Some brands have it, and some never will. I’m not talking about vogue, coolness, or even trends. I’m talking about otaku, and every day that passes it feels more and more important. It’s a term I want you to learn and remember (if you’re not brushing up on your Japanese already).
“The otaku, the passionate obsessive, the information age’s embodiment of the connoisseur, more concerned with the accumulation of data than of objects, seems a natural crossover figure in today’s interface of British and Japanese cultures. I see it in the eyes of the Portobello dealers, and in the eyes of the Japanese collectors: a perfectly calm train-spotter frenzy, murderous and sublime. Understanding otaku -hood, I think, is one of the keys to understanding the culture of the web. There is something profoundly post-national about it, extra-geographic. We are all curators, in the post-modern world, whether we want to be or not.”
— Modern boys and mobile girls, April 2001 edition of The Observer
Apple have otaku by the bucketload.
So do Starbucks, Nike, Marlboro, Red Bull and Ikea.
Sure, a lot of people out there just buy a computer as a means to an end, many just want a coffee - fast, and hot, and others just want some trainers to hit the treadmill in. But that’s not what makes these brands who they are. They aren’t in the game of functionalist superiority, convenience, and competitive discounting. No, they charge a premium for their products because their customers love them and are happy to pay. In fact I’d bet they could charge another third on top of their existing prices without many of their customers shying away from a purchase.
It’s an obsessive relationship that makes us buy Nike over an unknown brand that may even be superior in every way.
Some non-profit brands like Linux have huge otaku too, charities like Amnesty International have deeply entrenched followers, but so too, do Jeremy Kyle, Eastenders and Big Brother.
In fact, otaku, in my opinion has very little to do with the brand itself, it’s quality, or it’s size at all. Many people are obsessive about cooking brownies, compulsive about running marathons, or utterly driven to spray graffiti in the streets.
On the other hand, some things will never have otaku.
No matter how hard they try, Lemsip will never have otaku. Nor will Carphone Warehouse, or One-Stop convenience stores.
Otaku just isn’t applicable to every sector. You can’t be passionate about lemon flavoured painkilling drinks. You can be passionate about being healthy, about getting to work on time, about being at the top of your game - but noone is ‘into’ Lemsip. No matter how prominently they say it, how many free packs of fizzy tablets they give away in competitions, or how many of their TV ads shove it down my throat - I will never find Lemsip on Facebook and Like them. A national TV campaign contributing to only 85,000 likes is fairly disastrous in my books, and I will bet my last pound coin that none of those 85,000 people will ever camp overnight outside of their pharmacy to be first in line for a Lemsip product launch the following morning.
In contrast, Freshome - a rather good interiors and architecture blog, is sitting pretty at 224,000 Likes. Guess what? Interior design is an otaku goldmine.
No, Lemsip has no otaku, and it never will. People will continue to buy it for other reasons, without feeling an obsession.
If you’ve read this far along in this post then I’ll leave you with a few learnings…
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If you can, pick otaku
If you’re thinking of starting out a business, then consider picking something that has otaku. Often, when you’re very passionate about something, you’ll stumble across other people who feel that same way as you - even more now that we have such developed social media networks. -
No otaku? No problem, just don’t expect social rocket fuel
If you already own a business, or are involved in the marketing of a business, which is lacking somewhat down in the otaku region - or even is a total otaku blackhole like Lemsip, then my best advice is to stay away from social media. At best, you’ll face an uphill struggle. At worst, you’ll incite a lot of profanity. -
Got otaku? Make it dance
If your business is in a sector that oozes with otaku, that defines the very term itself, or commands legions of obsessive-compulsive fans, then make it do the hard work for you. Build relationships with fans, talk to them, love them back - not just on Twitter and Facebook but in the real world too.
Have a fantastic day, and whatever you’re obsessive about yourself - go out enjoy it, you deserve to!
