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Consuming “Japan” through Chocolate and Coffee Foreign Multinational companies’ glocalization strategies in the Japanese food industry and visions of modern “Japaneseness”

Oranand Sukhasvasti

5618A017-3

January 07, 2020

A master’s thesis submitted to

the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies

Waseda University

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards Professor Graham Law for guiding me throughout the process of writing my thesis. Without his kind and encouraging guidance, I would not have been able to complete my writing and develop my arguments as strongly as I did. With his help and advice, I have been able to see things from new angles and widened my understanding of the topic, and I highly appreciate his kind help always.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) for their scholarship during my first year, as well as to Waseda University for the Partial Tuition-Waiver

Scholarship during my second year. With these monetary aids, I have been able to focus more on my studies and on completing the thesis with fewer worries put on doing part-time jobs to make up for tuition fees and living costs.

Equally important is the support and encouragement from my friends and family. Although I am far from home, my family still supports me and send encouraging words that help me get through rough days. I am also very thankful for my friends who are always sharing ideas and encouraging each other to try our best, enabling us to get through any obstacles together. I am always grateful for all of your help.

Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements ………………………………...... ……………………………………………….1

Table of Contents ……………………………………………..……………………………………….2

1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………...4

2. Literature Review & Key Concepts ……………………………………………………..………..8

2.1What Is Glocalization? …………………………………………….…………………….………8

2.2 Social Media’s Impact On Marketing……………………………………………...……....……11

2.3 Understanding Nation Branding ……………………………………………………..……..…15

2.4 Nation Branding: Case Of Japan ……………………………………….…………....…...... 17

2.5 Kokugaku, Nihonjinron, And The Claim To Japanese Uniqueness ………...………...………19

3. Research Questions ...…………………………………………………………………………..…24

4. Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………….…...27

4.1 Case Studies’ Background …………………………………………………………….………29

4.1.1 Kitkat Japan ……………………………...……………….………………………………29

4.1.2 Starbucks Coffee Japan ………………..………………………………………..….…...30

5. Data Results …………………………………………………………………….…………………33

5.1 Case Of Kitkat Japan …………………………………………………………………………33

5.1.1 Company visions – interviews & publications …………………………...………… 33

5.1.2 Official Instagram Account……………………………………………..…………… 37

5.1.3 Official Twitter Account ...……………………………..…………………………… 39

5.1.4 Official Facebook Account ……………………………...………………………….. 42

5.1.5 Official website and press releases ………………………………...……………….. 44

5.2 Case Of Starbucks Coffee Japan …………………………………………………….…...51

5.2.1 Main Instagram Account …………………………………………………………….51

5.2.2 Japan Wonder Project Account ……………………………………………………..54

Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

5.2.3 Official Twitter Account ....…………………………………………………………..56

5.2.4 Official Facebook Account ...………………………………………………………57

5.2.5 Official website and press releases ...………………………………………………58

6. Analysis .…………………………………………………………………………………………...62

7. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………….….71

8. Limitations .………………………………………………………………………………………..81

References …………………………………………………………………………………...……82

Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………………...... 92

Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

1. Introduction

When entering stores in Japan, it is not difficult to find products marketed as “exclusively

Japanese” or “Japan limited”. Yet on closer inspection, many of such products are actually products manufactured by foreign multinational companies (MNCs) that operate highly successful businesses across the globe. This process of adapting products and goods to suit a local market and preference by big global companies is known as “glocalization”, and glocalized marketing strategies have been a popular as well as a successful marketing strategy in many places in recent years. Glocalization is thus by no means unique to Japan or something remotely brand new, yet what is interesting about glocalization in Japan is what is missing from the usual formula.

Glocalization in the food industry is largely driven by the necessity to meet the dietary requirements of certain areas and countries, stemming in most cases from religious beliefs. For instance, McDonald’s in India caters to its large Hindi population that worships cattle as a sacred animal by replacing their regular beef patty with a spiced Chicken patty, branding the new product as “Chicken Maharaja Burger”. The fancy name, ‘Maharaja’ meaning ‘the great king’, also adds another dimension of cultural integration that can boost the value and acceptance of the glocalized product as well. McDonald’s also makes vegetarian burgers in India to cater to the high number of vegetarians in the country, while providing Halal burgers in countries such as Indonesia where a high percentage of the population are Muslims who only consume animal products prepared correctly according to Halal laws. In other cases, if the food from that particular brand does not suit the local pallet, some adaptations may be applied to help it blend in with the local tastes and cuisine. This is especially true in countries like Thailand where major chain restaurants like KFC designed Thailand-specific menus in order to bring the international product of fried chicken closer to the nature of Thai cuisine which revolves highly around rice as the staple carbohydrate source and a spicy taste as the dominant flavour. By bringing the food closer to the nature of the local cuisine, it ensures that the product will be palatable to the local consumers and also guarantees the longevity of the product as a staple rather than as a fleeting marketing gimmick. These are safe and

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necessary marketing strategies that multinational companies implement to ensure the success of their products worldwide. By showing the awareness of the local culture as well as also slowly introducing new tastes and culinary practices into the local pallet, they can create a competitive edge over other MNCs which may not glocalize their products and may even succeed in making the product more appealing to locals than local products themselves due to their innovative nature.

However, the case of glocalization in Japan is slightly different. In Japan, not only big multinational brands like KFC and McDonald’s but a large proportion of international food products arriving in Japan are extensively and continuously glocalized. Walking into the confectionary aisle at the supermarket, it is easy to spot green tea flavoured chocolates made by companies originally from Europe. In the drinks aisle, from Pepsi to Coca-Cola, there are themed drinks specially designed for the cherry blossom viewing season. Sitting down at McDonald’s, there are squid ink hamburgers and Gudetama-inspired McFlurry. Unlike most major cases of glocalization, Japan does not have overarching national dietary or religious requirements, nor are the products straightforwardly inspired by a national preference in certain tastes. The inspiration behind the overwhelming extent and speed in which products are being glocalized in Japan seems puzzling and eclectic, and the necessity that drives those productions seems almost non-existent at times. However, these are the exact characteristics which make glocalization in Japan an extremely interesting case study.

When looking at the concept of glocalization in the marketing field, it is also relevant to look at the bigger picture of how the introduction of social media in the past decade has affected the way the industry works as a whole. Social media has not only changed the method and the platform in which companies advertise and market their products but it also heavily influences consumer’s exposure to products and their consumption pattern as well. Through the creation of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in the mid to late 2000s going hand in hand with the development of smartphones which allow portable internet access with more ease than any laptop before them, the world has become much more interconnected than ever before, allowing news to travel at lightning speed and data shared with virtually no borders. Such changes have impacted how consumers view products and receive news about what is available in the

Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

market, making it necessary for companies to change the way they market their products in order to remain competitive and successful as well. Glocalization is a marketing strategy which has existed before the age of easily accessible internet, but it inevitably has also been subjected to reformulation in order to catch up and make the most out of the rapid acceleration in technological affordances in recent years. How the changing platform and the nature of consumer’s access to information brought on by these developments affects glocalization as a marketing strategy will also be explored in this thesis.

Lastly, it is not possible to look at glocalization as a marketing strategy without looking at the existing cultural and social framework within a country or region that becomes the basis upon which the strategies are formulated. With the focus of this paper being Japan, digging into the cultural foundation and national narratives of Japan is vital. It is interesting how the fascination with Japanese culture in recent decades through the popularity of Japanese music, animation, games, and cuisine amongst other things has branded the image of Japan as a country with captivatingly unique cultural traditions into the minds of many around the world. It is also no secret that the Japanese government works very hard through their nation-branding campaign called “Cool Japan” to reinforce and promote these positive associations further, as it is a great driving force for the nation’s soft power and economic success in recent years. Nevertheless, the narrative of Japanese uniqueness is not something new nor did it start off as a top-down government-sponsored one. Its origins can be traced back to the eighteenth century where the awareness of “us” versus “them”, “Japan” versus “the outside”, was brewing amongst the scholars of the time. Throughout the subsequent years leading up to the present day, the necessity of a national identity which is unique and different from the rest of the world was driven by a variety of forces which also influenced the narrative and understanding of what Japanese identity is and how it is embraced by the people of the nation. While this paper does not deal directly with how Japan promotes itself to the world but rather how foreign MNCs promote themselves to the Japanese domestic market, it is interesting to see whether these glocalized products take cues from the government’s prescribed narrative of Japaneseness, and whether or not it is done to appeal to local

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consumers who may be inclined to consume the familiar things or appeal to the international audience who are fascinated by the idea of Japanese uniqueness.

These ideas will be explored through the case studies of two foreign MNCs who operate very successful businesses in Japan and are known for their elaborate glocalized products, namely the chocolate snack brand Kitkat1 and coffee brand Starbucks Coffee. Content analysis will be conducted on the two brands’ usage of official social media handles in the marketing of their products, especial glocalized ones, over a fixed span of time. Through this research, I hope to uncover the necessity of glocalization within Japan despite its apparent absence, as well as to reflect on how social media has affected the nature of glocalization as a marketing strategy. Most importantly, I hope the narrative presented through the marketing of these glocalized products would give a better reflection into the understanding of modern Japaneseness and how it has changed from the past. While chocolate and coffee may not be native to Japan, they may give us a valuable glimpse into how Japan envisions itself in an increasingly globalized world.

1 Unlike Starbucks which is both the name of the company as well as the brand, Kitkat is the name of a brand which is currently produced and distributed in Japan by the subsidiary Nestle Japan Ltd.. However, since Kitkat is very much seen as its own entity to the wider public and in order to reduce the confusion in this paper, the name ‘Kitkat’ will be used to refer to both the brand and the company just like the name Starbucks unless stated otherwise.

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2. Literature Review

2.1 What is “glocalization”?

Glocalization itself is still a complex and surprisingly understudied phenomenon.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, glocalization is “the action, process, or fact of making something both global and local, specifically the adaptation of global influences or business strategies in accordance with local conditions; global localization.”2 Chanchal Sharma states that the term officially made its way into the English language for the first time when it was included in the 1991 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of New Words with the definition “a process formed by telescoping global and local to make a blend.”3 Victor Roudometof explains that the term was originally a translation from the Japanese word dochakuka used in an interview of Michael Schrage with Yoshihisa Tabuchi, the president of Nomura Securities, in 1989, but it was sociologist Roland

Robertson who popularized the term within the English-speaking academic sphere.4 When looking back at the word dochakuka itself, Martin and Woodside state that the term originated from the adaptations of farming methods according to local terrains. In the modern period, the term has been used in the Japanese marketing field to reflect the idea that consumers are likely to prefer localized adaptations of global products, and that cultural values are highly important in this process. 5

Interestingly, although this definition of douchakuka does not seem to diverge much from that found in the Oxford English Dictionary above, Robertson states that in 2002, he found that the

Japan Times newspaper has reintroduced the term ‘glocalization’ back into the Japanese language by using the English term.6 This assumes that there is a gap between the original Japanese term douchakuka and its purported English translation. Therefore, how can we define the phenomenon of glocalization within itself?

2 See "glocalization, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/248938. 3 Sharma, Chanchal Kumar. “Emerging Dimensions of Decentralisation Debate in the Age of Globalisation.” Indian Journal of Federal Studies, vol. 1, 2009, p.47-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1369943. p.1. 4 Roudometof, Victor. Glocalization: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, 2016b. p.2. 5 Martin, Drew, and Arch G. Woodside. “Dochakuka”, Journal of Global Marketing, vol. 21, no.1, 2008, p.19-32. https://doi.org/10.1300/J042v21n01_03. p.20. 6 Roudometof (2016b) p.2.

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Despite the common usage of the term in marketing and the media these days, glocalization is still a rather undertheorized concept with little to no concrete theory support it until very recently. Nevertheless, various scholars offer many interpretations regarding the dynamics of glocalization over the years. Robertson, the first scholar to introduce the term into the English language, defines it as “the universalization of particularization and the particularization of universalism.”7 This definition seems to suggest that there are two forces, one global and one local, interacting and merging into each other harmoniously on an equal basis. Jeffery Alexander shares

Robertson’s idea of the dynamics of equal powers, but also states that glocalization is very much like a refraction where the local is not annihilated or absorbed by globalization, but instead, the local shapes the global and they exist symbiotically together to create heterogeneity.8

Anthony Giddens, on the other hand, suggests that there is a hierarchy between the two forces, where glocalization is the provocation caused by globalization, resulting in the revival of local cultural identities. ‘Local’ is thus the responses to the forces that are ‘global’. 9 This definition does not suggest a direct conflict between the two, but there is still a catalytic approach where the global is the main force which triggers the local to manifest itself and mingle with each other. George Ritzer is less optimistic about the whole approach, arguing that “globalization is glocalization plus grobalization. Grobalization [sic] is a process where organizations and nations expand globally in attempts to impose themselves on the local.” By introducing grobalization as a force that is coming from a certain direction and overpowering the other, not only does it suggest that the two forces are unequal, but also it also emphasizes on the aggressive nature of one over the other as well. In this way, the ‘local’ side of glocalization is a force which attempts to combat this overpowering nature of the foreign entity and seeks to bring equilibrium to the local society. There is a clear sense of conflict and oppression in Ritzer’s claims.

The most recent theorist, Victor Roudometof, states that while all the above arguments are crucial to the development of the essence of glocalization, many of them fall into the scope of

7 Robertson, Roland. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture. Sage, 1992. p.102. 8 Gobo, Giampietro. “Book Review: Glocalization: a critical introduction”. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, vol.3, no.2-3, 2016, p.381-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2016.1209886. p.2. 9 Giddens, Anthony. Runaway World. Routledge, 2000. p.13.

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reductionism. Criticising Ritzer and Giddens who directly define glocalization against and in connection to the forces of globalization as especially problematic, Roudometof argues that we must see glocalization as analytically autonomous. He agrees with Alexander’s refraction approach, stating that we must see the forces of the global and the local as concrete entities which have the power to shape each other rather than to completely annihilate or diffuse into each other. But most importantly, he states that we must see glocalization as an autonomous concept within itself, capable of expanding into a multitude of glocalities depending on various contexts. 10 This interpretation allows us to focus more on glocalization beyond the shadows of globalization and consider how the idea can be applied in different fields. However, this approach cannot be said to be perfect either due to its failure to address the often unequal forces between the local and the global. While Roudometof did not completely deny it either, the lack of consideration of such matter can be viewed as overly optimistic as well.

What we can take away from Roudometof’s approach is that there is a multitude of glocalities, so that glocalization also has its own characteristics when applied to the field of marketing. Matusitz and Forrester have defined glocalization in marketing as the idea that, in order to be successful in foreign markets, multinational corporations must cater to the local culture by immersing themselves into that local culture and by adopting unconventional marketing techniques.11 According to this definition, the focus lies heavily on the culture and preference of the country or region in which the product will be sold. However, with social media playing a massive role in marketing strategies in recent years, we must first also understand the wider impact of social media on marketing in the general scope before pinpointing it on the aspect of glocalization, especially in Japan.

10 Roudometof, Victor. “Theorizing glocalization: Three interpretations”. European Journal of Social Theory, vol. 19, no.3, 2016a, p. 391–408. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431015605443. p.397. 11 Matusitz, Jonathan, and Maya Forrester. “Successful Glocalization Practices: The Case of Seiyu in Japan”. Journal of Transnational Management, vol. 14, no.2, 2009, p. 155-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475770903028696. p.159.

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2.2 Social Media’s Impact on Marketing

Since the mid-2000s, social media has increasingly played a major part in brands’ marketing strategies. According to a study carried out in 2010 by market research firm Chadwick

Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, it was shown that “consumers engaged through social media such as Facebook and Twitter are over 50% more likely to buy and recommend than before they were engaged’’.12 Moreover, it was also estimated in 2018 that social media marketing spending by companies would increase up to 71% in the next five years.13 This projection is most likely to also apply to Japan as it is a nation where 94% of the total population are active internet users and 61% are active social media users with the latter on a 10% annual rise.14 Due to Japan’s already well-connected and well-developed internet and technical landscape, social media and the wider internet platform is the ideal method of getting information across the fastest and to the maximum amount of people.

Social media itself has also developed and spread at an incredible speed, benefitting from the technological advances in recent years which enabled more people to become increasingly interconnected regardless of physical barriers or national borders. Kaplan and Haenlein deﬁne social media as ‘a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content’. 15 While the ‘user’ in the earlier years may have been limited to big companies and producers who had access to the latest technology, now the general public equally have access to such technological affordances and makes up the majority of social media users who participate in the creation and exchange of information. Through traditional media platforms such as the newspaper, radio, or even the television, advertising was primarily a one-way communication. Any feedback received was never spontaneous and the gap between the consumer and the producer was

12 Akar, Erkan, and Birol Topçu. “An Examination of the Factors Influencing Consumers' Attitudes Toward Social Media Marketing”, Journal of Internet Commerce, Vol.10, no.1, 2011, p.35-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2011.558456. p.51. 13 Fox, Alex K., et al. “Eat, drink, and create content: a multi-method exploration of visual social media marketing content”. International Journal of Advertising, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2018.1535223. P.1. 14 Kemp, Simon. “Digital 2019: Japan”, Datareportal, 31 January 2019, https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2019- japan?rq=japan. Slide15-16. 15 Tafesse, Wondwesen, and Anders Wien. “Implementing social media marketing strategically: an empirical assessment”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol.34, No.9-10, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1482365. p.734.

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clear cut. However, social media enables consumers to reach out to brands and companies as much as companies are able to reach out to them, forming a two-way dialogue between companies and consumers. 16 It may even be considered as multi-directional since social media also enable discussions amongst two or more companies or amongst consumers themselves, not just between the company and the consumer. Moreover, functions on social media platforms such as hashtags on

Twitter and Instagram are mutually beneficial for the consumer and the company. Through hashtags, companies are able to directly observe consumer’s reception and consumption trends with certain products without having to wait for the sales numbers while the same function also allows consumers to follow the latest trends and keep track of their own and others’ shared posts.

This is one clear example which that shows that online marketing is no longer simply brand-generated. According to Erkan and Birol, social media marketing relies heavily on the participatory effort of the consumers.17 A successful social media marketing campaign depends on two sources of contents: firm-generated contents (FGC) and user-generated contents (UGC).

Brands and companies must create contents that can become a catalyst for further consumer engagements which can range from simple actions such as likes and retweets to full blog posts or videos. Social media platforms thus have transformed the audiences into both simultaneous recipients and initiators of contents. 18 Successful social media campaigns that draw in high volumes of UGCs and engagements allow brands to remain competitive and relevant in a highly saturated market with less investment than before. In a way, consumers who engage in the sharing and creation of contents online can be seen as a form of indirect outsourcing with no payment in the form of salary needed. For these reasons, social media is a very important platform for smaller independent companies who may not have the funds to carry out publicity schemes through traditional advertising routes which require connection and high volume of investments.

16 Fox, et al. (2019) p.2. 17 Arkar and Topçu. (2011) p.41. 18 Taecharungroj, Viriya. “Starbucks’ marketing communications strategy on Twitter”, Journal of Marketing Communications, Vol.23, No.6, 2017, p.552-571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1138139. p.553.

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Furthermore, UGC can also be beneficial because they are often seen as more reliable than

FGC.19 Consumers are naturally sceptical of FGC and trust that other consumers will leave a more reliable and honest reviews of products and services. Therefore it is not solely the sheer volume of

UGC that makes them crucial in social media marketing, but it is also the inclination for consumers to trust other fellow consumers than the brands themselves.20 However, if positive attention can be drawn through UGC, negative ones can also bring on notoriety instead of fame. Arora and Sanni even state that negative reviews impact companies much more than positive ones.21 This makes maintaining a positive brand image and building brand loyalty extremely important. Companies will benefit greatly if they are able to consistently receive positive feedback from consumers through UGCs, especially from those who are influential or well-known to the public. Thus a mutualistic relationship between company and consumer is very much needed in social media marketing.

While the discussion so far has been mostly on UGC, FGC remains a very important component of the social media marketing mechanism. However, since UGC has become the megaphone for the company which can help disperse information about the services and products far and wide,

FGC becomes less about reaching a big group of consumers and more focused on capturing and maintaining attention to spur on interactivity and engagement.22 Brands, therefore, must build a desirable narrative and maintain a strong brand presence through their social media channels. To aid this cause, studies have shown that visual contents are very effective in achieving such an effect. Corliss shows that Facebook posts with images receive 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and 84% more clicks than posts without images.23 Therefore, just like in traditional forms of advertising, eye-catching images and videos are the key to quickly grasping the consumer’s attention and interest. Brands can use certain colours or certain pictures to help capture

19 Arora, Anshu Saxena, and Saidat Abidemi Sanni. “Ten Years of ‘Social Media Marketing’ Research in the Journal of Promotion Management: Research Synthesis, Emerging Themes, and New Directions”, Journal of Promotion Management, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2018.1448322. p.2. 20 For this reason, some brands also take advantage of this perception and pay certain users to create positive reviews of their products. However, this inevitably leads to a biased or untruthful portrayal of products, destroying the trust in the reliability of UGCs Therefore, in recent years, the user community has been adamant on the need of a disclaimer for sponsored products and services across all platforms and all types of UGCs. 21 Ibid., p.13. 22 Tafesse, Wien. (2018) p.734. 23 Fox, et al. (2019) p.1.

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the essence of the products with fewer words needed in the caption. Not only does this provide valuable visual cues which FGCs can instruct and influence UGCs to take certain directions, but it is also a great leeway for platforms like Twitter which has character limits on each post.

However, FGCs is not only about presenting appealing images but companies must also be sensitive to how they interact with their consumers. Viriya Taecharungroj (2017) studied Starbucks

America’s marketing communications strategy on Twitter and concluded that the contents produced by the official company account fall under three main categories: information-sharing, emotion-evoking, and action-inducing content. The types of replies and interactions with consumers can also be separated into six groups; information, apology and support, positive comment, question and enquiry, chit-chat, and gratitude.24 It is easy to see that consumers expect companies to be a reliable source of information, giving facts about the products and maintain a level of professionalism. However, they also equally want a more personal interaction, both in terms of friendly interactions and jokes as well as prompt and sympathetic reactions and support towards negative complaints and queries.

Nevertheless, one cannot simply apply this strategy to any type of business anywhere across the world for the same level of success. Consumers in certain countries may prefer brands to have a personal edge towards them, even to the extent of trolling or bantering with customers as seen on official accounts of fast food chains and other establishments aiming at young adults and teens in the US, the same treatment can be seen as offensive or unprofessional in some other regions where brand professionalism and respect for the customer reigns higher. Therefore, while scholars point out that having engaging as well as appropriate contents answering to the nature of each platform 25 or having a constant active presence on platforms to encourage consumer’s voluntary contributions and engagement 26 are crucial tactics for a successful social media marketing anywhere in the world, Arora and Sanni also emphasize the need to take cultural differences into account.27 In order create an overall positive global impact for the company, they

24 Taecharungroj. (2017) p. 552. 25 Ibid., p.552. 26 Tafesse, Wien. (2018) p. 737-738. 27 Arora, Sanni. (2018) p.15.

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insist that companies should not only be sensitive to consumption patterns and requirements in each country, but they should also be aware of what motivates people in different areas to engage online and join conversations.28

2.3 Understanding Nation Branding:

As it has been pointed out above that social media has become a marketing tool with easy global reaches, companies and brands are not the only ones to exploit this flourishing medium as a quick and efficient way to connect with the wider audience. In recent years, many countries also take on social media, amongst many other means, to market their culture and attractiveness to the rest of the world. This attempt by countries to present a unique and largely positive image of themselves to the world for various gains is known as “nation branding”. In order to understand how a nation can brand itself, it may be simpler to first understand what a brand is.

While the definition for a brand can encompass many things, two main elements that build up any brand are its visual manifestation and the essence of a brand or its inner characteristics and added values.29 When combined, these two facets should create an amalgamation of characteristics distinctively associated with that specific brand when brought up within the consumer’s mind, both consciously and unconsciously. In this way, while a brand can be seen as a simple marketing tool in order to set any product apart from its competitors for commercial gains, scholars also argue that brands should also be seen as a cultural form for their role as a vehicle for communication30, whether that is for a tangible object or a whole nation. An image attached to a certain brand can tell stories about its products or what the company stands for, but it can also help address certain consumer groups more effectively by targeting and fulfilling their needs and desires. Therefore, a brand can be attached to anything that needs any of the points above conveyed across to a group of consumer.

28 Ibid., p.19. 29 Keith, Dinnie. Nation branding : concepts, issues, practice, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. p.14. 30 Cayla, Julien, and Eric J. Arnould. “A Cultural Approach to Branding in the Global Marketplace”. Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2008, p. 86-112, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27755581. p.86.

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With the increasingly interconnectedness of the global market and the ever fiercer competition for products from companies as well as nations as a whole to stand out, nation branding becomes a crucial project carried out by countries in order to imprint a positive visual image of their own country as well as market its unique and attractive cultural characteristics to the rest of the world. According to Keith Dinnie, there are three main objectives to nation branding: to increase the number of inbound tourists, increase foreign investments, and increase the potential of international exports.31 All three main objectives named by Dinnie have a strong economic pull to them, but a successful nation branding campaign can also have the additional benefits of leaving a good impression of the nation in the wider socio-political sphere, potentially leading to diplomatic partnerships and wider cooperation between nations as well.

Nevertheless, maintaining a strong and long-lasting good impression of a country; a key trait of a successful nation branding campaign, is not an easy task as it depends on the consistency of the country’s brand image over time. Brand image is defined as “a subjective mental picture shared by a group of consumers”32 and it is heavily informed by preconceptions or stereotype that consumers already possess about a certain nation. While negative stereotypes can heavily hinder the success of a country’s branding campaign, a positive one can make the process proceed with flying colours. Even with countries with existing positive preconceptions within the target audience, the longevity of the nation’s brand allure is only achieved when the gap between image and reality is seamlessly bridged. This means that for a nation branding campaign to be wholly successful, consumers, in this case inbound tourists, must be able to visit a nation and have all the experiences live up to the promises made by the branding campaign. They must also invest both economically and emotionally in the nation’s culture and products, seeing them as unique and specific to the area, especially enough so that they are ready to help spread the word about the wonderful things they have experienced onto a wider circle and may even want to return to the country again for a second or third visit. A country that has been achieving a very successful nation branding campaign in recent years is Japan.

31 Dinnie (2008) p.17. 32 Ibid., p.47.

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2.4 Nation Branding: the case of Japan

Nation branding has been carried out by the Japanese government campaigns under the well- known and widely used slogan of “Cool Japan”. The campaign is visible on many platforms, from a show named after the slogan broadcasted on NHK, 33 featuring Japanese things introduced as

“uniquely cool” through the eyes of foreign guests, to the “cool” label and narrative attached to all types of products marketed to an international consumers, emphasizing their deep cultural roots or their cutting-edge technology which makes them purportedly unique to Japan.

The slogan “Cool Japan” can be traced back to the influential article by Douglas McGray in

2002 called “Japan’s Gross National Cool” where he discussed Japan’s emergence as a cultural superpower. 34 The article was released around the same time when Joseph Nye’s idea of Soft

Power as a powerful national tool was receiving major attention, making the spotlight on Japanese culture through McGray’s article both a validation for the growing interest in Japanese culture through games and animation within the international community, as well as an opportunity for the

Japanese government to use it as a tool to bring the country out of its persistent economic slump.

In 2004, the government set up the Japan Brand Working Group within the Intellectual Property

Policy Headquarters where its task was “to improve the image and reputation of Japan and turn it into a nation that is loved and respected by people throughout the world”.35 By 2005, the slogan of

“Cool Japan” was officially adopted and the committee focused its attention on three main areas: food culture, fashion and local brands. Special events and projects were held throughout Japan as well as abroad to highlight and promote the products in these three areas.

Over the years, the responsibility of promoting the “Cool Japan” campaign fell into the hands of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and by 2010, the Japan Brand Working Group became the Cool Japan Advisory Council within its Creative Industry Promotion Office. The council was renamed again in 2015, now known as the Cool Japan Strategy Promotion Council, and the three initial areas of emphasis expanded to four: design, content, cuisine, and regions and

33 Japan’s publicly-owned television channel which also has a English version broadcasted worldwide. 34 McGray, Douglas. "Japan's Gross National Cool." Foreign Policy, No. 130, May, 2002, p. 44-54. https://search- proquest-com.ez.wul.waseda.ac.jp/docview/224036374?accountid=14891. 35 Dinnie. (2008) p.211.

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tourism, clearly reflecting the growing market for new forms of media and the arts both within and outside Japan. However, its aim remains largely unchanged with the goal still being “to disseminate Japan’s attractiveness and allure to the world and to incorporate and harness global growth for domestic economic growth”.36

The 2015 report also includes a list of “five perspectives” or aspects which the council wish to focus on and push forward in order to achieve the aforementioned goal. These “perspectives” include things to be expected, such as bringing government policies and the private sector closer to each other and developing a strong human resource pool to support the campaign. The report also explicitly lists the necessity of “incorporating the views of non-Japanese” as one of the main five perspectives of this project. The report explains the reason for this is because what is attractive to foreigners may not be the same as the Japanese views. Thus under this heading, the emphasis was put on the importance of understanding and taking into account the non-Japanese perspective in the selection of culture and products marketed overseas and in the narrative to successfully disseminate “the allure of Japan”. 37 This shows that Japanese culture and identity as recounted through the government’s narrative in the Cool Japan campaign is not simply told from a domestic point of view, but the opinions of the non-Japanese audience, which may be different from the domestic ones, become a main ingredient of the formulation as well.

Moreover, another perspective included in the list of five is “enhancing regional attractions”. It is interesting how regions and regionalism is again repeated here despite already being one of the main areas of interest as well as an area which was also mentioned in the original campaign from

2005. The 2015 report explains that Japan’s regions have a large quantity of potential Cool Japan resources, from local cuisines to local crafts, which are not yet fully exploited. Thus the aim is to bring the uniqueness and the diversity of these local areas and their products to international attention.38 This shows that the government considers regionalism and the diverse regional identity to be an integral part of Japanese identity and attractiveness.

36 “Cool Japan Strategy Public-Private Collaboration Initiative”, Cool Japan Strategy Promotion Council, June 17, 2015. https://www.cao.go.jp/cool_japan/english/pdf/published_document2.pdf. p.1. 37 Ibid., p.5. 38 Ibid., p.6.

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However, the national narrative of Japanese identity and what it means to be “Japanese” has not always been this inclusive. For all its seemingly inclusive nature, some scholars also criticize the campaign to be a reductionist one which can be traced back to the characteristics of the nationalism discourse known as nihonjinron.

2.5 Kokugaku, nihonjinron, and the claim to Japanese uniqueness

Shirley Ando defines nihonjinron as a discourse on Japaneseness by Japanese scholars in a wide spectrum of fields from history and anthropology to science and the arts. 39 It can be characterized by the strong emphasis on the uniqueness of the Japanese race, behaviour, and cultural identity which in extreme cases are even argued to be superior to those of other nations.

These claims are backed by a long list of characteristics, but some common ones often repeated in many publications are such as the claim that the Japanese have a unique way of behaving and thinking due to the isolated geography, or the Japanese language and Japanese interpersonal relationships and social interactions are so complex that foreigners may never truly or fully understand them. 40 This, therefore, seems to be the complete opposite narrative to what the government’s Cool Japan campaign which argues that non-Japanese opinions should also matter in the formation and representation of Japaneseness.

The foundation of the discourse about the Japanese identity can be traced back all the way to the eighteenth century and the emergence of kokugaku or the ‘School of National Learning’. This early discourse was led by men such as Kamo Mabuchi and Motoori Norinaga amongst others who argued that the Japanese people lost their ability to connect with each other authentically and emotionally when Chinese influences, especially Confucianism and Buddhism, entered Japan and overrode the “true” Japanese essence. In order to return to the idyllic community present in the past that is the “real” Japan, these scholars emphasized that the Japanese must reject alien influences and regain our understanding of the true Japan by studying old Japanese texts such as the Kojiki;

39 Ando, Shirley. “A Look at Nihonjinron: Theories of Japaneseness”, Otemae University Journal, no.10, 2009, p.33－42. http://id.nii.ac.jp/1160/00000079/. p.34. 40 Ibid., p.35.

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one of Japan’s earliest text completed in 712 and describing the mythical founding of the nation.41

By writing many commentaries and other works on these old texts, purportedly from before Japan was tainted by Chinese influences, the kokugaku scholars identified traits that were authentically

Japanese, namely magokoro (the True Heart), separating them from Chinese traits or karagokoro.

While karagokoro was the unfeeling and undesirable stiff and rigid rational thoughts, magokororo was the unique emotional sensibility and sophisticated sentiments only possessed by the true

Japanese.42

These thoughts were formalized through the nationwide government-issued education curriculum in the following Meiji period and were further modified to suit an age where the incoming influences were not limited to their neighbour in China, but also from much further afield like America, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. As Japan opened its borders to foreign knowledge in the form of literature, medicine, politics and many other fields in order to catch up with the other super powers at the time, Japan was also made to reconsider its identity again. The balance between maintaining Japanese traditions and customs versus adapting to fit the modern, largely westernizing, world were the concerns of many in this age of turbulent and rapid changes.

Such anxiety about the loss of a distinct national identity and the “the old Japan” through the dazzling new Western influences were also reflected in literary works of the time, such as Mori

Ogai’s The Dancing Girl (1890) and Under Reconstruction (1910), as well as Natsume Soseki’s

Kokoro (1914).

However, the search as well as the narration of the Japanese identity took a much more sinister and aggressive manifestation as Japan strengthened its military prowess and carried out ultranationalist expansionism in the decades leading up to World War II. The claim to Japanese uniqueness became increasingly synonymous with the claim to Japanese superiority which enabled

Japan to rapidly invade its their neighbouring countries and beyond. Nihonjinron in the first half of the twentieth century as an attempt to inwardly understand itself thus disappeared and instead was reborn as outward-looking aggressive war propaganda that Japan felt it needed to maintain its

41 Burns, Susan L. Before the Nation. Kokugaku and the Imagining of Community in Early Modern Japan, Duke University Press, 2003. p.1-2. 42 Yoshino, Kosaku. Cultural nationalism in contemporary Japan : a sociological enquiry, Routledge, 2005. p.47-48.

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superior position both in the region and the world. Japanese nationalism and features that defined the Japan as a nation in this period of time, namely military prowess and being a superior race, is a far cry from the soft and delicate sensibilities associated with the “true Japan” by kokugaku scholars. For its survival and its place in the world in an increasingly turbulent world, Japan had traded its cultural sensibilities with a hard and aggressive militaristic pride.

With the defeat of Japan in World War II, the militaristic overtones of Japanese nationalism quickly waned and common national symbols such as the national flag and anthem became an undesirable reminder of the wartime aggressions. Instead, the successful and rapid recovery from war damages as well as the growing industry and economy became a new source of Japanese pride and identity during the post war era. Cultural practices, such as sado (tea ceremony), grew in popularity amongst the public and went hand in hand with Japan’s expansion of industrial and economic success globally. Ideas of nationalism and national identity was once again returned to the hands of the public, and it was in this period of time were scholars started to earnestly compile a list of the unique traits of the Japanese people still very much associated with the nihonjinron discourse today. These publications, such as 1978 book by Tadanobu Tsunoda called The Japanese

Brain which argues that the Japanese race possesses a brain which can operate more sophisticatedly than other races, became a hit amongst the public.43 The reason for its popularity, however, was rather simple. In the cultural void left behind in the rejection of obvious national symbols, nihonjinron became a “civil religion”; something concrete and easy for the Japanese public to relate to and unite under.44 It helps set Japan apart from the rest of the world, but also provides the Japanese people themselves a sturdy unchanging cultural essence to rest upon when everything else was rapidly evolving.45 Furthermore, nihonjinron was also used as an explanation of Japan’s economic success by claiming that it was due to the preservation of traditional values

43 Ando, (2009). p.36. 44 Ibid., p.41. 45 Lawson, Stephanie. “Perspectives on the study of culture and international politics: From Nihonjinron to the new Asianism”, Asia-Pacific Review, Vol.6, No.2, 1999, p.24-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/13439009908720015. p.38.

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and management practices. This thus helps justify Japan’s economic growth not only as a monetary gain, but also one with a wider socio-political as well as cultural significance.46

Nihonjinron’s popularity amongst the public can also be seen in the 1987 survey on the topic carried out by scholars Manabe Kazufumi and Harumi Befu. Amongst a random sample of 2400 people in the Kansai region over the age of twenty, eighty-two percent of the responders stated that they are interested in the nihonjinron discourse and regularly consume the information on the topic through newspapers, television, radio, magazines, and books. Sixty-six percent also answered that

Japanese culture cannot be understood in a foreign language and sixty-three percent stated that foreigners cannot fully understand Japanese culture.47

As much as today’s nation branding campaign has lost most of these racial superiority undertones which formed the main argument in the original nihonjinron, scholars argue that it still embodies the same tropes and narrative. Stephanie Lawson states that the introspective fascination of their own culture can be seen as “self-orientalizing,”48 because of the fact that still only certain desirable traits are chosen, canonized and put on a pedestal as an exemplary proof of the Japanese uniqueness. Moreover, suggesting that these few characteristics define Japan and do not exist anywhere else in the world is criticised as being extremely reductionist as it ignores the possibility of diversity in the world on a grand scale as well. Katja Valaskivi sees it as the attempts of society’s elites to influence and shape the social imaginary for economic gains.49 She argues that while nation branding is directed at other countries, the narration which only contains certain aspects selected by governmental bodies inevitably shapes the national identity as a whole. The nation thus becomes almost synonymous with corporations where certain values are affirmed and others are shunned for the construction of a strong and coherent identity.50 On the other hand, she also sees Cool Japan as a euphemistic approach to cultural capitalism. As culture adds meaning and an extra layer of significance to whatever product the nation attempts to promote or sell, thus the

46 Van den Berg, Maarten H. “Culture as Ideology in the Conquest of Modernity: The Historical Roots of Japan's Regional Regulation Strategies”, Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1995, p. 371-393, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4177153. p. 386-387. 47 Ando (2009). p.39-40. 48 Lawson (1999). p.28. 49 Valaskivi, Katja. “A brand new future? Cool Japan and the social imaginary of the branded nation”, Japan Forum, Vol.25, No.4, p.485-504, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2012.756538. p.486. 50 Ibid., p.490.

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cultural overtone becomes a comfortable blind which hides the actual capitalistic driving force of the project in plain sight. 51 How much these characteristics, as well as the criticisms, gets transferred onto the glocalized products by foreign MNCs will be discussed in what follows.

51 Ibid., p.500.

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3. Research Questions

With the concepts and context introduced in the literature review as the basis for discussion, this paper will examine the usage of glocalization by foreign MNCs in the Japanese food industry through three research questions. Firstly, what are the factors underlying the nature and extent to which glocalization has been used in Japan by foreign multinational companies?

Product development is a costly procedure which requires not only the expertise to create new and unique products but also requires the company to gamble with the market at the launch of every product as well. Therefore, why is constantly developing new products to be sold in one single country worth it for multinational companies from a business point of view? Why is it necessary to glocalize products in Japan despite the lack of any apparent strong pulls like religious requirements?

Secondly, has social media changed the nature of glocalization in Japan, and if yes, how?

Has the introduction of social media changed how glocalized products are developed, marketed, or sold? Has it shifted the targeted consumer group at all?

And lastly, how does the “Japaneseness” represented through the glocalized products produced by foreign MNCs reflect what it means to be “Japanese” in today’s globalized era? The idea of Japaneseness has been changing and evolving throughout the years, yet its claim to uniqueness remains more or less the same. Which narrative of Japaneseness do the products embody and do they follow the similar trope of Japanese uniqueness as commonly seen in the national discourse? With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just beyond the horizon, how much is Japan formulating its identity with the awareness of international attention in mind? That is, is Japanese identity and culture in the modern era something for Japanese citizens themselves to hold on to, or is it something carefully formulated to be displayed to the outside world as a form of soft power?

Basing on the contexts discussed earlier in the literature review section, I have come up with corresponding hypotheses as follow. Firstly, despite the lack of obvious religious or dietary requirements that is usually the governing factor of whether products should be glocalized or not in certain countries, Japan still possesses a very complex market which is full of subtle yet crucial

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cultural rules and backgrounds. Cultural aspects such as seasonal appreciation, pride in local produce and craft, and the practice of gift-giving known as omiyage are all subtle details which are crucial to the product design in Japan despite not being blatantly obvious. The awareness of these subtle social calls is thus worth the investment despite not being as concretely compulsory as dietary requirements in other countries, enabling multinational companies to retain a unique and innovative outlook in a highly competitive market such as Japan, ensuring their success in a fast- moving market.

Secondly, similar to other forms of marketing, social media does have a large impact on glocalized marketing strategies. While glocalization in the past focuses on catering to one specific local market and a fixed group of local consumer, with the introduction of social media, what is marketed towards a certain area does not simply stay in that area but rather shared worldwide as well. Therefore when products are glocalized, local as well as international attention towards the product is taken into account to maximize its success rate. There is still a difference between actual active local consumers and the international attention via social media, yet the international attention can also drive up the local consumer’s interest while also becoming a potential consumer group as well through tourism as the glocalized products are marketed as trendy Japanese products.

Therefore, the definition of glocalization in this digital age may need to be reconsidered to take this aspect into the formulation as well.

Lastly, through the observation of glocalized products by foreign MNCs in Japan, it is possible to say that the idea of “Japaneseness” in today’s era as presented through the media is as much an embodiment of Japan from a domestic view as it is an international one. Representation of the idea of Japaneseness in these glocalized products naturally embodies the latter since the products are inevitably a hybrid between two or more cultures. The popularity of these products overseas enabled by social media marketing, misunderstood as original Japanese products, would shape the idea of Japan in the eyes of the international crowd even further. However, the Japanese government is not fast to fix these perceptions either as long as it contributes to the nation branding campaign and can bring income into the country. Therefore, the idea of “Japaneseness” in today’s

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society presented in mainstream media may be more shaped by the international perception of

Japan than a domestic one, especially with economic benefits in mind.

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4. Methodology

The research questions will be examined through two case studies of foreign MNCs operating in the Japanese food industry, namely Starbucks and Kitkat. Content analysis will be conducted on the brands’ Japanese official websites, focusing on publicly available press releases, and posts on their Japanese official social media accounts across three platforms: Twitter, Facebook, and

Instagram. Not only are these platforms shared by both Kitkat and Starbucks but they are also the top three social media platforms with the greatest number of users in Japan.52 As of 2018, Twitter has the highest number of active users count in Japan with forty-five million users, followed by

Instagram and Facebook both at almost thirty million. The demographics of Japanese users on each platform vary slightly. While Facebook has a larger ratio of male users and users above the age of thirty, Twitter and Instagram have more female users under thirty on the platforms. However,

Twitter, being the most popular platform, has the most even spread of users from all age groups.53

While Starbucks has more overall followers across the three platforms than Kitkat (Table 1),

Kitkat’s number of followers cannot be said to be insignificant either.

Social Media Handles/ Starbucks Japan KitKat Japan Companies Facebook 1.28 million likes54 26.22 million55 likes56 1.6 million followers57 Instagram 5498 followers59 (@starbucks_jwp : 14.4k58) Twitter 4.54 million followers60 196k followers61

Table 1: Number of likes/followers of Starbucks Japan’s and Kitkat Japan’s official social media handle as of October 2019

52 LINE is also a very popular social media platform in Japan. However, although it can technically be considered as a social media platform, it functions very much as a social networking and personal messaging service than a public multimedia platform as the other three platforms do. For this reason, LINE is not included in this research. 53 Neely, Caylon, “Japan’s Top Social Media Networks for 2019”, Humblebunny, 28 January 2019, https://www.humblebunny.com/japans-top-social-media-networks-for-2019/. 54 “Starbucks Japan スターバックスコーヒージャパン”, Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/StarbucksJapan/. 55 The account is region-specific yet the number of likes is shared amongst official Kitkat accounts from all regions. 56 “Kitkat.Japan”, Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/kitkat.japan/?brand_redir=156333434394547. 57 “starbucks_j”, Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/starbucks_j/. 58 “starbucks_jwp”, Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/starbucks_jwp/. 59 “kitkat_japan_official”, Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/kitkat_japan_official/ 60 “Starbucks Coffee スターバックスコーヒー”, Twitter. https://twitter.com/Starbucks_J/. 61 “KIT KAT Japan”, Twitter. https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan.

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The content analysis will examine posts which were uploaded and shared on the two brands official Japanese accounts from 1st January 2018 to 31st October 2019 (twenty-two months). As the majority of posts contain both a textual component and a visual component, the analysis will look at them separately as their own entity as well as a single unit to determine how they help enhance each other’s message further. As for textual analysis, the focus will be on the narrative, meaning whether there is a certain story the text is conveying, as well as looking into the tone in which the narrative is conveyed. This is extremely important since the Japanese language possesses a complex level of formality as well as politeness which may be crucial in reflecting the kind of narrative the brand aims to tell but also reveals the brand image the company is establishing to the consumers. Furthermore, the contents or what information is included in each post will be taken into consideration along with what languages are used. The language should give easy insight into whether the target audience group is domestic or international. Lastly, the usage of hashtags within the text posts, as well as the frequencies of other social media functions such as retweets, shares, likes, and replies, will also be taken into account to see the consumers’ reception of the products.

As for visual analysis, the types of media, such as whether it is a still image, a video, a GIF file, or other forms of visual media, will be documented. The main focus of visual analysis will be on the composition of the media content. This may include aspects such as how the products are placed within the wider picture, how additional elements help build a certain context or narrative, and whether or not it enhances or diverts away from the message within the textual element of the post.

The content analysis of the brands’ official websites and social media handles will also be supplemented by interviews through news outlets with company officials in order to gain direct insights into what the two companies’ strategies and aims are. By looking at both the interviews and actual company practices themselves, we can also reflect on whether or not the company strategies and visions are successfully executed through their products and their social media platforms.

The collected data will then be analysed in conjunction with the pre-existing literature and underlying concepts which were discussed above to see whether the data presented by the case

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studies differ or diverge or fit the theories as well as the hypotheses or not. In terms of the analysis in regards to the idea of “Japaneseness”, the paper will attempt to evaluate what kind of image and message about Japan is the glocalized marketing strategies these case studies attempting to portray, and whether or not these characteristics are in tune with the government’s “Cool Japan” campaign.

4.1 Case Studies’ Background

The reason why the brands Starbucks and Kitkat were chosen as case studies is because they both are foreign MNCs which have a very well-established presence in the Japanese food industry, one in the beverage sector and the other in the confectionery sector, and both are very well-known for their glocalized product varieties. Moreover, they both have a very active and engaging usage of digital and social media as a part of their marketing strategy, making them ideal case studies for looking at glocalized marketing strategy through social media.

4.1.1 Kitkat Japan

KitKat is a chocolate wafer brand that was first produced by the British confectionery company Rowntree in 1935. The chocolate snack was initially marketed under the name

“Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp” before changing to its current name in 1937. In 1973, KitKat first entered Japan under the distribution of the confectionery company Fujiya but its distribution rights were transferred to Nestle Japan after Nestle acquired Rowntree in 1988.62 Currently, KitKat is produced and distributed by Nestle Japan, a direct subsidiary of the global company Nestle S.A..

KitKat has glocalized its products in other countries as well, but none as continuously or as vigorously as in Japan. With a staggering number of over 300 varieties of Japan-exclusive Kitkat invented so far over the span of roughly two decades, the first Japan-limited KitKat flavour was the brainchild of the current CEO of Nestle Japan, Kohzoh Takaoka.63 Tasked with coming up with a strategy to increase the sales of the candy bar five-percent annually, Takaoka decided to abandoned

62 “The history of Kit Kat”, Nestle. https://www.nestle.com/investors/brand-focus/KitKat. 63 “Suisu honsha mo zessan. Nesurenippon ga okoshita `japan mirakuru' to ha. スイス本社も絶賛。ネスレ日本が起こした「ジャパンミラクル」とは” [High acclaimed even at the Swiss head office. “Japan miracle” created by Nestle Japan.], Mag2News, 10 October 2017, https://www.mag2.com/p/news/287705.

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the brand’s initial association with a typical British image as the brand was initially marketed as in

Japan and collaborate with local farmers in Hokkaido to come up with ‘Hokkaido Strawberry’ flavour in 2000. The release was a massive success, and with an equal success for Hokkaido’s

Yubari melon flavour released three years later, Kitkat set out to create more and more regional

Kitkat varieties, known as gotochi kittokatto (ご土地キットカット), inspired by famous local produce or delicacies every year. Over time, the range not only expanded to include other seasonally-inspired flavours and other Japan-limited flavours but also extended to include Japan- specific marketing tactics such as the promotion of Kitkat as good luck charm during the exam season as the name of brand sounds similar to the phrase “a definite victory” in Kyushu dialect.64

These highly diversified and glocalized varieties of KitKat in Japan have enabled its success as a popular souvenir for both domestic and international tourists, and it also continues to expand into other fields such as opening boutiques selling the luxury variety of Kitkat called Chocolatory in

2018. The brand is currently ranked at number one as the highest-grossing chocolate brand in

Japan.65

4.1.2 Starbucks Coffee Japan

Starbucks Coffee was originated in Seattle, United States, in 1971 and now operates thousands of locations worldwide. Its Japanese branch was the first of its international branch outside North America and the Ginza store was opened in 1996 after the establishment of

Starbucks Coffee Japan in October 1995 as a joint venture between Sazaby League and Starbucks

Coffee International. Starbucks Coffee Japan eventually became a direct subsidiary of Starbucks

Corporation in March 2015. As of September 2019, Starbucks Coffee Japan operates 1497 branches nationwide, increasing more than a hundred stores from September 2018 when there were

1392 stores.66 The fact that the company managed to establish 105 new locations within a year even after twenty three-years of its first Japanese branch’s establishment shows its relentless growing popularity amongst its Japanese consumers which has the potential to grow even more.

64 Nieburg, Oliver. “Nestlé claims chocolate top spot over Meiji in Japan”, Confectionerynews, 18 February 2013, https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2013/02/18/Japanese-chocolate-brands-Nestle-Kit-Kat-leader. 65 See n 62. 66 “About Us”. Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd., www.starbucks.co.jp/en/company.html.

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Moreover, Starbucks was also the highest-grossing coffee chain in Japan in 2017 with 6.4% increase in the sales from the previous year, grossing more than twice the income of that of Doutor

Coffee, a domestic coffee chain which ranks number two on the list.67

Apart from having a great presence in the Japanese coffee industry, Starbucks is also well- known for its use of glocalization in its menu which makes it a very suitable case study for this research. The company does also use glocalized marketing strategies outside of Japan such as in

China, but the success of its glocalized products in Japan has been unmatched and the products themselves have received a lot of international attention. Some glocalized varieties which used to be only available in Japan, such as the matcha latte, was so popular and received so much international demand to the extent that it has become a permanent menu in many other countries, while Japan-limited seasonal menus such as the cherry blossom Frappuccino remains a hype every time it comes around to commemorate the annual flower-viewing season. This paper will focus especially on Starbucks Japan’s newest glocalized project called “Starbucks Japan Wonder Project” which started in May 2018 and will continue until the summer of 2020. The project’s aim is to release a new signature drink menu inspired by an aspect of Japanese culture every summer and winter during the span of the promotional period, and by doing so promote an aspect of Japanese culture which may not be well-known yet to both Japanese consumers and the world.68 The project does not only feature beverages but also extends further to other crafts and ceramics under the name “Jimoto Made”. As Starbucks is already well-known for the retailing of their signature mugs, this project takes advantage of this space to collaborate with local craftsmen in specific regions to make region-limited mugs and other handiwork to sell at the Starbucks stores. Apart from the official account on Instagram, Starbucks also created a separate account especially to promote the

67 Yutaka, Ake 明豊. “Sutaba wo shinogu komeda! uriage ga nobiteru kafe, sou demo nai kafe スタバをしのぐコメダ！売り上げが伸びてるカフェ、そうでもないカフェ” [Starbucks surpasses Komeda! Cafes where sales are on the rise, and cafes where that is not so], Newswitch, 10 Aug. 2018, https://newswitch.jp/p/14018. 68 “Japan Wonder Project shiranai nihon ni, waku waku shiyou. JAPAN WONDER PROJECT 知らない日本に、ワクワクしよう。” [Japan Wonder Project, Let’s be excited about unknown Japan], Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd., www.starbucks.co.jp/jwp/?nid=wh_07_pc.

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Japan Wonder Project (JWP), 69 reflecting the importance the brand puts on their glocalized products.

69 See .n 58.

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5. Data Results:

5.1 Case Study 1: Kitkat Japan

5.1.1 Company visions – interviews & publications

The following are key company visions identified from interviews with the press and other publications available online with Kitkat Japan’s employees. These articles give crucial insight into how the company understands the Japanese food industry and how that may shape their approach to selling as well as designing their glocalized products. By examining and identifying these key points stated through these articles, one may be able to better understand the company’s approaches on social media and reflect whether or not those practices, as well as the glocalized products themselves, replicate these visions explained by company employees.

First and foremost, several of the articles give a good insight into how Kitkat views Japanese consumer’s consumption pattern and their preferences towards new products. In an interview with

Los Angeles Times, Ryoji Maki, Kikat Japan’s marketing manager, explained, “it may seem as if we just want to develop weird flavours for Japanese consumers […] But the concept is really to diversify.”70 He went on to explain that the diversification in this case is not only the diversification within the brand itself but also extends to the desire to expand the range of products available within the scope of regional souvenirs as well. Stating, “wherever you went, you could only find rice cakes” 71, Maki identify the marketing opportunity to create more options within the still underdeveloped sector which ultimately gave rise to the highly successful gotochi Kitkat range.

However, this recognition of commercial opportunity was also accompanied by the awareness of the importance of the local customs of gift-giving. This point is visible through an interview with

Wataru Kageyama, the president of J. Walter Thompson Japan which handles Kitkat Japan’s advertising, who clearly stated that Japan is “a country where gift-giving remains an important ritual”.72 The emphasis on “ritual” here is interesting because it recognizes that gift-giving is not a

70 Kaiman, Jonathan. “How the humble KitKat conquered Japan with ever-changing flavors. Anyone for sushi KitKat?”, Los Angeles Times, 12 December 2017. https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-kitkat-20171211-story.html 71 Ibid. 72 Madden, Normandy, “Soy-sauce-flavored Kit Kats? In Japan, They're no.1”, Adage, 04 March 2010, https://adage.com/article/global-news/marketing-nestle-flavors-kit-kat-japan-markets/142461

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casual practice in Japan but closer to a strict custom where a majority of people in the country abide by. By pinpointing this fact, Kitkat has not only identified a market that still has scope to expand into but also recognizes it as a market with stable longevity as it is based on an integral customary practice.

However, diversifying the products alone cannot bring success to the company. Kohzoh

Takaoka, the CEO of Nestle Japan, claims that added value in the form of emotional connection is very important in making Kitkat products a best-seller in Japan. In an interview with Ad Age, he stated;

Manufacturers need to make products with additional value. […] Taste and quality are not

enough; you have to create more value for consumers. Kitkat is a good example. We added an

emotional value to the Kitkat brand as a lucky charm for Japanese students. […] (Region-

limited Kitkats) creates a kind of scarcity or rarity value for Japanese consumers.73

Here, two aspects of emotional value are identified. In the case of Kitkat as the lucky charm of exam takers, the company is building an emotional bond by placing itself into an already existing context and promoting itself as a remedy for students facing the stressful exam situation. This way,

Kitkat managed to find a niche to assert itself as a positive addition to an already-existing negative situation, thus building a new custom that can boost the success of the product. Secondly, another emotional value identified here is the attractiveness of limited or rare products. The value scarce products can be applied universally, but it is not something often applied to the confectionery industry outside Japan. Celebrity-endorsed products or luxury items are the scope often associated with the emotional draw of scarcity, but in Japan, this also extends to other products within the lower price range sectors such as snacks and other supermarket brands as well.

This, however, is not simply due to the preference of Japanese consumers themselves, but it is also due to the existing market condition in Japan. In the same interview, Kohzoh explains that

Japan already has what he calls “convenience store business model” where things come on and off

73 Madden, Normandy, “Break me off a piece of that soy-sauce bar”, Adage, 14 June 2010, https://adage.com/article/global-news/global-nestle-exec-s-kit-kat-success-work-nescafe/144397

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the shelves at a rapid pace to keep up with consumer’s short attention span and constant interest in new products. In his anecdote, Kohzoh stated that Kitkat UK attempted to replicate Japan’s success in expanding Kitkat’s varieties yet failed miserably due to the fact that British consumers do not have the same compulsion to constantly try out new products as the Japanese public do. Moreover, there was also the extra 100,000 dollars which companies must pay at the launch of every new product in the UK, making this business model a very unprofitable one compared to in Japan where this fee seems to be non-existent.74

Nevertheless, while the Japanese market conditions may have a positive environment where product diversity can easily be achieved, there is also a limitation within the market which drives the necessity of glocalization. While Kitkat explains that attracting foreign consumers through the form of inbound tourists was not their initial aim for glocalization,75 these foreign consumers who purchase Japan-exclusive Kitkat as Japanese souvenirs become a crucial target consumer group for the company. Takuya Hiramatsu, Nestle Japan’s marketing and communications division assistant manager, explains that due to Japan’s aging population, food production companies are suffering from the shrinking market and decrease in demand. 76 By glocalizing products and keeping the market fresh and exciting, the company can profit from drawing in consumers, especially young people, who are inclined to constantly try out new products. Furthermore, by also incorporating

Japanese flavours and traits recognizable to foreigners as “essentially Japanese”, Kitkat has also managed to form a new target consumer group for itself. This means that the company is less dependent on Japan’s shrinking market and is stabilized through the expansion of demands overseas.

This potential new target consumer group is supported by statistics from the Japan

National Tourism Organization (JNTO)’s inbound tourist data handbook. In 2019, the number one aim of tourists visiting Japan from twenty countries across the globe is to eat Japanese food.

74 Ibid. 75 Hamanaka, Urara. “Matcha kitto katto wa naze gaikoku hito ni hittoshita? Nestle nippon ni kiite mita 抹茶キットカットはなぜ外国人にヒットした？ネスレ日本に聞いてみた” [Why is matcha Kitkat a hit amongst foreigners? We tried asking Nestle Japan], Irorio, 08 June 2017, https://irorio.jp/omochi/20170806/409820/. 76 Murai, Shusuke. “Japan-only KitKat varieties a draw as tourists spend more”, Japan Times, 04 January 2018, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/04/business/japan-kit-kat-varieties-draw-tourists-spend/#.W1VwbtL-g2w.

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Moreover, “snacks” (okashi お菓子) was the number one item most tourists are likely to spend on under the category of “shopping expenditure” for seventeen out of twenty countries.77,78 While the data does not specify further whether Kitkat is the most popular snack within the category, the strong interest in Japanese cuisine and the high demands and potential within the snack industry is a promising sign for Kitkat, especially when the number of inbound tourists is also on a rise every year.

Lastly, it is clear that Kohzoh values social media and customers’ participation as a crucial part of today’s marketing strategy. In an article he has written for the Marketing Journal, he stated;

Mobile devices and social media have become the main ways for young people to access

products and services related information. Consumers also follow recommendations of other

users more than advertisers. This is why it is essential to communicate in a way that is relevant

and meaningful to these target consumers.79

In this article, he both identifies that young people are Kitkat’s target consumers as well as recognizing the power of social media, especially users’ contributions’ impact on any marketing strategy. However, he also highlights the fact that it is equally crucial to communicate correctly and appropriately in order to draw in consumers’ attention.

In this way, these articles not only give an insight into Kitkat’s awareness of the limitations and opportunities within the Japanese market that are the driving force behind their glocalization strategies but they also show the brand’s keen awareness of the role of social media within the advertising landscape in today’s world.

77 “JNTO Data Book 2019”, Japanese National Tourism Organization, https://www.jnto.go.jp/jpn/statistics/jnto_databook_2019.pdf. 78 In the remaining three countries, snacks was ranked at number two. 79 Kohzoh, Takaoka, “Marketing & Innovation in the 21st Century” – Kohzoh Takaoka, CEO, Nestlé Japan”, The Marketing Journal, 21 September 2017, http://www.marketingjournal.org/marketing-innovation-in-the-21st-century- kohzoh-takaoka-ceo-nestle-japan/.

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5.1.2 Kitkat Japan’s Official Instagram account (@kitkat_japan_official)

Kitkat Japan’s official Instagram account was established in April of 2017 and has 5498 followers as of October 2019. There were 212 posts posted on the account in the 22-month duration that the data was collected, rounding out to almost ten posts per month.

Visually, a majority of the posts contain still images and very few contain videos or GIFs.

While this may make the post less engaging than GIFs or interactive videos, all of the posts have very highly stylized composition and bright eye-catching colour schemes (Appendix 1). Within these posts, the products tend to be a component of a larger composition and are given equal focus with the accompaniment objects which indicate the context for the product. These contextual accompaniments fit under three major categories: flavour cues, seasonal cues, and cultural cues.

Not surprisingly, the most common category is flavour cues as seen in posts such as from 28

June 2019 which features the “Seto Inland Sea Salt and Lemon” Kitkat.80 The product is placed in rows alongside lemons, forming an eye-catching pattern which is made even more appealing through the usage of bright contrasting colours of blue and yellow. Unlike traditional advertising composition where the product in question must be given the utmost focus, the composition of this image gives equal importance to the product and its surroundings, making it less conspicuous as an obvious advertisement and more of an enjoyable piece of digital art. As Instagram is a platform which is very much focused on the aesthetics of the visual content, these highly stylized posts fit right in with the platform’s overarching style and feel less corporate-like. Nevertheless, the image is still packed full of information. The lemons give a clear indication of the flavour of the product without the need of textual description, helping to lessen the language barrier for foreign consumers without having to change the textual portion of the post.

The second most common category of visual cue is seasonal cues. A major portion of the posts feature clear seasonal cues that, similar to the flavour queues, are very self-explanatory. For instance, the 30 August 2019 post for “Autumn sweet potato” Kitkat features the product on black

80 Kitkat Japan Official. “【6 月 24 日】より、寄付金つき“瀬戸内塩&レモン”新発売…”, Instagram, 28 June 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BzHNW7Wg6TQ/

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pebbles and roasted sweet potatoes in the background.81 Not only does this post’s composition express the flavour of the product but it also evokes seasonal cues as roasted sweet potatoes are a quintessential food item in autumn in Japan. The presence of black pebbles also reflects the common traditional way of roasting these potatoes. Therefore, in this way, the post actually expresses all three major cues: flavour, season, and Japanese culture. Japanese users would immediately understand both the seasonal and cultural touch of this post, and while foreign users may not be able to grasp the full gist of the cultural cues, they can enjoy idea of an exotic Kitkat flavour that does not exist anywhere else. Other easily recognizable seasonal cues are used throughout the year such as the reoccurring theme of lush greenery and ice, signifying summer season. When displayed alongside Kitkat products, it represents the idea of taking a break from the scorching summer’s heat as well as presents a play on Kitkat’s global slogan of “have a break, have a Kitkat” with a seasonal twist.

Lastly, the final visual cue is the Japanese cultural cues. Many posts across the twenty-two months feature objects which are recognizable to both native Japanese and foreigners alike as traits of Japanese culture. An often-repeated image is the depiction of matcha-flavoured Kitkat accompanied tools from the traditional Japanese tea ceremony or sado.82 Other culture cues also include other easily recognizable and stereotypical images of a Japanese heron, fusuma sliding screens, sake bottles, and origami cranes amongst other things. By placing Kitkat products amongst these cultural cues, viewers are led to believe that Kitkat is somehow a part of Japanese culture or at least a gateway to these ideas. Even for products where the main aim is health benefits are marketed to have a cultural twist to them. A post from 6 March 2019 features a video commercial for the “Power of Matcha” Kitkat.83 While the description of the product itself focuses on the health benefits of the product, namely the high levels of polyphenol which is supposedly good for the body, the commercial itself features women wearing kimono and having a traditional tea

81 Kitkat Japan Official. “8 月も残すところ今日と明日となりました…”, Instagram, 30 August 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1xaBrJgs8_/. 82 Kitkat Japan Official .“Have a break, have a KitKat”, Instagram, 22 June 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/By_uywwgoPP/. 83 Kitkat Japan Official. ““キットカット“抹茶キャンペーン開催…”, Instagram, 6 March 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BuqeCbXAZnx/

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gathering in a tatami mat room. The Kyoto dialect in which the women are speaking in is also hinting at the old capital city of Japan, implying that this health benefit is deeply rooted in Japanese culture and that the matcha used is a high-grade one as Kyoto is a famous region for growing high- grade Uji green tea. This shows that, while health benefits may be the main selling point of the product, cultural cues also help add an extra layer of emotional connection and value to the product as well.

Textually, a majority of the captions are kept quite minimal with the inclusion of simple information of product name and sales date or a comment on the context of the product. The tone is cheerful yet kept at the level of plain polite. Apart from the universal Kitkat slogan, all of the captions for the posts are in Japanese. There is also extensive use of hashtags but most stick to generic hashtags such as “kitkat” “chocolate” and “sweets” with no product-specific hashtags. This tactic means that while the generic hashtags will help spread how the post on a wide range of people who have shown interest in posts with similar keywords, it is not possible to monitor how well the product is doing via hashtags.

5.1.3 Kitkat Japan’s Official Twitter (@KITKATJapan)

Kitkat Japan’s official Twitter account was established in June 2014 and has over 196,000 followers as of October 2019. This is Kitkat Japan’s most-followed social media account across the three platforms as well as the most active one. The account has 445 media posts during the data collection period, rounding out to roughly twenty posts per month. These posts are mainly their own posts but the account does occasionally retweet posts from third-party accounts as well.

Visually, while there are some visual contents which were repeated from the Instagram account, additional posts are also added to the mix. A large portion of these additional posts adheres to more traditional advertisement composition with the products taking the centre of the composition

(Appendix 2). An example of this is a post from 2 September 2019 which features “Apple Pie

Kitkat” and special Halloween-edition packaging Kitkat.84 While the image is still eye-catching

84 KIT KAT Japan. “#キットカットハロウィン . ハロウィン限定"キットカットミニオトナの甘さアップルパイ味…”, Twitter, 2 September 2019, https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan/status/1168357993093582848.

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because of its vibrant colours, the products take up the majority of the composition without additional accompanying elements, enabling consumers to focus solely on the products themselves.

Some of such posts, such as a post from 7 September 2019, feature a selection of four gotochi

Kitkat varieties accompanied by a caption asking consumers to choose their favourite product by retweeting the post with the name of the product as a hashtag.85 Similar posts also feature polls where users can vote for their preferred choice or cast their answer to a true or false question with some posts even including a chance to win a prize by retweeting the post. These posts help make the contents more engaging and encourage users to become involved in the brand’s narrative themselves. Asking for the consumers’ opinion makes it feels like each individual user’s preference is being heard and shared, and through the enticement of prizes in exchange for a retweet, the company can easily extend the reach of their products further as well.

Another common post type of contribution on Twitter is posts linking the Kitkat products to a special date or special occasion within the year. While seasonal cues are still prominent on Twitter, posts focusing on Japanese people’s interest with special commemoration dates are also added.

This can range from universally existing ones such as Children’s Day and Mother’s Day but they also extend to more peculiar ones such as “strawberry day” (ichigo no hi イチゴの日 ) or “candied chestnut day” (kuri kinton no hi 栗きんとんの日) where the date’s origin may be murky.

However, by tying the products with these dates, the posts attempt to put the product into a specific cultural context in order to evoke a certain emotional response from the users and hopefully give an incentive for them to purchase the product for the special date. For instance, a post from 13

September 2019 features a pile white chocolate Kitkat stack onto a wooden tray with a background of swaying pampas grass and rabbit in the moon to commemorate the moon viewing festival which takes place on that day.86 While Kitkat itself has absolutely no connection with the festival, by arranging the Kitkat to resemble mochi which is traditionally consumed on the day, Kitkat

85 KIT KAT Japan. “次の連休はどこに行く？…”, Twitter, 7 September 2019, https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan/status/1170169821205602304. 86 KIT KAT Japan, “今夜は #中秋の名月ですね…”, Twitter, 13 September 2019, https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan/status/1172434843126206465.

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manages to merge itself seamlessly into the local cultural context while also simultaneously providing a new alternative to the old tradition.

However, the cultural associations sometimes go beyond any connection with the product itself.

A post from 5 August 2019 features a computer graphic of a scene from a baseball game to commemorate the Summer Koshien baseball games. 87 Summer Koshien is a nationwide high school baseball tournament and the biggest amateur sports event in Japan. The name of the brand is only visible on the billboard far to the back of the graphic and the product itself has no direct connection with the baseball game, yet the company still manages to link this national sporting event with itself by inserting the slogan of kitto katsuto (きっと勝つとぉ), originally used to cheer on exam takers, as means to cheer on the baseball players. By trying to find a niche and an angle to place Kitkat products into a certain local context, whether or not that particular product is a glocalized product or not, Kitkat has shaken off its foreign status and created an image of a snack integral to the Japanese everyday life through these posts.

Textually, despite the character limit per post on Twitter, posts on this platform are surprisingly longer and more informative when compared with its Instagram counterpart. This shows that

Twitter is a platform where textual contents and visual contents are given relatively equal importance. In this way, cultural cues that are not simply contained within the visual contents and are also a major part of the textual narrative as well. For instance, on 17 October 2018, the release of “Kikyō Shingen Mochi” Kitkat is announced.88 Kikyō Shingen Mochi is a famous local delicacy from Yamanashi prefecture often given as a souvenir. This Kitkat flavour is a direct collaboration with the original makers of the mochi. Not only is the Kitkat version giving a nod to the original product through the packaging which kept the original design of red and white flower patterns but the caption on the post also alludes to the historical context of the sweets. It refers to how the product was created with Takeda Shingen, a sixteenth-century warlord whom the mochi is said to derive its name from, as the mochi was a staple food in his army, in mind. With this historical

87 KIT KAT Japan. “夏の甲子園大会開幕…”, Twitter, 5 August 2019, https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan/status/1158211074182696961. 88 KIT KAT Japan. ““キットカットミニ桔梗信玄餅味“ 今日からデビュー”, Twitter, 17 October 2018, https://twitter.com/KITKATJapan/status/1052357706789474304.

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context given along with the composition of the image which features a samurai amour, the post successfully builds a strong image of the product as both respectful to the history of the original product but also carrying on the legacy of it in a new form.

Despite the informative nature of the twitter posts, the language is often very casual with a high frequency of plain form usage rather than the polite form in Japanese. With the posts being mostly in Japanese and with this usage of casual form, there is a clear sense that their target is audience are young Japanese people who would be drawn to the personal touch and lack of rigidity or formality as a brand. Furthermore, apart from the twenty posts each month, the account also regularly engage with customers through mentions and replies which can reach up to extra seventy posts per day.

Some of these posts are a direct reply to customers who replied to the main posts from the account but some are also answering directly to original posts mentioning Kitkat. This gives the account a personal touch as well as an air of vigilance where customers’ opinions and voices are actively taken into account. The retweets of third party accounts which often feature famous actors and entertainers are also for the same effect. The posts become an indirect, or direct, celebrity endorsement which creates an additional layer of emotional incentive for consumers to purchase their products. In terms of hashtags, however, there does not seem to be a consistent usage of specific hashtags on Twitter either. While some specific hashtags are promoted through certain posts, the inconsistency of the usage makes it rather difficult to track the success of such hashtags and consumers’ attention across a period of time.

5.1.4 Kitkat Japan’s Official Facebook (@kitkat.japan)

Kitkat Japan’s official Facebook account was first established in August 2011 and has 26 million followers as a combined number of followers across all Kitkat’s official regional accounts around the world.89 There were 228 posts in the twenty-two months of data collection, resulting in roughly ten posts per month. The post frequency is very similar to that of Instagram.

89 While there are specific accounts for certain countries such as Japan, the page is area locked and users will automatically be directed to the local account page. The contents on each glocalized page are tailored but the follower number is combined amongst all accounts and cannot be separated by country.

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The type and style of visual contents of the posts on Facebook, however, resemble posts on

Twitter more. Nevertheless, due to the fact that Facebook has 50% less post frequency per month than on Twitter, the posts are selected to focus more on the introduction of new products and less on the interactive side. Some seasonal posts are carried over but the captions are almost always lengthened (Appendix 3). For instance, a post from 13 September 2019 commemorating the moon- viewing festival uses the exact same image as the post from Twitter. However, unlike the caption on Twitter which simply mentions enjoying Kitkat products in place of the traditional mochi, the

Facebook post also explains in longer details the origins of the tradition as well as the customs beyond the consumption of mochi.90

This lengthier description is also seen across all posts on Facebook. Products are not only given basic sale dates and information but the narrative often extends to more intensive insights, similar to that in press releases, as well as links leading to the Kitkat Japan website for even more in-depth information. For example, the post from 5 September 2019 which announces the release of the

“Yuzu sake” Kitkat contains a lengthy description of how the project is a part of a wider project with Hidetoshi Nakata to bring the traditional Japanese industry of sake making to the world.91 The captions also give the details of the brewery which the yuzu sake came from as well as information about the stamp rally campaign in Kochi Prefecture where the sake comes from the commemorate the launch of the product. Most prominent is the emphasis on the role of the product in embodying

Japanese traditions and bringing them to the world. The caption repeats the word “tradition” (dentō

伝統) twice within the post as well as clearly stating that the product is “aimed at foreign media”.92

Therefore, it is clearly visible that there is a conscious awareness of foreign media as the target channel to expand consumer potential, but also an equally conscious effort to market glocalized products, especially those in the gotochi range as being essentially Japanese and a vehicle to bring

Japanese culture to the world.

90 kitkat.japan. “Konya wa jūgoya 今夜は十五夜… [Tonight is the fifteenth night…]”,, Facebook, 13 September 2019, https://www.facebook.com/kitkat.japan/photos/a.272472612787805/2442126235822421/?type=3&theater. 91 kitkat.japan. “Honjitsu hatsubai! Nakata hidetoshi-san kanshū no o sake shirīzu 本日発売！中田英寿さん監修のお酒シリーズ… [Released today! Sake series supervised by Hidetoshi Nakata] ”, Facebook, 5 September 2019, https://www.facebook.com/kitkat.japan/posts/2427372963964415. 92 Ibid., (trans.)

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The tone used on Facebook posts is the most formal out of the three platforms. While casual language is used to form a close bond with young users on Twitter, a professional tone and usage of keigo or formal language may also be used to suit the older user demographic on Facebook. This adaptation to cater to an older crowd on Facebook can also be seen in a post from 8 June 2019 that does not exist on any other platforms and celebrates the “Family Gathering Day” (kazoku danran no hi 家族団らんの日). 93 The post features an image of what seems like a family meal with temaki sushi and Kitkat on the table, while the caption explains the relationship of Kitkat products with families and the importance of taking care of one’s family members. The choice of having this post exclusively on Facebook may also reflect the conscious attempt to make the product relatable to the platform’s main demographic. While family day may not be much of an interest for younger crowds, it is clearly aimed at older adults with families and children. Moreover, the choice of temaki sushi as a family meal is also a clear cultural cue that emphasizes the Japanese roots of this day, furthering the narrative of Kitkat being an integral part of Japanese everyday life.

In this way, what sets Kitkat Japan’s Facebook posts apart from its other social media handles is mainly within the textual element. The lengthier narrative gives clearer insights into how the company is consciously trying to be a part of Japanese everyday life as well as a portal for expressing Japanese culture. The formal tone and the lack of personal interactions, as well as

Facebook-exclusive posts, also reflects how the company is consciously tailoring the post for the older demographics who may expect a higher degree of professionalism and have different interests than the younger crowds on Twitter and Instagram.

5.1.5 Official website & press releases

The official website for Kitkat Japan has five language options: Japanese, English, Korean,

Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. The layout and contents, however, is identical in non-

Japanese versions, thus only the Japanese and the English version will be considered in this study.

93 kitkat.japan. . “Kazoku no soba ni, itsumo no “kitto katto” 家族のそばに、いつもの“キットカット”… [Next to the family, always Kitkat…]” Facebook, 3 June 2019, https://www.facebook.com/kitkat.japan/photos/a.272472612787805/2268117266556653/?type=3&theater.

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Figure 1: Kitkat Japan’s official website homepage, English version

Both versions of the website share the same feature of the vibrant Kitkat red background and eye-catching colourful products on display. However, the types of products and links accessible from the homepage of the website are different. In the non-Japanese language versions, the focus is very much on quintessentially “Japanese” flavours with matcha being a main focus (Figure 1).

Further emphasis on the uniqueness of glocalized Kitkat varieties in Japan is highlighted with captions such as “discover Japanese Kitkat” and “available only in Japan”.94 This emphasis on rarity is further justified by easily recognizable culture cues such as a bowl of matcha and a matcha whisk, emphasizing on the Japanese cultural aspect of the products. The focus on glocalized products is further present through one of the main links on the English homepage leading to the gotochi Kitkat range (Figure 2). The gotochi Kitkat range page on the non-Japanese website features a map of the Japanese archipelago with the location of each regional Kitkat clearly marked out along with a short description of the inspirations and cultural significance behind those products.95 This makes it very easy for foreigners who may not be very familiar with the regions of

Japan to pinpoint the origins of the products as well as making the cultural context much more approachable. The fact that the gotochi range is one of the major focus on the homepage of the non-Japanese versions of the website also shows how although this range was initially born out of the desire to provide the domestic souvenir market with more varieties, now their target audience has also shifted largely to inbound tourists as well.

94 “Kitkat in Japan”, Nestle Kitkat Japan, https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/. 95 “Kitkat in Japan – Local Kitkat ”, Nestle Kitkat Japan, https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/en/gotouchi/.

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Figure 2: Kitkat Japan’s official website, English version, gotochi range page

Meanwhile, the Japanese version of the website is much more focused on introducing new products as well as linking Kitkat products to current events. In the version of the Japanese site in

October 2019, the homepage is already advertising Kitkat for the entrance exam period at the beginning of the following year.96 Here again, we see Kitkat not simply glocalizing their products per se but also glocalizing through putting their standard products into a local tradition. The caption also explains the origins of this tradition and emphasizes Kitkat as the vehicle for sending good wishes. Moreover, in the Japanese site, there is no special page dedicated to the gotochi range as there is in the non-Japanese versions. The regional varieties are simply included in a long line- up of all products. This again shows how the glocalized products with strong cultural influence are aimed more at foreign consumers than Japanese consumers themselves.

Another piece of information which is available online from Kitkat Japan itself is press releases.

However, although the following press releases are publicly accessible to any member of the public, they are not posted on the Kitkat Japan website but rather on the central Nestle Japan

96 “Kitto, negai ga kanau - Kitkat in Japan, キット、願いがかなう[Your wish will definitely come true]”, Nestle Kitkat Japan, https://nestle.jp/brand/kit/inbound/.

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website.97 Nevertheless, since it is still accessible online and contains a lot of valuable information about the glocalized products, I decided to take them into account as well.

Over the span of twenty-two months when the data was collected, a total of sixteen press releases feature the release of new Kitkat products. Nine out of the sixteen have regional links or inspirations to them, whereas two of the nine also include a donation from part of the sales profit to help with the natural disasters in that specific area. Three out of the remaining seven feature seasonal flavours while the last four are brand new flavours with no particular regional or cultural attachments to them. This shows that, just like how it is presented across all social media accounts,

Kitkat is very focused on regional and cultural affinity as well as seasonal inspirations for their glocalized products.

All sixteen press releases are structured in the same way. A large title is followed by a large picture of the product which is often the only picture given of the product within the press release.

The contents of the main body of the text also follow an identical pattern, with a description of background information about Kitkat itself and the context or the product which Kitkat has taken on for inspirations or collaboration. A simple chart containing sales data and sales region would follow a short description about the actual product, then the article would end with a comment by the collaborator’s side and more detailed information about the company. It is interesting how all press releases are much more focused on establishing the context in which the product is developed, namely often the marriage between a globally successful brand Kitkat and a local brand with long cultural history, than describing the flavours or other characteristics of the products themselves.

There is clearly a repetitive use of certain keywords such as “tradition” (dentō 伝統), “regional speciality” (chiiki no meibutsu 地域の名物), “Japanese culture” (nihon bunka 日本文化), and

“local charm” (chiiki no meiryoku 地域の魅力) when describing the regional product and they are always juxtaposed by terms such as “overseas” (kaigai 海外), “inbound tourists” (hōnichi kankōkyaku 訪日観光客), and “foreigners” (gaikokujin 外国人) to both show off the international success of Kitkat but also always remind the readers that there is a foreign market target in mind.

97 “Press Releases プレスリリース”, Nestle Japan, https://www.nestle.co.jp/media/pressreleases.

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Moreover, when mentioning the target audience, the term is always “domestic and international”

(kokunaigai 国内外) where the domestic market is never mentioned alone even once. This shows that there is a very clear emphasis in making Kitkat a Japanese product to sell to the world. There is also a keen emphasis on Kitkat’s role as the vehicle to bring Japanese culture to the world.

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5.2 Case Study: Starbucks Coffee Japan

5.2.1 Company visions – interviews and publications

Through interviews and publications, the most noticeable company vision of both the global

Starbucks Corporation as well as Starbucks Coffee Japan is the balance between a recognizable brand image and the blending into the local landscape. In his book Onward: How Starbucks

Fought For Its Life without Losing Its Soul, the former Starbucks Corporation CEO Howard

Schultz stated, “A store in Japan that offers lattes infused with the revered sakura flower should also serve brewed coffees whose tastes visitors from the United Kingdom will recognize as

Starbucks”. 98 In a later chapter, he added “the details are about being locally relevant and respectfully reflecting the cultures our stores are operating in. Making Starbucks locally relevant without diluting the brand is crucial”.99 This shows that the company is dedicated to maintaining both sides of the same coin. The brand identity that is so universally recognized must not be diluted, yet blending into the local community and not being alienated is also very crucial to Schultz as well. It is also interesting how Schultz uses Starbucks Japan’s famous glocalized product, the sakura-infused drinks line, as an example in his explanation. This may show how globally recognized the glocalized products in Japan are.

This idea of blending into the local landscape is again reiterated in Starbucks Japan’s social impact page on their official website. Under the heading “Glocally Responsible”, it explains that

Starbucks not only aim to blend into the local area but also to respect as well as pass on the culture and skills to the next generation as well. The page explains that Starbucks Japan has the social responsibility to disseminate and share Japanese culture to the next generation, but they are going to do it with a Starbucks-esque twist. 100 Norio Adachi, Starbucks Japan’s director of corporate affairs department, emphasized the same idea in an interview with the Japan Times, stating “the key to Starbucks’ long-term success in the country has been “respect for the culture of the local

98 Schultz, Howard, and Joanne Gordon. Onward : how Starbucks fought for its life without losing its soul, John Wiley & Sons, 2011. p. 267. 99 Ibid., p.292. 100 “Glocally Responsible”, Starbucks Japan, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/socialimpact/glocallyresponsible/?nid=mm.

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community.” […] While trying to be integrated into a local community, we also try to blend in our own identity. And that creates originality”101. Therefore, it is very visible how Starbucks’ own identity and the local identity must be able to coexist and form something original in order to succeed overseas.

Lastly, Starbucks Coffee Japan also recognizes the benefits as well as the changes that social media brings. Hisae Morii, Starbucks Coffee Japan’s chief marketing officer, explains that while their physical stores are still their most preferred channel of interactions with their customers, social media platforms are their secondary port of communication. Morii stated that unlike commercials on television, customers on social media can pick and choose what to see based on what accounts they follow. In this way, information is shared through the basis of mutual understanding and trust.102 Moreover, an added benefit according to Tsutomu Kanno, Starbucks

Coffee Japan’s head of digital strategy, is that the official social media accounts are managed from within the company.103 This allows any information and interaction on the platforms to be totally controlled and monitored by the company itself with no need to be involved with an external advertising agency. This enables the company to be in full control of it media contents but while also reducing the cost of advertising products down greatly as well when compared to traditional forms of advertisement.

Whether or not this consciousness of balancing a recognizable brand image as well as blending into the local community reflects in Starbucks Coffee Japan’s social media accounts will be seen in the following section.

101 Murai, Shusuke. “For foreign companies in Japan, adapting to local culture seen as key to success”, The Japan Times, 23 August 2017, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/08/23/business/foreign-companies-japan-adapting-local- culture-seen-key-success/#.XfQhD-gzY2y. 102 Hayakawa, Takumi. “Sutābakkusu kōhī Japan CMO Morii Hisae ga kataru `CMO ga torubeki komyunikēshon to ishi kettei no handan kijun to naru 3ttsu no jiku' Hayakawa Takumi スターバックスコーヒージャパン CMO 森井久恵が語る「CMO が取るべきコミュニケーションと意思決定の判断基準となる 3 つの軸」” [Starbucks Coffee Japan’s CMO Hisae Morii’s “The 3 axes of decision making criteria and communication that CMOs should take”], Marketing Native, 29 October 2019, https://marketingnative.jp/mn15/. 103 “Sutābakkusu ga kangaeru “sutābakkusu rashisa” to ha nanika スターバックスが考える“スターバックスらしさ” とは何か”, [“Starbucks-ness” through the eyes of Starbucks], Insight for D, 21 August 2018, https://d- marketing.yahoo.co.jp/entry/20180821525192.html.

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5.2.2 Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Main Instagram Account (@starbuck_j)

Starbucks Coffee Japan’s main Instagram account was created in May 2015 and has 2.1 million followers as of October 2019. Between January 2018 and the end of October 2019, the account has posted 526 posts in total with roughly twenty-three posts per month.

Visually, the posts have a very highly stylized design where the product of interest is a part of a bigger composition featuring other objects for both flavour, seasonal and cultural cues (Appendix

4). There is a strong usage of bright and vibrant colours across most posts, combined with a visibly carefully planned composition, which makes the posts very eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing to look at. The objects which accompany the products are also self-explanatory where any viewer can understand what flavour the drinks are or what season or culture this product is placed in without the captions. Starbucks Japan also uses other visually stimulating media types on the platform such as GIFs and videos that help increases the interactive level of the posts even further.

The account also makes use of platform-specific functions such as Instagram Story where polls and other interactive functions can be added to posts which only remain visible for twenty-four hours.104 In this way, the fleetingness of the post, as well as its interactive nature, also keeps loyal followers of the brand both entertained and on their toes all the time if they want to be up to date with the products.

While visual cues on this account also circles around the theme of flavours, seasons, and culture, the posts here lean much more towards the first two categories and less on the Japanese cultural cues. For instance, a post from 2 September 2018 features the product “Caramelly Pear Ice Tea”.105

While there is a clear visual cue indicating flavour in the form of actual pears and season in the form of fallen leaves, there is nothing overtly Japanese about the post although this is a Japan- limited glocalized product. Even in products that make use of Japanese ingredients, some posts are not even focused on the Japanese cultural factor that comes with it. For instance, a post from 15

September 2018 advertises the “Crispy Sweet Potato Latte” which makes use of kenpi or

104 starbucks_j. “Halloween・Stories Highlight”, Instagram,18 October 2019, https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17978999782303325/. 105 starbucks_j. “芳醇な香りの洋梨をアイスティーでも…”, Instagram, 2 September 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BnM0DvAHTxs/.

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traditional Japanese sweet potato snack from Kochi Prefecture to give it its crunchy element.106

However, while it is very much possible to highlight the cultural origin of the ingredients, both visually and textually, there is not even a mention of the term kenpi within the post at all.107 This shows that while Starbucks may be keen on releasing glocalized products that sometimes take inspirations and elements from the local culture, they do not think that it is necessary to add a cultural narrative to their product too.

Nevertheless, another prominent element of the non-verbal cues in this account is visual suggestions of lifestyle. The account features many posts that include the portrayal of both consumers and staff of the company enjoying and serving up the drinks. Most people shown in these posts are young adults with a happy and bubbly personality, reflecting the brand image of catering to the lifestyle of young working chic adults. However, one visible change from posts in

2018 to 2019 in regards to the presence of human forms is the increase in representation of people who appears to be racially Japanese or Asian over Caucasian representations. Out of twenty-nine posts in 2018 with recognizable human faces in them, only twelve are racially Asian. In 2019, that number has reached twenty out of twenty-five are Asians. This increase in Asian, most likely

Japanese, representation may mean several things. One is that the company is not only glocalizing their products to fit the local market but it is also glocalizing its advertising on social media to show that it is more of a relatable brand, but it can also mean that there is a change in the brand identity as a cool foreign brand to a local brand that is easily accessible and personable.

While Japanese cultural cues are not a prominent part of the visual contents on Starbucks

Japan’s Instagram account, it is not totally non-existent. Instead, the cultural cues are more contained within certain drink lines, especially the drinks and products within the Japan Wonder

Project. For instance, visually, the post from 26 December 2018 announces the release of the

“Goma Goma Goma Frappuccino” and shows the drink placed on a ceramic coaster in front of a traditional-looking gold folding screen. The caption of the post explains how the black and white aesthetics of the drink takes inspiration from the New Year tradition of kakizome (書き初め) where

106 starbucks_j. ““さつまいも”のおいしさをホットでも”, Instagram, 14 September 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BnvAORHn9YK/. 107 The usage of kenpi was mentioned in the press release but not on the various posts on social media

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auspicious kanji or phrases are written in calligraphy.108 Cultural context is given through both visual and textual cues in a way that makes the drink feels like part of the culture itself as well as something interesting to purchase for its auspicious connection for the New Year. Also in the Japan

Wonder Project is the “Lemon Yogurt Frappuccino” which was released in June 2019. For the release of this product, Starbucks introduces how the practice fermentation is the key inspiration for this drink and how the process is deeply rooted in Japanese culture linguistically as well as in culinary history. This is done through a series of 6 posts titled “Starbucks Fermentation Classroom” where the linguistic and historical facts linking the drink to Japanese ingredients such as miso and natto is given along with highly eye-catching and entertaining videos as the visual factor.109 In this way, Starbucks not only puts the product into a Japanese cultural context both visually and textually, but it also goes out of its way to educate the consumers about fermentation which is emphasized to be an integral part of Japanese culinary tradition. While this integration into traditional culture is not very much present in other products, it is very apparent that Starbucks

Japan’s glocalized product within the Japan Wonder Project range is very much aimed at introducing Japanese culture to its consumers.

Textually, the length of the captions is relatively short and would include basic information about the product and some context or some initiation to try the products. The tone of the posts is also quite neutral with polite Japanese being used but not to the extent of using full keigo, making the posts sound professional yet not stiff. However, what stands out in Starbucks Japan’s captions is the usage of hashtags. Each product is assigned its own hashtag, allowing the company to track how particular drinks are performing as the same hashtags are repeated in users’ posts. Users can use the same hashtag function to filter out other posts and see posts with the same hashtags, making it easy to follow a trend and see what is popular. Over the twenty-two months of data collection, each product gets only about five to six posts on the official account. However, when tracked using the specific hashtags for each product, the initial post announcing the release of the

108 starbucks_j. “本日から #ゴマゴマゴマフラペチーノが新登場…”, Instagram, 26 December 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/Br07bnMH12M/. 109 starbucks_j. “#スターバックス発酵教室…”, Instagram, 21 June 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/By9R6Y1hDwk/.

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product gets on average over 108,000 likes and 36,900 posts are further shared with the same hashtags. This exponential number is a great indication of how products can be advertised not only through FGCs but also UGCs, yet FGCs is the key stepping stone for any product. These statistics are easily accessible by both the company and consumers and offer a good indication of how popular each product is.

5.2.3 Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Japan Wonder Project Instagram Account (@starbucks_jwp)

In addition to the main Instagram account, Starbucks Japan also runs an addition official account especially for the Japan Wonder Project. The account was established when the project was started in May 2018 and has 164 posts by the end of October 2019 and over 243,000 followers.

This rounds out to about ten posts each month, although, unlike the main account, the JWP account does not post in regular intervals. Instead, the account releases groups of posts which focus on a certain product or one certain region at a time. Products introduced on this account are both food and beverages but also crafts and ceramics from the Jimoto Made line.

As the slogan for the project is “let’s get excited about unknown Japan” (知らない日本にワク

ワクしよう), there is an overwhelming sense of bringing Japanese culture to both Japanese users and foreign users. Regional projects so far include Okinawa, Chiba, Nara, and Kanazawa, and while Kanazawa and Nara have direct connections with products within the JWP and Jimoto Made lines, Okinawa and Chiba did not have any direct products attached to them. This way, the account becomes almost more of a Japan travel account and less as a brand’s account (Appendix 5). For instance, out of twenty-three posts of the Okinawa series which were posted between July and

August of 2018, only five posts included any type of Starbucks-related object or place. Moreover, amongst these five posts, the focus is less on Starbucks as a brand but rather on how Starbucks fit into the local landscape and how it helps to keep local traditions alive. A post from 31 August 2018 features an image of two Starbucks baristas in front of the Okinawa store which has a shisa statue

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or the Ryukyuan mythical guardian lion in front.110 The caption of the post further explains how the staff at this store would greet customers in Okinawan dialect, thus helping to keep the spirit and the culture of the place alive.

As for posts which do not feature any Starbucks’ products, the focus ranges from introducing famous local spots111 and delicacies112 to educating the users on local history113 and local folklore and beliefs. A post in the Kanazawa series from 24 June 2018 introduces the local saying of “even if you forget your lunch box, do not forget your umbrella” to reflect the constant rainy weather in the area.114 This tradition clearly has nothing to do with any Starbucks products, yet it helps present the company as being a part of the regional as well as Japanese landscape as a whole for its detailed knowledge of local history and customs. This is a narration which is present through all of the posts through repetitive use of terms such as “tradition” “history” “local specialty,” while the narration usually tells a story of how these unique ancient cultures must be loved and cherished in today’s world too.

In comparison to the main account, the captions for these posts are quite lengthy and contain a lot of detail, as it is very educational. However, the tone remains the same plain polite form and does not feel stiff at all. One interesting thing is that while these contents would be highly interesting to international users as well, there is no English information on any posts. This may reflect that while there is a potential for international attention, the main target audience is still young Japanese adults who may be unfamiliar with these cultural facts. One may argue that, as

Instagram is a visual content-focused platform in any case, visual cues alone can get a lot of information across. While that is true and one can definitely take away the cultural cues from the images which accompany the posts which may help spark more interest in Japanese culture in the long run, all of the detailed facts given in the caption is lost if one does not understand Japanese.

110 starbucks_jwp. “「めんそーれ！」「スターバックス沖縄真嘉比店」に立ち寄ると、沖縄らしい挨拶が響いていました…”, Instagram, 31 August 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BnIEdIWlPLA/. 111 starbucks_jwp. “東大寺にお参りに行ってきました…”, Instagram, 9 July 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrYArVAAfT/. 112 starbucks_jwp. “活気が溢れる #近江町市場には…”, Instagram, 1 June 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BjeX4sKl30w/. 113 starbucks_jwp. “スターバックスができたこの場所は、以前までうどん屋さんがありました…”, Instagram, 18 March 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BvJRyzhAAIP/. 114 starbucks_jwp. “雨の多い金沢では「弁当忘れても傘を忘れるな」というそう…”, Instagram, 24 June 2018, https://www.instagram.com/p/BkZTYbmFMxy/.

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Moreover, unlike the main account, the JWP account does not seem to engage much with the usage of very product-specific hashtags and other functions such as Instagram Story. In this way, the overall atmosphere and message of this side account is very different from the main account. While the main account does not have overtly Japanese cultural cues and focuses on brand and lifestyle cues, the JWP is very much more focused on the Japanese context and culture, much more than the

Starbucks brand itself. It shows how Starbucks sees the benefit of glocalizing products with a strong cultural twist and improvements, they would still rather do it as a project and not reshaping the whole brand to maintain an already strong and positive brand identity.

5.2.4 Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Official Twitter Account (@Starbucks_J)

The official Twitter account was established in November 2010 and has 4.65 million followers as of October 2019. It is the social media platform with the most followers for Starbucks Japan as well as the most active platform. There were 736 posts tweeted and retweeted on the account with an average of thirty-three posts per month.

Visual contents similar to the ones on the main Instagram account can also be seen on Twitter, but they are also supplemented by more product-centric posts which resemble traditional advertising compositions (Appendix 6). 115 In addition to the more traditional advertising posts, extra posts also come in the form of quiz type posts where questions as well as answer polls are given so consumers can test out their knowledge as well as interact more actively with the brand.

Similar things are also data posts which give interesting trivia facts about Starbucks Japan such as a post from 29 March 2019 which shows a graph of stores which served up the most matcha beverages in 2018.116 As consumers these days enjoy knowing the behind-the-scenes view and statistics about the company beyond just basic information about the products, these additional posts make the company seems more open and personable. These more text-based posts also take advantage of Twitter as a platform where both visual and textual elements have about the same importance. However, the account still maintains a polite tone on this platform as well.

115 Starbucks_J. “6/19(水)から『#レモンヨーグルト発酵フラペチーノ®』がお店に登場しています…”, Twitter, 20 June 2019, https://twitter.com/Starbucks_J/status/1141530131799764992. 116 Starbucks_J. “Q：抹茶ビバレッジのオーダーが多いお店は？…”, Twitter, 28 March 2019, https://twitter.com/Starbucks_J/status/1111226625004171264.

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While the account does not interact with individual consumers, it does retweet tweets from third party news outlets that cover their products as well as tweets from companies that are engaging in collaboration with Starbucks Japan. The account also retweets from other three official side accounts, meaning that one can just follow the main account and get information in regards to the side accounts as well.117 In this way, the Twitter main account becomes the platform that has the most detailed and varied information about the brand apart from the official website. Nevertheless, the contents from the JWP Instagram account are not shared on Twitter at all, although JWP products are mentioned as other products are. In this way, there is nothing overtly Japanese about posts on the Twitter platform apart from relevant products as well.

5.2.5 Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Official Facebook Account (@StarbucksJapan)

The official Starbucks Japan account on Facebook was established in March 2011 and has 1.27 million followers as of October 2019. In the twenty-two months of data collection, there were 575 posts and an average of twenty-six posts per month. This is about the same frequency as the

Instagram account yet post types overlap more with contents available on Twitter. These overlapping elements are mainly the visual elements were the media contents are much more product-centric than products making up a part of a larger composition as seen on Instagram

(Appendix 7). Yet another very prominent characteristic of these product-centric posts, especially the post announcing the new release products, is that they always feature an English caption of the product’s name within the image apart from the JWP range. 118, 119 While the rest of the textual captions still remains in English, the bold and eye-catching English product name in the image itself gives the products a much more foreign and non-Japanese look. It seems that Starbucks maintains its international brand image much more on Facebook.

117 The three side accounts are @roasterytokyo (which focuses on the Nakameguro roaster branch), @StarbucksStoreJ (updates about specific stores), and @enjoystarbucksj (introduces Starbucks beverages that are sold outside the Starbucks stores). These three accounts are not very active and most of their posts are retweeted onto the main account, thus they will not be considered separately. 118 StarbucksJapan. “本日(8/30)から『#グリーンアップルジェリーフラペチーノ®』『#ベイクドアップルピンクフラペチーノ®』が新登場しています…”, Facebook, 30 August 2019, https://www.facebook.com/StarbucksJapan/photos/a.1397891993621681/2386934068050797/?type=3&theater. 119 StarbucksJapan. “10/1(月)から「#クリーミーパンプキンフラペチーノ®/ミルク」が新登場！…”, Facebook, 25 September 2018, https://www.facebook.com/StarbucksJapan/photos/a.124846870926206/1845486632195546/?type=3&theater.

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Apart from this more foreign-oriented aspect of the captions, the contents as well as the textual elements remain almost identical to those of Twitter except that Starbucks Japan does not have side accounts on Facebook and the account does not share third party links on their page, although they do provide links to their own official website. The only other difference is there is a much higher frequency of advertisement of Starbucks Japan’s secondary services such as gift and cash cards and phone applications.120 These are not Starbuck’s main products yet are things which Starbucks offer to customers in order to make it easier to purchase at the shop and collect points and as customers become used to such services, they are more likely to come back and spend more, building a loyal customer base. In this way, although the Facebook platform does not feature as many lifestyle cues as the Instagram posts in the form of visual cues, the frequency of posts reminding users of secondary services also keep Starbucks close to way of life and lifestyle in Japan.

5.2.6 Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Official Website & Press Releases

Figure 3: Starbucks Coffee Japan Official Website; English version (left), Japanese version (right)

Starbucks Coffee Japan’s website is very visually striking with the homepage featuring an image of the newest released product in extremely vibrant colours and eye-catching captions. The panel is accompanied by a list of latest news about Starbucks as well as a list of press releases, making them even easily accessible to both news outlets and consumers alike. Further links and pages are easy to navigate, including a list of the company’s social media platforms and list of their

120 StarbucksJapan. “#スターバックスカードも秋の訪れ”, Facebook, 4 September 2019. https://www.facebook.com/StarbucksJapan/photos/a.124846870926206/2396085630468974/?type=3&theater.

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products and the online store. While the website does have an English version, it is very basic and generic with none of the eye-catching qualities and latest updates that exist on the main Japanese site (Figure 3).121 However, the main website does use a considerable amount of English captions and especially link names are all in English, thus it is not impossible for a non-Japanese speaker who can operate in English to grasp basic information from both the English captions and self- explanatory visual elements. The amount of English used on the main website also gives the brand image of being an international company. While it may be a stretch to say it is implied that it is a foreign brand as the majority of textual contents on the website is still in Japanese, the mix of

Japanese and English does come off as an internationally-conscious brand.

Within the range of Japan Wonder Project and Jimoto Made products, the website also has specific pages that introduce both the visions behind the project as well as the products in detail.

For instance, the top of the Japan Wonder Project page explains that the project was started because the company “wants to let more people enjoy Japanese culinary culture and their stories which are already receiving much attention around the world”.122 In the same way, the first textual content on the Jimoto Made page also explains how the series was created to honour the local areas, the craftsmen and the local people. 123 It is clear that the narrative for both projects is sharply focused on the local culture and Japanese culture as a whole and sharing it to the world through

Starbucks product. In order to increase the credibility and shows that the company really value local know-how and culture, the JWP page also contains interviews with experts in certain fields

(figure 4). For the release of the first drink in the JWP project the “Kaga Bo Hojicha”, the page features an interview with two authorities from the Ishikawa Prefecture Tea Commerce and

Industry Cooperative Association. 124 Apart from giving grounded authority, the contents of the interview again put emphasis on the target audience of the project as young Japanese adults but

121 “Starbucks Coffee Japan. English.”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/en/. 122 “JapanWonder Project 知らない日本にワクワクしよう ”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/jwp/. (trans) 123 “JIMOTO made series”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/jimoto/. 124 “Kaga bō hōjicha o manabu - JAPAN WONDER PROJECT Interview 加賀棒ほうじ茶を学ぶ。[Learn about Kaga bo Houjicha]”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/jwp/kaga_interview/.

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also recognize the international interest in Japanese product and how the product can be a gateway to experiences Japanese culture.

Figure 4: Starbucks Coffee Japan Website, JWP Project page

The press releases which are available directly on the website also reiterate the same narrative.

While the press releases deal with many new products and services among which many has nothing to do with Japanese culture directly, although the ones that do can be separated into three categories: beverages and food products, crafts, and stores’ architecture. Keywords that are used across the board over and over again are “traditions” (dentō 伝統), “Japanese culture” (nihon bunka 日本文化), “uniqueness” (tokuchō 特徴) and “history” (rekishi 歴史). In the press release of “Goma Goma Goma Frappuccino” alone, the word “Japan” was repeated twenty-two times,

“culture” nine times and “tradition” six times.125 The extensive repetition creates a narrative where the characteristics and ingredients become a representative characteristic of Japanese culture, while the product themselves become the ideal vehicle to deliver these ideas to the consumers.

The press releases also further show the commitment of Starbucks Japan to the effort of blending in and cherishing local culture also through the architecture of their physical stores. As of

October 2019, Starbucks Japan has twenty-nine “Regional Landmark Stores” which are defined as stores that are designed and built using local culture as inspiration in order to convey the

125 “Press Release プレスリリース(2018/12/18)”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, 18 December 2018, https://www.starbucks.co.jp/press_release/pr2019-2841.php.

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uniqueness to the world.126 In the twenty-two months of data collection, the press release features the six articles on the opening and other news about these stores. Examples include an article which covers the opening of the Okinawa and Kawagoe Regional Landmark branches or another which announces that three of such stores received Japan’s Good Design Awards from the

Japanese government. The articles share a common emphasis on the inspirations derived from the local architecture and craftsmanship, as well as how the stores have the potential to become a community centre, thus fitting into Starbucks’ global mission of becoming a “Third Place” for their consumers. In this way, the company can both become a part of the local Japanese landscape and expresses Japanese culture without losing its original company vision as well.

126 “Regional Landmark Store リージョナルランドマークストア”, Starbucks Coffee Japan, https://store.starbucks.co.jp/concept/.

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6. Analysis:

Given that the two brands that have an equally strong presence and success within the Japanese food industry, their approach to the glocalization of the products as well as their brand image as a whole, including how they ultimately communicate those messages across to the consumers on social media platforms share striking similarities yet also diverge from each other in many instances.

On Instagram, both Kitkat and Starbucks have a very similar approach to the composition of the visual contents with the departure from traditional advertising style where the product takes centre stage. Instead, a majority of posts take on a casual yet highly aestheticized style where they can be viewed both as a form of digital art as well as a simple advert. This visual adaptation reflects both brands’ keen awareness of the trends on the platform, especially what is popular amongst the teens and young adults who are both the major users of the platform as well as their target consumer group. While this approach may not have the same level of direct selling power compared to other platforms as it is not as product-centric, it is very effective in building a memorable and attractive brand image. With the usage of vibrant colours and quirky visual cues, both brands build an image of a cheerful and trendy outlook in the consumer’s minds. This tactic reflects Starbucks’ mission to create a memorable brand image which respects the local culture while also adding their own twist as well as Kitkat’s emphasis on the emotional value of the products. Nevertheless, while focusing on brand image, the posts on Instagram do not fail to convey crucial basic information about the products in a very effective and easy to understand way. Through the usage of accompanying visual cues, consumers can immediately grasp both basic product information like flavours but also the wider message or context the product represents such as seasons, culture, and lifestyle. These clear visual cues are also fundamental in overcoming the language barrier for international consumers. The visual cues allow the brands to convey the fundamental information about the products without alterations or additions to the textual components of the post.

These visual cues are also prominent on Twitter and Facebook, but these two platforms are also supplemented with more product-centric traditional advertisement posts as there is a much more

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equal balance between textual and visual proportions of the posts. In this way, it is clear that, unlike on Instagram where the brand image building is the number one priority, conveying more detailed information and context about the products and services is given higher importance on

Facebook and Twitter. This adaptation is a clear indication of similar mindsets shared by the two brands in regards to what works within a certain platform. Nevertheless, the type of visual cues which are used shows a split in the kind of brand-image Starbucks and Kitkat want to convey.

Seasonal and flavour cues are extensively used by both brands, but Kitkat uses a much stronger

Japanese cultural cues across all three social media platforms. These visual cues which express

Japaneseness can be divided into two main approaches. The first is the expression of Japaneseness by putting the products into Japan’s existing cultural events or occasions, showing that the products are a normal and integral part of both Japanese everyday life as well as special events.

From sports games and exam periods to the moon-viewing festival, linking the originally foreign product with the local cultural landscape helps build an emotional connection between domestic consumers and the product that extends beyond a local preference in taste. While familiarity is a crucial appeal of glocalization aiming at the domestic consumer, it is the exoticism of these glocalized products that attracts Kitkat Japan’s other main consumer group. By using the very same visual cues focusing on ones which are easily recognizable as “essentially Japanese” such as traditional tea ceremony utensils or a samurai mask, a non-Japanese product like Kitkat can also become a great Japanese souvenir to take home for foreign tourists. The key here, however, is not on authenticity but rather on the right balance between exoticism and recognisability for its foreign consumers who have been identified by Kitkat Japan as its saviour in the times of the shrinking domestic market. Images such as paper cranes and matcha bowls are used repetitively not only because they are relatable to the Japanese market but because it is appealing for its exoticism yet not too unrecognizable to a non-Japanese. Especially without any detailed English descriptions on

Kitkat Japan’s social media handles, it must rely very heavily on visual cues to appeal to its international consumers. Kitkat’s usage for cultural visual cues reflects that while Kitkat attracts its domestic consumers by integrating itself into the local everyday life and cultural context, it appeals to its foreign consumers by adhering to stereotypes to boost its exotic appeal as souvenirs.

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On the other hand, depictions of Japanese cultural cues on Starbucks’s social media platforms are kept very much within certain lines of products only. While it can be said that the JWP

Instagram account has been set up by Starbucks in order to show the brand’s commitment to sharing Japanese culture, it can be seen as Starbucks’s effort to separate their glocalization strategy into two different approaches. Through the JWP and the Jimoto Made line, Starbucks assumes an image of a brand which is dedicated to creating unique products that celebrates and share regional

Japanese tradition to the world as much as adding a Starbucks-twist to it. The combination between introducing local flavours to the well-known beverage line such as the Frappuccino makes it attractive to both locals and internationals alike, and the combination between the local craftsmanship and the already famous Starbucks mugs results in an excellent range of souvenirs for all tourists. This strategy is quite similar to Kitkat’s glocalized products, especially the gotochi varieties. However, the JWP Instagram account shows that Starbucks is willing to explore Japanese culture beyond an easily digestible surface level. Through posts that go to the extent of omitting any signs of the products and teach the followers about in-depth regional history and tradition, the

JWP account removes Starbucks from its global corporate image and places the company instead on the ground level where people can relate and learn from. This strong sense of responsibility to local areas can create an emotional response from domestic consumers to support these causes in order to protect their own cultural heritage, highlighted by these regionalisms.

Unfortunately, the in-depth approach is not as effective for a foreign audience for the same reason that Kitkat’s stereotypical cultural cues are extremely successful in getting the message across. The heavy reliance of textual descriptions in the posts renders them more or less lost without a translation. For instance, a picture of an umbrella stand would be meaningless without the caption to explain that it is expressing a special saying from Kanazawa about the rain.

Therefore, it can be said that the JWP account is much more catered to the domestic audience than an international one despite the project’s claim to bring Japanese culture to the world.

Moreover, it is interesting how the Jimoto Made line is hardly mentioned on other social media platforms while products within the JWP are given mediocre attention on the main platforms considering how much details go into the product-specific platform, webpages, and press releases.

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Furthermore, unlike Kitkat’s glocalized product line which consistently contains Japanese flavours or cultural cues across the board, Starbucks limits its usage of Japanese cultural cues very much certain product lines and projects within the company. Most of the other products released throughout the year are glocalized to be Japan-limited, yet there is not an overt emphasis on them being strictly Japanese. Even flavours like sweet potatoes that Kitkat puts a large emphasis on its traditional significance linked to autumn are not given particular cultural spins by Starbucks. The

English captions on many new releases posts, especially on Twitter and Facebook, also further remove the glocalized products away from any cultural ties. This can be seen as Starbucks’ attempt to maintain that universal and consistent brand image that Howard Schultz explained in his book.

Starbucks’ glocalization in terms of the main range of products thus is less about taking cues from old traditions and more focused on keeping the product line new exciting for the fast-moving and easily bored Japanese market.

However, it is not to say that Starbucks’ universal brand image has not been glocalized at all.

One thing that seems more prevalent in Starbucks visual media contents is the depiction people enjoying Starbucks products as a part of everyday life. The depiction of primarily young adults enjoying Starbucks’ beverages helps boost the company image as an integral part of a young and fashionable lifestyle. These depictions are a commonality in Starbucks’ campaign worldwide, but the shift in racial representation on Starbucks Japan’s social media accounts also reflects the company’s changing views on brand image. The visible increase in Asian, most likely Japanese, representation and the consequential decrease of a Caucasian one in 2019 may reflect the brand’s willingness to depart from its image as an international brand. By using people who resemble the majority of the local population, the brand not only achieves the image of a desirable lifestyle but also a more relatable one for the greater Japanese public. In this way, one can see how Starbucks’ glocalization strategy in terms of brand image aimed at the domestic consumer is less about becoming a traditional Japanese brand and more at creating an image of a modern yet relatable lifestyle. While Kitkat relies more heavily on objects and cultural events to create familiarity surrounding the brand, Starbucks creates an approachable and desirable image by showing people directly enjoying its products in their everyday life. Nevertheless, it is clear that glocalization

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aimed at the domestic consumer is less about forming an illusion of Japaneseness recognizable flavours or deep cultural legacies. It is rather building a context in which these foreign products can exist as familiar, approachable, yet also deeply desirable part of Japanese lifestyle year-round.

As discussed earlier in the literature review, visual contents are a crucial component of highly effective online marketing and all of the examples from the case studies have proven so. However, the research has also shown that the textual component can give a glimpse into the company’s narrative and goals for glocalization as well. Kitkat shows a much more recognizable fluidity and adaptability in the tone and style of language used across all three social media handles. Instagram captions are kept neutral and simple as the main focus of the platform is the visual media while the

Twitter account takes on a very personal and approachable tone in order to build a close relationship with the followers. Facebook, on the other hand, is formal and contains the most information, reflecting the older demographic of the Facebook user group and its status as the go-to platform for information as there is no word limit to any posts. This careful adaptation to suit the main users and the nature of the platform shows that direct consumer experience online is very important to Kitkat. Consumers are not only satisfied with the information they receive, but they must also be satisfied by how the message is conveyed to them. On the other hand, while Starbucks also show some adaption in terms of visual contents through the three platforms, the tone and usage of language for the brand remain very uniform. Starbucks’ consistent polite yet friendly tone shows the brand’s commitment to a consistent brand image. The lack of personal interactions online may seem stiff or rigid to Kitkat’s approach, but Starbucks has storefronts where their staff and barista can directly communicate with their customers in person; something which Kitkat does not have direct access of. The interviews with company staff have shown that the company values real-life interactions most, therefore direct online communications between staff and customers are not given top priority. Nevertheless, to make up for this lack of personal interactions online,

Starbucks instead actively uses sharable hashtags and creates a more diverse variety of media contents to engage with consumers. Specific hashtags help create an easily trending topic amongst the consumers while also allows them to monitor consumer’s reception of the products real-time.

Polls and interactive features on Twitter and Instagram Story help create functions were consumers

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can have fun while also casting their opinions directly to the brands. In this way, Starbucks still achieves an air of approachableness while maintaining its professionalism across all three platforms.

The most interesting textual element is how much the approach to the narration about

Japaneseness especially within the two companies’ press releases resembles each other. Both brands create an illusion of authenticity through the repetition of keywords such as “tradition”

“culture” and “history” to emphasize that their products are well-grounded within the Japanese landscape. While Kitkat relies more on stereotypical visual cues, when it comes to textual description, both brands focus equally on regionalism and regional identity as an integral part of what makes the products authentically Japanese. By incorporating in-depth information and interviews with the original producers or farmers of these regional products in which the brands are collaborating with or taking inspiration from, there is an added level of credibility which helps steer the image of product away from one produced by a foreign brand and one authorized by the local Japanese authority. There is also an incredible amount of narrative from both brands about social and cultural responsibility of the brand to showcase and share the unique Japanese culture to the world. As much as they are ultimately non-Japanese companies, there is no mentioning anywhere at all across their social media platforms or their press releases of their foreign status.

Instead, both brands explain themselves as brands that have a global presence and thus are the perfect vehicle to bring the wonders of Japanese culture as well as keeping it alive in Japan. Both brands use this juxtaposition between global attention and regional pride in the traditional cultural element to highlight the uniqueness of these cultural aspects that the brands have selected as being uniquely Japanese.

A surprising factor, however, is how little English is used throughout both brands’ social media platforms despite the repeated claims of the importance of international attention on their glocalized products. The only platform with full English contents is Kitkat Japan’s official website in English where the contents are also clearly tailored to meet the interest of inbound tourists.

While this lack of English may show that more can be done to boost the popularity of these products even further on an international level, it may also reflect the power of visual media

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themselves. As the interest of these products remains very high and their related social media posts still attract comments in all languages, visual content on social media platforms can be said as the vital component to help the brands overcome the language barrier. Moreover, it also shows the companies’ confidence that foreign-language news outlets, as well as their own consumers, will help spread the information due to the existing popularity and hype around their products. This is why UGCs are extremely beneficial in carrying the company’s message further and why effective

FGCs are crucial as a catalyst for them.

In this way, the case studies reveal that the biggest difference between Starbucks’ and Kitkat’s approach to glocalization in Japan is how much the narrative of Japaneseness plays a part in their glocalized products. Both brands continuously release new limited products all year round to feed into the Japanese market’s fast-moving currents and cash in on the preference of rarity and new products. The products also create a sense of emotional connection through timely seasonal cues and limited editions are creates the value of rarity for foreign and domestic consumers alike, driving the drive to purchase up and thus help the brands expand their target consumers to inbound tourists in the time of aging population within Japan. However, while Kitkat Japan dives deep by using Japanese cultural elements as part of the glocalization strategy across the board, Starbucks

Japan dives deep into Japanese associations but only within certain product lines. This may be caused by two main reasons.

Firstly, Starbucks clearly states that it is intent in maintaining a recognizable brand image worldwide and to completely dive into Japanese cultural cues across all products would be a compromise to this company policy. However, the reluctance to take on a new identity cannot be simply credited to the internal company’s vision but it can also be attributed to Starbucks’ already- existing brand image in the eyes of global consumers. Especially within Asia, Starbucks Coffee has become a status symbol for many young people. Its easily recognizable symbol which has become synonymous with trendy Western lifestyle and its high price range in many Asian locations has made the brand an equivalence of high-class consumption. In China, the brand charges 20% higher when compared to the living cost in the US and Europe, and the stores are often located in luxury

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shopping malls and other high-end location.127 This helps to brand to gain an even stronger image of prosperity and upward mobility. In Singapore, Starbucks image is not only linked with success and spending power but it has also become a measurement of whether or not one appears more cultured than others.128 Similar narrative is repeated across many other nations in Asia such as

South Korea and Thailand where carrying around a plastic cup with the Starbucks logo can already be a status boost. Starbucks in Japan does not carry the same weight as a status symbol nor does it charge outrageously more than their domestic counterparts. Nevertheless, the brand’s positive image linked to a trendy Western lifestyle still remains. A study from 2018 shows that Starbucks

Japan has an image of fashionable living due to its atmosphere and store design. While the local and second best-selling coffee chain Doutor reportedly has more users in their thirties to sixties and its frequent users are seen as people who do not care about brands, Starbucks’ consumers, according to the study, are mostly in their twenties and thirties and people view Starbucks’ customers as people who care about fashion and health.129 While it may not be the same level of a status symbol as in other countries, this positive image of a more desirable lifestyle for young people is not something that the brand would seek to depart from. On the other hand, Kitkat has no such brand image from abroad. Fujiya who first imported Kitkat to Japan did attempt at using its

British origins as a selling point but it was neither successful nor long-lasting. In this way, Kitkat as a brand is much more of a blank canvas capable of taking on new colours and elements while

Starbucks does not want to compromise with an already positive image.

Secondly, while both brands’ products are within the Japanese food industry, the nature of their products is quite different. Kitkat products can easily be brought home as souvenirs by inbound tourists and many do buy a vast quantity of the product, thus it is sensible to shift even their glocalized products to cater to potential foreign consumers as much as they cater to local

127 Zakkour, Michael. “Why Starbucks Succeeded In China: A Lesson For All Retailers”, Forbes, 24 August 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelzakkour/2017/08/24/why-starbucks-succeeded-in-china-a-lesson-for-all- retailers/#1e8f05497923. 128 Simon, Bryant. “The Not-So-Flat World: Exploring the Meaning of Buying at the Intersection of the Global and the Local at a Starbucks in Singapore”, Comparative American Studies an International Journal, Vol.7, No.4, 2009, https://doi.org/10.1179/147757009X12520556873691. p.328-329. 129 Sato, Makiko. “Sutābakkusu no riyōsha wa igaito tei nenshū wakai sedai ga ōku スターバックスの利用者は意外と低年収若い世代が多く” [Starbucks users are surprisingly low-income. A large proportion of young generation], Livedoor News, 2 February 2018, https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/14246660/.

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consumers. Their sales location in major souvenir shops across the country, especially their overwhelming presence in stores such as Don Quixote, inbound tourist’s go-to souvenir spot, proves its popularity as well as their accessibility as a souvenir product. In the meanwhile,

Starbucks’ beverage products are much less portable abroad, thus it is inevitable that local consumers would still make up the majority of its consumers. While its craft products such as the

Jimoto Made line or the seasonal beverage holders are a popular souvenir and inbound tourists do consume the beverages, the expenditure on those products can never rival that of local consumers or that of Kitkat products brought back as souvenirs. In this way, companies’ glocalization strategies are also limited to the nature of the product as well.

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7. Conclusion:

The examination of how Starbucks Coffee Japan and Kitkat Japan implement glocalization strategies on their products as well as advertising on social media platforms have given valuable insights into how the idea of glocalization can be applied to the Japanese market, the mechanisms of social media within marketing strategies, and how that ultimately affects the representation of

Japaneseness.

The case studies have confirmed the assumption that glocalization in Japan has not been implemented for reasons commonly found in other locations around the world. Neither are the products glocalized to meet religious or dietary requirements, nor are the extensive varieties a reflection of the attempt to conform to specific local taste preference. Instead, the less visible market opportunities, as well as challenges and consumption trends, can be seen as the driving force behind the strategy popular with many foreign MNCs in Japan.

Both Starbucks Coffee Japan and Kitkat Japan have identified that Japanese consumers value novelty and the ability to constantly sample new and improved products very highly. While such the desire for innovative products is common in the global market as well, the same level of appetite for new products from foreign MNCs within the food industry is not often seen outside

Japan. If there is no strong dietary or religious requirement that hinders the majority of the local population from consuming the product, most prominent MNCs are able to enter a local market by relying on their existing brand power and reputation. This is especially true when MNCs with origins in the West enter markets in other parts of the world where Western values are already highly regarded and looked up to. With the low profit margin per unit in the food industry, foreign

MNCs find little incentive to invest in new product development if there is no substantial cause for it. In Japan, however, this appetite for novelty has made the market too competitive for even famous foreign MNCs to rely solely on their existing reputation and product range. Without glocalization, the companies may be able to survive but they would not have reached the profit potential as they now have.

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Moreover, apart from the desire for novelty, scarcity has also been identified by the brands within the case studies as a very attractive element for Japanese consumers. This means that selling products for a limited time in a limited place is not seen as a hindrance but rather a sign of exclusivity which helps boost the value of the product. Value of location-limited products is proven through the success of regional Kitkats which are exclusively sold in the area where that specific flavour originates from. Going hand-in-hand with the very prominent omiyage culture in

Japan, the regional products have become a part of the local souvenir range by reinventing itself from a foreign product to a Japanese one and further as a regional Japanese one. This gives the products the ability to infiltrate and profit off the ritualistic gift-giving tradition present throughout

Japan. Scarcity due to location is not only effective for the local omiyage culture but it can equally boost the desirability of glocalized products for inbound tourists as well. Despite the overwhelming interest in the Japanese varieties of products overseas, most foreign MNCs have not expanded their

Japanese range to anywhere else outside Japan. Some extremely popular products such as the matcha variations have been recreated by Nestle’s local subsidiaries in a few countries, yet these products are reported to be considered by many consumers as substandard to the Japanese ones.

Therefore, by keeping the products exclusive to Japan, the products become even more coveted as the perfect souvenir for both the domestic and inbound tourists alike. Kitkat’s seasonal flavours and the endless variations of the limited edition Starbucks products are also a clear testament for the appeal of products confined by time-based availability. Many of such glocalized products do not contain any representation of Japanese flavours or culture and rely solely on their novelty and rarity for appeal, this they reinforce the idea domestic consumers can be attracted to the ability to constantly experience new things regardless of their origins.

This infinite appetite for new and innovative products has also produced a market condition in

Japan which also lends itself very well to glocalization. Identified by Nestle Japan’s CEO as the convenience store business model, consumer’s preference has resulted in a rapid turnover of products in convenience stores and now also in supermarkets and other retail situations. The profitability of novelty and scarcity appeal means that many products which remain on the shelves or in the stores for merely a few weeks can bring in enough profit to justify investment in product

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development. This fast product turnover creates an extremely fierce competition even amongst the domestic brands themselves. Moreover, while the consumer’s preference can be seen as influential to the business model, already existing laws and regulations in the Japanese market such as the lack of an excruciatingly high product release fee are also crucial in allowing such quick succession of glocalized product releases. This means that MNCs cannot simply reuse this successful strategy and expect the same results in countries where such restrictions may apply. In this way, glocalization in Japan can be seen as driven by the consumer’s desire for novelty and the value put into scarcity, but existing domestic rules and regulations have also resulted in a market condition viable for glocalization in ways which may not replicable in other countries.

Another very recognizable tactic to appeal to domestic consumers is to create a relatable and familiar context around the products. Kitkat achieves this by creating new traditions around existing events such as marketing Kitkat products as a lucky charm during the exam season or by convincing the consumers that the products are a cool alternative for special dates such as consuming white chocolate Kitkat instead of white mochi during the moon-viewing festival.

Starbucks, on the other hand, presents an image of an accessible yet desirable lifestyle especially for young people through the visual cues on their social media platforms. Both tactics show how brands appeal to local consumers by glocalizing the way in which the products are marketed rather than glocalizing the products themselves. In this way, not only specific products but rather the brand as a whole can be appealing to domestic consumers. This combination between novelty yet also familiarity and relatability are therefore essential to glocalization strategies aiming at the domestic consumer group.

Nevertheless, the endless variety of glocalized products representing and taking inspirations from Japanese culture and flavours must have valid significant origin as well. This is where the importance of potential international consumers comes in. As previously identified, the Japanese market is rapidly shrinking due to the aging population and the falling fertility rate. On the contrary,

Japan’s tourism is booming and the number of inbound tourists has been increasing every year. In this way, foreign consumers entering Japan as tourists become a natural alternative to combat the plummeting number of consumers. Inbound tourists carry with them a certain expectation of Japan

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and a desire to experience the local culture which is perceived to be unique and exotic. By creating an illusion that these glocalized products are authentically Japanese or at least contain elements that can be seen as authentically Japanese through glocalization, inbound tourists are inclined to buy them as a form of bringing a piece of Japanese culture back home.

Narratives within the press releases from both Kitkat and Starbucks are particularly helpful in shining light on the importance which brands place on the attention of foreign media and non-

Japanese consumers in the formulation of products. In many instances, specific flavours are purportedly selected for their popularity within the foreign market in recent years. Moreover, the repetitive narration of how the glocalized products are the perfect vehicle to bring Japanese culture to the world and the juxtaposition of terminologies representing the local and the global shows the hyperawareness of the brands to cater to foreign consumers as much as domestic ones.

This equal importance of the potential foreign consumers and domestic consumers which dictates glocalization strategies in Japan is a big challenge to the existing framework for the concept. Matusitz and Forrester defined glocalization as the practice in which MNCs cater and immerse themselves into the local culture and adopt new marketing techniques in order to be successful in foreign markets. The new approach to glocalization in Japan shows that glocalization is no longer simply about fitting into the local landscape. Instead, glocalization now also have the potential to create a product is unique to a specific location and yet desirable beyond the national border as well. While this definition of glocalization does not automatically apply to all current practices of glocalization across the board, it shows the potential of glocalization which may not be present when the terminology was first coined three decades ago.

The expansion of glocalization’s target consumer group can be greatly attributed the technological affordances in recent years. The case studies have clearly shown how social media is essential for glocalization strategies in serving domestic consumers as well as extending the reach to potential international consumers. Social media has greatly helped brands to break away from the physical limitations which would have otherwise kept the demands for Japan-limited glocalized products only within its national borders. Through these platforms, brands can very easily and casually share information about their products across the world. This means that while the

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physical products are still kept in Japan and thus protect their value of scarcity, information about the products can be shared and trends can be created across the platforms in order to heighten the attention on the products. In this way, the possession of knowledge but the inability to access it physically outside Japan is one way foreign MNCs intensify the demand for glocalized products as a souvenir for inbound tourists. Moreover, even within the domestic realm itself, social media platforms have allowed companies to become more in control of how they choose to present both the products and the brand image. The reduced reliance on traditional forms of advertisements such as television commercials and physical billboards not only cut costs for the companies but has also enabled advertising to become more targeted. The case studies show that companies engage on multiple platforms in different ways, not only taking advantage of the various functions unique to those platforms such as Instagram Story or polling functions on Twitter and Facebook, but brands also alter their contents to suit the major user groups on each platform. While Kitkat and Starbucks also show different approaches to how these fine alterations are carried out, it is clear that glocalization in Japan is not simply the glocalization of the products themselves but also glocalization of advertising tactics in order to create a context which suits the lifestyle and demands of the local consumers best. Social media has enabled the brands to communicate directly with the consumers as shown through Kitkat’s efforts on Twitter, and Starbuck’s constant sharing of third-party posts featuring collaborations with other brands how online communication can also connect and benefit more than one brand at a time. The ability to run multiple accounts simultaneously has also provided the brands with an opportunity to specialize even more. This provides the brands a space to compartmentalize certain glocalized projects, allows them to experiment with local culture without compromising their overall brand identity.

Throughout all strategies mentioned above, visual contents can be seen as the key to success as it is accessible to all users alike. Identified as the driving force behind online advertising in any context, visual contents are fundamental in the breaking down language barrier without the need for translation. Through the case studies, it is clear that foreign MNCs are not giving much attention to providing English translation where necessary despite their international-looking goals.

On one hand, one can see it as an area where improvement is needed, but the existing popularity of

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glocalized products and international traffic on the social media platforms are also a testament of the ability for visual contents alone to convey necessary information and attract sufficient attention.

The carefully planned visual composition is therefore crucial in communicating to both the local and global consumers without having to create tailored posts for each group.

Lastly, the case studies provided a very clear insight into how Japaneseness is represented and the major driving forces which made such representation prominent in the public sphere and mainstream media. As mentioned earlier, the existing framework of glocalization is challenged by the practices in Japan which have included potential international consumers as a major part of the target consumer group. It has also been identified that as the domestic consumer is intrigued by the appeals of novelty, scarcity and a relatable yet desirable lifestyle, the glocalization of products which takes the form of Japanese culture is often more aimed at appealing to the non-Japanese consumer group. This means that rather than considering what kind of cultural traits are relatable and appealing to the domestic consumers, brands often put a higher priority on what the foreign consumer group may see and relate to as uniquely Japanese. This need to appeal to foreign consumer’s desire to consume something unique, special, yet not completely alienating has resulted in the inevitable reliance on existing stereotypes of Japan within the glocalized products and their consequential portrayal on social media. A clear example of this is repetitive use of visual cues such as traditional tea sets and paper cranes which is already considered by many as the hallmarks of Japanese culture across all social media platforms by both Kitkat and Starbucks. The limited textual contents in English made it even more necessary for brands to rely solely on non- verbal contents in order to convey the attractive uniqueness of Japan to foreign consumers. This also means that even with projects such as Starbucks’ Japan Wonder Project which is one of the few instances where very specific and diverse cultural and historical traits are examined, only

Japanese speakers are able to fully grasped the message and goal of the project. While domestic consumers and other Japanese speakers may be able to rise above the stereotypes through additional information within the textual portion of the posts, they are still subjected to consume the same stereotypical images often present within the visual contents of the posts.

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Nonetheless, it is no surprise that these foreign MNCs would value the ability to be profitable over accurately representing each and every culture around the world. In this case, Glocalization is, at the end of the day, no more than a marketing practice and companies are under no legal or even moral obligation to do otherwise. Their strategy clearly works for the Japanese market and while many glocalized products with Japanese representation are aimed the appeal towards the foreign visitors, they still provide a form of novelty which can be said to be appealing to the domestic consumers as well. What is more notable, however, is how much these tactics performed by foreign MNCs which is defined partly for its reliance on stereotypes mimics the strategies and goals listed in the Cool Japan strategy.

Firstly, design, content, cuisine, and regions and tourism are highlighted in the Cool Japan report from 2015 as special areas of interest where Japan can promote its attractiveness and uniqueness to the world. As foreign consumers are inclined to consume glocalized varieties such as those by Starbucks and Kitkat as Japanese products rather than products by foreign MNCs, the positive images displayed through the products have aided all four sectors identified by the Cool

Japan campaign. The product packaging and visual contents of the advertisement of glocalized products often involve highly sophisticated designs that also make use of recognizable Japanese cultural cues. These images are then consumed by the international audience via social media platforms as original contents from Japan. Not to mention the fact that many of such products claim to take inspiration from Japanese ingredients and delicacies, they sometimes even give some non-Japanese their first tastes of the nation’s cuisine. And lastly, the regional variations of the products help boost the appeal of regional culture and cuisine to the rest of the country and the world. In this way, even though the glocalized products are technically not Japanese by brand ownership, they have become a fundamental access point for Japanese cuisine and Japanese culture for many outside Japan. The products have managed to solidify and combine all four sectors which are of interest in the nation branding campaign into one single product and represent them to the wider audience in a very convincing way.

Keith Dinnie explains that for a nation branding campaign to be effective, nation-brand identity, meaning the actual existing culture or traits which the government seeks to convey, and nation-

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brand image, what the consumers perceive those traits to be, must be more or less identical. In order to achieve this, an effective nation-brand communicator is necessary.130 This is the role in which the glocalized products by foreign MNCs have unintentionally fulfilled. As a souvenir, they are the vehicle in which Japanese culture is presented to many people and thus shapes people’s understanding of Japaneseness and Japanese identity. The popularity and attention on them in international media and in stores aiming at tourists in Japan is a clear testament to their success in creating a positive image for Japan and aiding the national branding campaign. Nevertheless, as much as it goes hand-in-hand with the government’s campaign, one must also keep in mind that many of such hallmarks of Japanese culture understood as Japanese have also been formulated especially to be appealing to this very specific consumer group.

Moreover, “incorporating the views of non-Japanese” is another shared strategy between the government’s Cool Japan campaign and the foreign MNCs operating in Japan. The 2015 report explicitly pinpoints the need to select and represent Japanese culture or product in a way that appeals to most international consumers. Nation branding campaign by the government is inevitably seen as a stamp for authenticity for any representation of Japanese culture. By putting first priority on the ability to appeal to the foreigners rather than on what is meaningful to Japan itself, even the government may face the same issue of perpetuating stereotypes for monetary gains just like the glocalized products. While this is not a claim that the Japanese government engages in the fabrication of culture for monetary gains, phrases such as “compiling and curate [sic] them in a way that adds value”131 present in the report show the willingness to select and repackage culture in order appeal to an international audience. In this way, the representation of Japaneseness on a global scale has become largely dictated by what is profitable on an international scale rather than what people inside Japan may associate with. With visions and goals very similar to those of foreign MNCs operating in Japan, it is no surprise that many scholars have criticized Cool Japan as being a form of cultural capitalism.

130 Dinnie (2008). p.48. 131 See n.36, p.6.

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Nevertheless, the study does not seek to define what “authentic Japaneseness” may constitute of nor does it devalue the companies’ and the government’s endeavours for the way they approach the representation of Japaneseness. Culture is never static, therefore it is almost impossible to pinpoint what authenticity is without subjecting it to the passage of time and interpretations by different groups of people. However, what is crucial here is the ability to identify who gets to decide what is included in the national narrative of Japaneseness and for what purpose. In this case, the study has shown that the representation of Japaneseness in both the Cool Japan campaign and in foreign

MNCs’ glocalized products is strongly driven by the need to appeal to the international audience for monetary gains. This, therefore, is not a representation of an individual’s values and views within the nation which has the potential to resemble but also differ greatly from the government’s narrative. However, since the corporate’s as well as the government’s visions are the most powerful and prevalent in mainstream media both domestically and internationally, Japaneseness in the minds of the greater public is fundamentally understood and defined by representations of these major social bodies.

As a result of such an outward looking approach to nation branding campaign today, it is easy to assume that Japan has progressed far from the narrow views within the discourse of

Japaneseness from just three decades ago. The importance placed on non-Japanese opinions and the focus on regionalism may be an idyllic image of inclusivity when compared to the nihonjinron narratives which preached of a singular cultural unity impossible to be understood by outsiders.

However, both visions of Japaneseness, along with all previous versions of it, ultimately serve the very same purpose of maintaining a unique Japanese identity for the survival of the nation against the rest of the world. Kokugaku school of thought took a more philosophical approach yet it still attempted to argue for Japan’s ability to be independent of Chinese influences and later from

Western ones during the Meiji period. The later aggressive turn to nationalism filled with militaristic propagandas and claims superiority was an instinctive choice for survival common in many nations during wartime. And while post-war narratives of nationalism have always been accompanied by economic factors, they have taken two very different approaches. Direct post-war narratives in the form of nihonjinron were very much inward-looking and were formulated for the

Oranand Sukhasvasti (5618A017-3)

people inside the nation looking for strong cultural foundations to build upon in times of rapid changes and economic prosperity. The current narrative of Japaneseness presented through nation branding is conversely outward-looking to make up for economic recession inside the nation.

While the approaches to nationalism and representation of national identity have changed according to the different external and internal pressures of the time, they all address the same goal of narrating the uniqueness and desirability of traits seen as essentially “Japanese”.

Through this study, we have seen how completely foreign products like chocolate and coffee are able to give a deep insight into the representation of Japaneseness in the modern era. The marketing strategies of the two products in the Japanese market have helped challenge the existing framework of glocalization and show the potential of social media as a powerful marketing tool.

Using Japan as an example, MNCs may be able to learn and tap into the potential of glocalized products and services in other nations for reasons beyond just religious and dietary requirements.

And for Japan itself, future pressures are likely to cause the nation to reformulate their approach to nation branding and what it means to be Japanese again. In the increasingly globalized world, the struggle to remain unique and true to one’s own identity is an equally challenging one.

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8. Limitations:

One limitation which this study faced is the inability to trace portions of the data from the social media platforms and the official websites within the case studies. The data from Starbucks Coffee

Japan’s official website was especially hard to gather because after the sale period of limited edition products has ended, all of the webpages containing information about the product apart from the press release are deleted from the website. These information can be easily supplemented by information on other platforms, especially from the social media platforms which seem to show a good record of most posts within the twenty-two-months’ time frame still existing. However, how the information was curated and displayed on the official website was untraceable for some products.

One other unfortunate limitation to the study was the inability to incorporate the analysis of the consumer’s interactions with FGCs and the glocalized products in general. This would have made the relationship between FGCs and UGCs much clearer and would have shown the full potential of

UGCs described in the literature review section. Analysis of consumer’s reception of glocalized products and the Cool Japan campaign would have also given great insights into how individuals may identify what Japaneseness is for them and whether or not it differs from the national and corporate narratives. However, these further points of interests have proven to be far beyond the manageable scope of the study and would make an excellent research topic for further endeavours.

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Appendix

Appendix 1: Posts from Kitkat Japan’s official Instagram account

25 June 2019: Seto Inland sea salt and Lemon Kitkat

30 August 2019: Autumn Sweet Potato Kitkat

06 March 2019: Power of Matcha Kitkat video commercial

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Appendix 2: Posts from Kitkat Japan’s Official Twitter account

02 September 2019: Halloween Special Kitkat 07 September 2019: Poll on most interesting regional Kitkat

13 September 2019: 05 August 2019: Koshien Baseball 17 October 2018: Kikyō Shingen Moon Viewing Day Kitkat Tournament Post Mochi Kitkat

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Appendix 3: Posts from Kitkat Japan’s Official Facebook account

13 September 2019: Moon Viewing Day Kitkat

06 June 2019: Family Gathering Day Kitkat

05 September 2019: Yuzu Sake Kitkat

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Appendix 4: Posts from Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Main Instagram account

02 September 2018: Caramelly Pear Ice Tea

18 October 2019: 15 September 2018: Crispy Sweet Potato Latte Halloween Poll Instagram Story

26 December 2018: Goma Goma Goma Frappuccino

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21 June 2019: Starbucks Fermentation Classroom, Day 2

Appendix 5: Posts from Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Japan Wonder Project Instagram account

31 August 2018: Starbucks Okinawa Branch

09 July 2019: Todaiji Temple, Nara Edition

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01 June 2018: Local Seafood, Okinawa Edition

18 March 2019: History of Mojikō Branch, Kitakyushu edition

24 June 2018: Sayings from Kanazawa, Kanazawa Edition

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Appendix 6: Posts from Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Official Twitter account

13 June 2018: Lemon Yogurt Hakko Frappuccino

28 March 2019: Data graph of matcha beverage consumption

21 October 2019: Quiz poll for audience participation

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Appendix 7: Posts from Starbucks Coffee Japan’s Official Facebook Account

30 August 2019: Green Apple Jelly and Baked Apple Pink Frappuccino

01 October 2018: Creamy Pumpkin Frappuccino

04 September 2019: Starbucks Seasonal Cash Cards