Because they seem to get marketing right.

Here’s a tip for all you marketers: if you want to really get good at content creation, go study how the Japanese do it.

I’m serious. If there is one group of people that truly knows how to connect and sell to customers, it’s the Japanese.

I should know — after all, I’ve worked for a Japanese MNC for the majority of my years in marketing, and I’ve had the honor of being mentored by some of the greatest brains in the industry.

And one thing’s for sure about the Japanese: they don’t mess around with their marketing.

Under their guidance, I’ve been able to learn at a much faster rate than most peers in my industry and also been able to execute things at an incredibly high standard.

So, what exactly do this country’s marketers do that is so wildly different—and of a greater level—than other places?

Here are four of the biggest takeaways that I have distilled from the best Japanese marketers and brands:

Disclaimer: The following points are based on my personal observations and opinions. Do review them objectively.

1. They Have Incredibly Intricate Processes

One thing that sets the Japanese apart from other places’ way of working is that they hold ridiculously high standards for how they break down their marketing processes.

I’ll give you an example.

In many Japanese corporations, it’s a must to implement the infamous Double Diamond Design Thinking theory in all of your marketing campaigns.

Okay, you go. That already sounds heavy.

Oh, but it gets better.

Simply put, the Double Diamond Design Thinking theory is an intricate process in which the purpose is for you to craft a well-thought-out and elaborate marketing strategy for yourself.

I won’t get into too much detail, but essentially there are four stages:

1. Discover: here’s where things are just open- you can brainstorm whatever ideas you can think of pertaining to your campaign, and you should not be limiting yourself
2. Define: This is where you narrow down your ideas to ones that are more aligned with your campaign
3. Develop: This is where it gets tricky. You’ll need to take your chosen ideas and then expand them to credible, structured strategies that you’ll then apply to the final step.
4. Deliver: This is where you’ll choose just one to two really well-developed ideas, and create full-blown marketing campaigns from them.

Sounds like a hassle?

That’s because it really is.

Factor in the fact that this has to be done for any kind of activations, be it small-scale ones or large campaigns — and you have yourself a truly challenging environment that will push you to your limits.

It’s no wonder that most Japanese marketing campaigns always come across as perfectly executed — it’s because of in-built processes like this.

2. They Know How To Deal With Heavy Competition

Ever been to a Japanese drugstore?

This is one of the most popular drugstore chains in Japan, called Don Quixote:

As you can see, the shelves are stacked to the ceiling with so many products, that you’d probably need a lifetime to count them all.

In other words, compared to Western counterparts, Japanese brands are used to dealing with heavy competition, especially in their physical retailers.

What does this mean for them?

It all comes down to the most minute of differences for them. Just take a look at one of the shelving in Don Quixote below:

In this display space alone, there are at least a dozen brands vying for the customer’s attention all at once.

And how do the brands go about managing this situation?

They produce countless small POSMs (point-of-sales materials) such as wobblers and mini televisions that can communicate their product USPs in a quick and effective manner.

Take a moment to digest that for a second.

This means that Japanese brands know that in content creation, even the smallest difference can make a huge impact in terms of their brand awareness and sales — so they do whatever they can to attain it.

And you can apply this easily to your content creation process. Sometimes it’s not about doing a full overhaul and completely revamping your content — that gets stressful, not to mention you’re not always going to be able to churn out new and original ideas.

Sometimes all you need to do is simply make minor tweaks that can still change your content for the better.

3. They Make Extremely Memorable Content That Works

It’s almost a running joke in the marketing industry that the Japanese’s sole forte is in making whacky ads.

I beg to differ. Having worked under a credible Japanese brand for years, I can safely attest that what they’re going for isn’t to be funny, but rather to be memorable.

Just take a look at this incredibly comical Japanese ad for a board game:

The ad takes the viewers through a roller coaster of plot twists and emotions, only to reveal at the end that it’s a fun board game that educates about jobs in the working world.

The level of detail and dedication that goes into making (say it with me again) memorable ads is what differentiates the Japanese from other sources.

For a lot of other brands, they stick to simple and safe elements like celebrity endorsements and eye-catching visuals.

But not the Japanese — their goal is to make an impact, and that’s how they get their customers to not only connect with them but remember them in their points of purchase.

Do remember this next time you create content — it’s not about what you show that’s important, it’s how your ad makes them feel and remember you.

4. They’re Perfectionists

Now normally, I am not an advocate for being too perfect especially when it comes to content creation, simply because it’s a high standard to maintain and it can lead to burnout.

But this applies to newer marketers. More often than not, I see newcomers who do not take the time and effort to check and review their quality of work.

If you’re an extremely experienced marketer, sure — you can get away with that sometimes (although still highly discouraged).

However, if you’re new, it’s best that you hold yourself to an incredibly high standard of work.

That’s when the Japanese come in: they’re known to be advocates for perfectionism.

God knows how many endless hours I’ve spent with them perusing the same copy over and over again, just trying to nail down that one single word that fits the context at hand perfectly.

Sure at the start, this can come across as extremely exhausting and discouraging.

But over time, one will grow to appreciate that standards in content creation are everything — and it will truly help you be better in the long run.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these four points will give you a good starting point on how you can step up your content creation game.

Use them simply as mental guides on how to approach any future content that you may create.

But remember, the Japanese are just one source of inspiration — there are plenty of other sources and groups of people that we can also learn from.