EXPLORE THE THEME
Brands & Business
Before you sell, give people a reason to cheer
Can a company or a product become someone’s oshi? From collaborations, stores, social media and services, we look at trust with fans and how to keep a business going.
5 articles 18 podcast episodes
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How to explore this theme
Learn the basics of fan marketing, then compare designs that succeeded and failed. On the podcast, start with Episodes 6 and 7 on how companies build fans, then move to the cases that interest you.
READ & DISCOVER
Articles and glossary terms
From the key words to real cases.
- 01Business
What Is Fan Marketing? How It Differs From Oshi-Katsu Marketing
What fan marketing means, how it differs from conventional promotion and oshi-katsu marketing, and practical steps for lasting relationships that don't burn fans out.
- 02Business
Oshi-Katsu Marketing: The Design Principles Behind Brands Fans Support, and Why Others Fail
Japan's oshi-katsu market is estimated at roughly ¥4.1 trillion. Oshi-katsu marketing basics, seven design lenses shared by brands fans support, and common failures.
- 03Business
When Oshi-Katsu Collabs Go Wrong: Case Studies in Random Goods, Sell-Outs and Sloppy Operations
Partnering with a popular IP doesn't guarantee success. Case studies of random sales, sell-outs, resale and weak operations show what to check before a collab.
- 04Business
How Big Is Japan's Oshi-Katsu Market? The Latest Data for 2026
Japan's oshi-katsu market is estimated at roughly ¥4.1 trillion, with about 19.4 million participants. The latest 2026 survey data, with sources, and how to read it.
- 05Business
In-House Oshi-Katsu: Using Fan Culture to Build Employee Engagement
In-house oshi-katsu applies fan behavior to organizations so employees can "oshi" their company and teammates. How it lifts engagement, plus small steps to try tomorrow.
PODCAST STORIES
Go deeper with the podcast
English summaries, and every episode has English subtitles.
- #63
Why Does =LOVE Keep Thriving? Rino Sashihara's "Don't Skip a Step" Strategy
How the idol group =LOVE went from small venues to two sold-out nights at the National Stadium in nine years, and what its step-by-step growth teaches.
- #60
Why Adults Fall for Chiikawa: The Working-Life Story Behind the Cute (Part 1)
How one drawing became a national character IP, why a 33-person company can move fast, and why grown-ups see their own jobs and worries in Chiikawa.
- #56
What We Learned Exhibiting at Oshi-Katsu EXPO Summer 2026
A bonus episode on our first booth at Oshi-Katsu EXPO: why we cut the message down to one idea, what we tracked, and how a trade show feeds our research.
- #53
What Is Oshi-Katsu? Why Fandom Matters in the Age of AI
A seminar-style talk on what oshi-katsu really means, how fan support has evolved, and why human warmth and trust count more as AI gets better.
- #50
100,000 Plays Across Podcast and YouTube: What One Year of Publishing Taught Us
After one year the lab passed 100,000 combined Podcast and YouTube plays. What the data on listeners, search and media roles taught us.
- #49
Disney vs. USJ: The Highs and Lows of Theme-Park Fandom
Tokyo Disney Resort and USJ both build deep immersion, but one is a world you return to and the other a world you chase. What each teaches about fan experience.
- #48
Chiikawa, Kura Sushi and Collab Backlash: What Makes a Fandom Collaboration Succeed or Backfire?
Fans notice every detail of an oshi collab. What separates a collaboration fans welcome from one that backfires, from settings and prices to random sales and scalping.
- #44
Why M!LK Took Off: Old Media's Decline and a New Fandom Marketing Strategy
M!LK's rise began on social media, not TV. How short videos, easy-to-copy dance moves and CDs turned fans into the spreaders of a hit.
- #42
Inside the J.League's 100-Year Vision: Turning a Local Team into a Lifelong Favorite
The J.League's Hundred Year Vision was built to root clubs in their towns. Record attendance, the 2026 season shift and snow-region investment through a fan's eyes.
- #35
Oshi-Katsu Trends of 2025: What the ¥3.9 Trillion Market Really Contains
The ¥3.9 trillion oshi-katsu market is a map of many ways to take part, not a quota for each fan. A look at 2025: genres, hybrid events, collabs and rest.
- #32
How COEDO and Yona Yona Ale Built Global Fanbases for Local Beer
After Japan's 1994 craft beer boom faded, COEDO and Yona Yona Ale won fans by pairing consistent quality with place, story and spaces where drinkers gather.
- #28
Starbucks and Fandom: How One of Today's Most Beloved Brands Was Built Around a Third Place
How Starbucks builds a place that is neither home nor work through small details, staff discretion and room for fans to add their own meaning.
- #25
Why Pokémon Keeps Selling: How a ¥13 Trillion IP Was Designed to Grow
How trading between friends, version differences and a rumor about Mew built Pokémon's early fandom, and how one company kept the IP consistent across media.
- #20
From Bassist to Entrepreneur: Why I Started an Oshi-Katsu Business (PQuuut Balloon Support)
Ayano Yazawa explains how a pandemic-era ban on flower stands became PQuuut, a balloon service that makes fan support visible, and how her stage years shaped it.
- #16
Reiwa-Era "New Kawaii": How FRUITS ZIPPER Went Viral
How the idol group FRUITS ZIPPER and its KAWAII LAB. project turned "cute" into something fans can join, with a 15-second chorus, sustainable care and a whole roster.
- #7
Why Do Fans Love Certain Companies? Five Corporate Fandom Strategies (Part 2)
What makes a company an oshi? Part two covers respect for the source work, consistency, real participation and special offers that do not leave fans behind.
- #6
How Companies Bring Oshi-Katsu Into Their Business: Fan Acquisition Strategies (Part 1)
Part one of our look at fan acquisition: how Yo-Ho Brewing, JR East and a karaoke chain design experiences around oshi-katsu instead of just selling merchandise.
- #1
The Power of Fandom: How Fan Psychology Drives Business
How the feeling of loving something turns into buying, sharing and joining in, and what companies can learn from the way Japanese fans support their oshi.
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