly attract young Indonesian fans and audiences.
First of all, let us introduce our three contributors.
(From left to Right)
Nadhila: a graduate student at Waseda University studying economics.
Prita: an undergraduate student at Takushoku University. Studying Japanese language and culture.
Mahdina: a graduate student at Waseda University researching environmental studies.
----Indonesia, a "young" country
Ranked fourth in the world by population and 15th by size, Indonesia is regarded as one of Asia's growing markets. The key to understanding its media content market is its young demographic. The average age of Indonesia is 29 years old, and people aged 15 - 34 make up 35.45% of its population. (cf. In Japan, the average age is 45 years old and 21.71% are aged between 15 to 34.) This fact shows that the market has a promising future. In addition, due to increases in educational standards and income, the growth in the middle to upper middle class market has been momentous in recent years.
----Promotion for young audiences
The promotion of Japanese media content to young audiences and consumers already exists. For instance, concerts by Japanese artists are held frequently at universities. Japanese companies also welcome Indonesian students to visit their offices.
Prita: "Last year, I was taking care of Japanese artists who were holding concerts in Indonesia. These are opportunities where students can get involved in the media content market."
---- "We do every kind of SNS!"
SNS (Social Networking Services) among young Indonesians are very popular. In fact, 28% of the population use Facebook according to a July 1st 2014 Nihon Keizai Shimbun article. "People access Facebook every single moment!" add ambassadors. They are also familiar with Instagram and Path, a SNS that limits one's network to 150 close friends.
---- Success formula? How Japanese media content spreads
Ambassadors feel almost no time lag in catching trends in Japan due to SNS. However they think SNS is merely a tool to spread these trends as quickly as possible, and the biggest influence is events such as conventions and concerts. Namely, in order to succeed in the Indonesian media content market, you must understand the power of content-related events for young people and the efficiency of spreading trends through SNS.
Prita: "Last year, I participated in Jakarta Japan Festival as a translator and J-Music Lab and as a volunteer. These types of events and concerts are held approximately 10 times a year."
----How the "Konbini" dominates their life
Besides shopping malls, Karaoke and cafés, ambassadors also emphasized the importance of "Konbini" (a shortened term of "convenience store" used daily in Japan) as part of their lives, because many young people spend a lot of time chatting there. In fact, there are even concerts and public events held in front of the stores like the pictures below. At this moment, they are mostly local bands' gigs or viewings of sport matches, but why not gain Japanese media content's attention through this kind of events?
----What made you interested in Japanese media content?
In a survey answered by 84 Japanese media content fans in Indonesia on Facebook, 55% answered "anime" was the content that got them interested in Japan. 22% chose "manga (comics)", 8% "music" and "video games" and 5% "TV dramas".
Nadhila: "For me, it was 'Doraemon' and 'Detective Conan'."
Mahdina: "'Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon' and 'Cardcaptor Sakura' as well."
In the next issue, we will further explore what kind of media content particularly attracts young Indonesian fans and audiences through our conversation with the ambassadors. Interesting testimonies such as "Indonesian TV series are so different from Japanese ones because...", "A 24/7 TV channel with only Japanese media content?!", "What type of content should be promoted in the local language and what would be better in English?" and so on! Stay tuned!
Vol.1 : Interviews with "CoFesta Ambassadors": vol.1 << USA >>
More about "CoFesta"
http://www.cofesta.jp/
What is "CoFesta Ambassadors" program?
Through the voices and observations done by overseas consumers of
Japanese media content, CoFesta administration team aim to provide
beneficial information from 1) marketing and 2) promotional points of
view for the CoFesta events and the exhibitors.
Every year, 150 international students studying abroad in Japan are
certified as "CoFesta Ambassadors" for this program.
