In the past, advertising was dominated by newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Through these media, companies conveyed their messages to consumers and built their brands. Television advertising, in particular, reigned for many years as a powerful way to reach a broad audience.

However, with the rapid rise of the internet, these traditional advertising platforms gradually began to lose their prominence. Today, online platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have become the central focus of advertising.

One key point to note is that advertising doesn't necessarily have to be paid. By posting on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, individuals and businesses can spread their messages for free. The internet has brought new possibilities to advertising, allowing anyone to easily promote their brand or products to the world.

Furthermore, with Google, it's possible to rank high in search results by properly optimizing your website through search engine optimization (SEO). This allows you to naturally reach your target audience and drive traffic to your business without spending on advertising. SEO is a crucial factor in enhancing a company's online presence.

YouTube advertising, in particular, is a powerful tool that engages both the visual and auditory senses through video. The platform’s user base is vast, and it allows you to efficiently reach specific target audiences. Moreover, by using viewer behavior data, YouTube enables highly accurate targeting to maximize the impact of your ads.

In modern advertising strategies, a large budget or reliance on traditional media are no longer always necessary. By leveraging the internet, you can reach a wide range of target audiences at a low cost. By creating your own content and taking SEO into consideration, you can effectively grow your business. The combination of creativity and the power of online platforms is directly linked to business success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onigiri at H-Mart costs around $2.99, which is 2-3 times higher than in Japan, despite rice and most ingredients being cheaper in the US. This price difference likely stems from higher labor costs, smaller demand, and specialized packaging. However, there’s a business opportunity here: if someone can mass-produce onigiri efficiently in the US, leveraging automation and local ingredients, it could be sold at a more competitive price. As Japanese food grows in popularity, affordable, ready-to-eat onigiri could thrive in the US market. I’ve also heard that onigiri is very popular in France, showing its global appeal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I brought back to my office from Japan.

 

 

 

I left my hotel just before noon and I took a bys from Tokyo station to Narita airport. From there on WestJet to Calgary. The flight was eight dollars. I am right now At the airport lounge at the Calgary airport. My transit to Seattle Wright was seven hours from my arrival to Calgary. It's a long wait about. It's almost over. I will have one last flight from Calgary to Seattle in about an hour. I would not recommend this except I paid only $2000 round-trip from Seattle to Narita on business class on WestJet. That is less than half of what I usually have to pay for the business class.

 

 

 

Today is my last day in Japan/Tokyo after spending two weeks here and meeting a few people. I’ll have some homework to do once I’m back in Seattle. I was hoping for cooler weather since it’s mid-September, but in reality, the average temperature has been over 35°C (90°F). I’ll be returning to Tokyo at the end of next month, and I’m sure the weather will be much more comfortable by then.

 

 

 

One of the most important ways to have customers recognize the value of your product is through differentiation. Differentiation is the process of clearly showing how your product is superior compared to similar products from competitors. There are several methods of differentiation, but the easiest approach is lowering the price. This strategy appeals to price-sensitive consumers by setting a lower selling price than competitors without making any changes to the product itself.

However, price differentiation can lead to price wars, creating a situation where it becomes difficult to maintain profitability. For this reason, it is preferable to differentiate through factors other than price, if possible.

Next is “differentiation through functionality,” which is a strategy that enhances competitiveness by offering unique features not found in competitors’ products. However, these features need to be perceived as valuable by consumers. No matter how many additional features you offer, they will not increase competitiveness if consumers don’t see them as valuable.

So far, we’ve discussed price and functionality as methods of differentiation, but these are only basic approaches. The most crucial differentiation is “marketing-based differentiation.” Beyond price and performance, the true differentiating factor is how well-known your product is. Products that sell well aren’t always superior in terms of features or price. Typically, high-selling products are those that are heavily advertised.

Nowadays, advertising methods aren’t limited to paid advertisements. Utilizing social media and video platforms to raise awareness of your product is also a form of differentiation. The ultimate goal of differentiation is to sell more products. While improving product quality is fundamental, what’s even more important is how many people know about your product. Spending money on advertising can easily increase brand awareness, but in today’s world, true differentiation lies in how you can use the internet to raise awareness among a large audience at a low cost.

 

I have a live early at the clients office so I decided to kill time and have breakfast at the Starbucks nearby. This is not the cheapest or the best breakfast you can have in Japan but it's click and convenient spending ¥1400 which is about a $10 is not but at all.