Whitebook
Whitebook featured in "FUYU MAGAZINE" (publication for the luxury market)" in the NIKKEI SHINMUN. Following is an excerpt.
Breaking into the Existing Market by Emphasizing Exceptionality
“I recently saw the Whitebook in the waiting room at the hospital and wonder how I can receive a copy…?”
Ms. Naoko Akasaka, project coordinator of the quarterly publication Whitebook, receives such inquiries frequently. Each time, she apologizes and responds that she is unable to provide the book directly.
The whitebook features in-depth stories about luxury brands as well as original editorial about art, cuisine, and social issues featuring artistic photography and printed on high quality paper. It is published by Ad-comm Group (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), where Ms. Akasaka is an employee. The 20,000 issues per year, however, are distributed to the nine “partner companies” to be delivered to their loyal customers, or else displayed in their showrooms.
he book’s “partner companies” in Japan are leading luxury brands each with exclusivity in their respective categories, such as automotive, hotel, and jewelry & watches, for a total of nine brands.
For VIP readers that receive two or more books from different brands, and wish to receive just one, there is a memo in the book that reads “Please contact the following number if you do not wish to receive more than one book.” The book’s content consists of in-depth stories of each brand’s history etc., not mere advertisements.
(Omitted)
Such companies particularly emphasize events in their marketing efforts. By inviting their loyal customers to brand shop openings or parties at the embassy, for example, they are able to express their “exceptionality.” In 2004, the whitebook held a christmas party at a TV studio located in central Tokyo. A famous actor served as MC and a renowned chef prepared the evening’s cuisine, with other attractions including a first-class opera singer. The party’s finale was a charity auction featuring rare items donated by the participating companies. The total sales of over 10 million yen were equally divided among the 4 charity organizations featured in the whitebook in 2004.