Hasta La Gadget!

Japanese marketing has long had the concept of おまけ (”o-ma-ke”), a small extra or incentive for the consumer. Typically this free gift has been a small toy or item that came along with a purchase, common with drinks products. We recently blogged about the free Mario models that came with some Boss canned coffee.

As fashion magazines face falling readerships they are turning to the “omake” as their new weapon to generate sales. No longer is an “omake” just a small extra thing; now consumers get brand items for the price of the magazine. Kitson and Emilio Pucci are just some of the major brands being given away with every issue.

One magazine in particular, Sweet, has seen its circulation soar to 700k and become the biggest selling fashion title mainly due to its successful and aggressive brand “omake” policy. Putting aside the cost of giving away a brand item to every reader every month, what is interesting is how Sweet has acquired new consumers by offering such incentives that they want to buy the magazine just for the brand product. Ultimately, the “omake”, the extra bit, is the magazine itself!

We have previously reported on similar trends with tobacco in Japan and some of the unusual corporate co-branding happening in that industry. Consumers purchase the packet of cigarettes and get not just a free practical item like a lighter, but they sometimes also receive real brand products. The collaborations with Lark and Dress Camp back in 2007 were particularly impressive, and the more recent tie-up with woman’s tobacco Virginia Slims and Gamble Fish worked well.

This partnership between famous brands and major magazines is a logical development of the “omake” trend in the fashion industry, one that is showing no signs of abating. Every Japanese convenience store’s magazine rack is lined with titles wrapped in the distinctive binding that keeps the bag or accessory tightly in place between the pages, upon purchasing ready to be extracted by the content consumer.

What type of product will be next to adopt the brand “omake” weapon?