Blue Current expands online endorsement offering in Japan

The initiative, which follows the establishment of alliances with domestic portals Ameba and Livedoor, will provide participating clients with direct access to a pool of 800,000 bloggers, via Nifty’s Cocolog blogging service.

Tetsuya Honda (pictured), managing director of Blue Current Japan, explained that clients would benefit from Nifty’s consulting and analysis services, which would enable increased efficiency when targeting potential endorsers.

According to Honda, bloggers who have agreed to be active in the scheme, will be categorised into a total of seven macro and fifty micro categories, while clients will have access to relevant data such as consumption history, age and location.

He added that no constraints would be imposed by clients on the bloggers as to the content of their entries.

“It is important to ensure that the right content is delivered to the right consumers, through the right bloggers, at the right time for maximum impact,” Honda noted. “The ability to identify specific bloggers with interests in certain sectors and products through our three strategic alliances, greatly enhances the cost-effectiveness of clients’ marketing spend.”

Honda named Japanese beverage company Kirin as one of the first clients to become involved in the programme to generate interest in a commemorative classic beer. He said Kirin would encourage sampling of the product among the relevant community with a view to generating word-of-mouth endorsement.

He said that Blue Current was exploring the possibilities of integrating its partnerships with Ameba, Livedoor and Nifty into a “packaged service” solution. The three programmes reach a potential 7.5 million bloggers in the domestic market.