Industry Blogs, Marketing, No Point to This Post
This is not a direct follow-up on this post, it is related in terms of looking at diversity of TV anime, but it’s not about anything in particular. More just like stating the obvious, I guess. What’s the word? An observation.
I think first we need to acknowledge that the internet acts as a filter when it comes to how the average anime fan is exposed to which shows. As is, anime (and manga!) penetrates its market space in the west largely by word of mouth. I have no satisfying evidence to back up this statement, but it’s the kind of vibe I get. Well, I’ll come clean: I feel that anime marketing efforts by commercial entities, in North America, is kind of sad. It’s not to say that relying on word of mouth marketing suggests such, but sometimes it makes me wonder how anyone gets to figure out what anime or manga they should watch; if something they like even exists. When these things clearly do.
The biggest thing for anime here, outside of mainstream cable channels, is probably their presence on XBL and PSN as console gamers continue to use the internet with their consoles (and in B&M stores, but I’ll leave that sad story alone). I mean, just loosey-gooseynapkin math would say that out of the 29 or so million units in North America between the PS3 and Xbox 360, and 25% of them are online, then that means there’s a healthy 7.25 million users who will see “TV anime” ads. And it’s probably more, if we really hit the survey (considering Wii numbers are way higher and the % of online users for that is way lower, so it drops the average down by a lot).
Heh, speaking of filters on the internet…
I presume the way marketing works in the US for anime is out of some kind of microeconomic efficiency. I mean, for the most part anime “industry” here is just niche home video retailers (you know), with a growing sections in cross-media publishing (eg., Otaku USA), merchandising and retailing, and marketing and in TV production (Funimation does this nowadays too, right?). The usual ways for companies to market their wares–get the word out to sites and social networks, and on top of the pre-web-2.0 networks like conventions, anime clubs, etc–seems to be working, considering the cost and the effect. If we talk the web, ANN might be the largest player out there in terms of how much attention they own within the fan scene…a scary thought perhaps. It is also an opportunity.
I remember lamenting how there are no industry blogs not too long ago. Well, it’s like 22 real-life months ago, so 17 years in internet time? Things have changed. But I also observed that the nature of the beast brings more people with ties with traditional print publishers on to the scene than, lack of a better term, weeaboo otaku types. I mean, after all, manga is big business in Japan so it’s both a motivation and an opportunity for Japan to pour money and invest as a matter of establishing a new market for their print media, and the pre-existing comic book folks in the US definitely has taken note. After all, anime is not exactly a thing all on its own so much. America’s got its own comic and print industry already, so it’s a matter of plucking people with background in those circles. On the other hand, I really don’t know if there’s anything like that for the anime viewing types. They’re almost all simply gen-1 fans who grew up watching Robotech or Speed Racer or something. It’s not even close.
Still, so much has changed since even when I started this blog. People learned how to do marketing using newer strategy that’s more adapt to spreading the ideas to fan enclaves, on the net and through social gatherings. The same mechanism that empowers the countless other niches and fan groups on the internet finally is flipped “ON” and anime flows through these series of tubes like blood through veins.
And thankfully the legal landscape hasn’t cemented enough–a certain lawless but productive, enterprising spirit keeps this fan machina going strong. We can get away with a fansubber here and a Crunchyroll there, and it’s probably the best compromise for everyone. Who knows what the future hold?
On the other hand, I really don’t know if there’s anything like that for the anime viewing types. They’re almost all simply gen-1 fans who grew up watching Robotech or Speed Racer or something. It’s not even close.
This is actually a pretty interesting observation, as for the most part it’s true of the US anime enthusiast culture which has only really taken off in the last ten years or so, wheras Japan is into its second or even third generation by now.
I think it’s a matter of age. If you’re in your 30s-40s, odds are you’re not a second-gen fan, simply because you didn’t watch Pokemon as your gateway drug.