70%+ Favorability Boost from Oshi Collabs & Suisei’s Agency Launch (Weekly Oshi News: Apr 3, 2026)

Here is our roundup of the most notable corporate oshikatsu (fan support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of March 27 to April 2, 2026.

This Week’s Highlights

The keyword for this week was co-creation with fans.

In a 1,000-person survey conducted by iBridge, the active participation rate in oshikatsu stood at 30.0%. According to estimates from the Oshikatsu Research Institute (Oshikatsu Soken), the overall market size had reached approximately 4.1 trillion yen. While direct purchase intent for collaborative merchandise remained just over 40%, more than 70% of respondents said their favorability toward a company “increases” when it collaborates with their oshi (favorite idol, character, or creator).

There were also significant policy developments. On March 27, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) outlined a draft revision for its content industry strategy built around the goal of “tripling sales and tripling investment.” Related government budgets were also slated to more than double, expanding from 25.2 billion yen to 58.9 billion yen. On March 31, MUFG Bank announced that it had been selected as the operating partner for a METI project aimed at building a financing environment for live-action film and anime production. Meanwhile, on March 22, VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei announced the establishment of her personal agency, “Studio STELLAR,” accompanied by a major out-of-home advertising takeover in front of Shibuya’s Hachiko Square.

DIAGRAMKey Figures from This Week’s Oshikatsu Market & Policy News

30.0%: Share of respondents actively practicing oshikatsu in iBridge’s 1,000-person survey
Approx. 4.1T yen: Estimated domestic oshikatsu market size (Oshikatsu Soken, Jan 2026)
Over 70%: Share of fans whose favorability toward a company rises after an oshi collaboration
58.9B yen: Planned government content-related budget under METI’s revised strategy

Source: The Oshi Lab’s summary of iBridge and METI announcements

Surveys and Tools Back Up the Effectiveness of Oshikatsu Marketing

iBridge — 30% Practice Oshikatsu, and Over 70% Report Higher Brand Favorability from Corporate Collabs

On February 27, 2026, iBridge conducted a survey on the current state of oshikatsu using its in-house online survey tool “Freeasy.” The survey covered 1,000 men and women aged 15 and older. Exactly 30.0% of respondents reported actively engaging in oshikatsu, surpassing the 16.0% threshold known as the “chasm” in diffusion of innovations theory. According to a January 2026 survey by the Oshikatsu Research Institute (Oshikatsu Soken), the market size stood at approximately 4.1 trillion yen, approaching the scale of Japan’s domestic soft drink market (approximately 4.7 trillion yen). While intent to purchase collaborative merchandise remained just over 40%, more than 70% of respondents answered that their favorability toward a company “increases” when it collaborates with their oshi, and 60% reported having made a purchase motivated by their oshi (PR TIMES (in Japanese)).

For average monthly oshikatsu spending, the majority spent less than 10,000 yen per month, while roughly one in four respondents spent more than 10,000 yen every month.

The Oshi Lab’s Note: An active participation rate of 30% shows that oshikatsu has evolved from a niche hobby into an everyday consumer spending habit. Notably, the rise in corporate favorability (over 70%) significantly exceeded direct purchase intent for collaborative products (just over 40%). Before deciding whether or not to buy a specific item, fans first evaluate how they view the company itself. Designing oshikatsu collaborations as medium- to long-term brand favorability initiatives rather than purely short-term sales promotions makes it much easier to measure their true effectiveness.

Excite’s “FanGrowth” — The Mindset of Nurturing Fans Spreads to B2B Lead Generation

On April 2, Excite published a case study featuring Fan Marketing Inc., a company that implemented Excite’s webinar support service “FanGrowth.” To break away from relying solely on referrals and word-of-mouth for client acquisition, Fan Marketing launched a webinar initiative starting from an in-house mailing list of nearly zero. By designing a “backcast roadmap” dividing a single year into four distinct phases and utilizing FanGrowth for co-host partner outreach and operational support, the company achieved more than 10,000 annual leads within one year of implementation (PR TIMES (in Japanese)).

Fan Marketing operates under the mission of “nurturing corporate fans” and positions its hands-on, closely aligned client accompaniment style as its core strength.

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The word “fan” is beginning to take root in B2B new client acquisition as well. The key takeaway here is the transition from person-dependent customer acquisition—such as referrals and word-of-mouth—to a reproducible system built around webinars. At their core, the mindset of nurturing fans in the oshikatsu market and the mindset of nurturing leads in corporate B2B sales share the exact same roots. How to visualize and cultivate fans has become a shared management challenge not only for entertainment companies, but also for businesses offering corporate services.

Corporate PR Teams Adopt Internet-Born Fan Culture Etiquette

The “shiru-katsu” boom—the fan practice of collecting stickers, decorating items with them, and showing them off on social media—has spread to official corporate accounts. A designer known as “Mato” released a prompt for Google Gemini that went viral for transforming X (formerly Twitter) profile pictures into the style of glossy, three-dimensional “Bonbon Drop Stickers.” Official accounts including Google Japan, Kibun Foods, Nakano Bussan’s “Miyako Konbu,” Mizkan, and Torikizoku’s official mascot character “Toricky” reacted one after another, converting their own profile images into sticker-style graphics and posting them online. Strong popularity among children also underpins the trend: in a survey published by Nifty on February 26 (2,484 respondents), more than 70% of elementary school students answered that they were currently “hooked on” collecting stickers (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The catalyst behind the corporate wave was an independent freelance designer with approximately 60,000 followers.

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The crucial point is that each company created a touchpoint with fans using a single image without spending any advertising budget—and what is more, the trend was sparked by an individual designer rather than a corporate agency. The viral momentum continued precisely because official corporate accounts quickly adopted a format created by an individual user. In social-media-era public relations, whether a team has the operational agility to respond within 24 hours to an emerging fan format makes all the difference.

Hoshimachi Suisei — Establishes Personal Agency “Studio STELLAR” and Takes Over Shibuya

During a livestream on March 22, VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei announced the establishment of her personal agency, “Studio STELLAR,” and held a press briefing for media outlets the following day on March 23. Suisei’s YouTube channel had surpassed 2.8 million subscribers; she debuted in 2018 and has been active as part of hololive since 2019. In Shibuya, she rolled out an advertising takeover across the large-scale digital screens in front of JR Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Square. Television announcer Takahiko Fujii served as the MC for the press briefing. Sota Osawa of NERD, who directed the event’s production, stated, “I felt we needed an ‘experiential space’ that actively involved everyone from the media.” For individual one-on-one interviews, Osawa adopted a setup where reporters sat right next to Suisei to conduct their interviews (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

Suisei also stated that her next major goal is to hold a solo concert at Tokyo Dome.

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What makes this fascinating is how the production team worked backward from the premise that a VTuber holding a formal press conference is itself unusual. By pulling journalists directly into the “experience,” the event turned the boundary between virtual and real into a talking point of its own. Announcing the creation of a personal agency is often a defensive PR moment focused on explaining organizational logistics. Turning that occasion into an offensive advertising campaign through a Shibuya takeover is a strategic design that can be applied across talent management as a whole.

Municipalities and Sports Organizations Use Oshikatsu Practices to Build Touchpoints

JFA — Launches SAMURAI BLUE POP UP in Shibuya and Holds Special Class for Students

On March 25, the Japan Football Association (JFA) kicked off the “SAMURAI BLUE POP UP” at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya, Tokyo—a limited-time event supporting Japan’s men’s national soccer team. As an opening program, the JFA held a special talk event titled “SAMURAI BLUE OPEN CAMPUS” for high school, university, vocational school, and junior college students. The JFA recruited applicants through its official app, “JFA Passport,” selecting approximately 20 participants by lottery. Former Japan national team player Michihiro Yasuda served as the instructor, while Ruki Shiroiwa and Takeru Goto from “JI BLUE”—the official ambassadors for the “The Best View 2026” project—took the stage in the role of students (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The key point here is how the JFA linked a national property like Japan’s national soccer team directly with membership data inside its official app. By limiting lottery eligibility to students and keeping the group size down to roughly 20 people, the event became a special “chosen” experience for everyone who attended. Intimate, high-density experiences for small groups tend to stay in fans’ memories far longer than massive crowd turnouts. When local governments or public organizations borrow techniques from oshikatsu culture, consciously choosing not to chase sheer scale offers a valuable blueprint.

Shizuoka Financial Group — Appoints Former National Team Captain Makoto Hasebe as Brand Partner

On April 1, Shizuoka Financial Group (SFG), which holds Shizuoka Bank as its core subsidiary, appointed Shizuoka Prefecture native and former Japan national soccer team player Makoto Hasebe as its brand partner. Alongside the appointment, SFG began airing a new television commercial titled “KICK OFF your future.” (Dialogue Edition). Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1984, Hasebe captained Japan’s national team across three FIFA World Cup tournaments before retiring from active play in 2024. This campaign was linked with SFG’s second medium-term management plan, “Xover2.0,” which launched in April 2026. In the commercial, SFG President Hisashi Shibata and Hasebe discussed Shizuoka, taking on new challenges, and the future (PR TIMES (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: What stands out is how a regional banking group placed its corporate posture and connection to the local community front and center, rather than pushing individual financial products. Hasebe’s personal trajectory—stepping out from Shizuoka onto the world stage and continuing to take on new challenges as a coach after retirement—overlaps naturally with SFG’s brand promise, “Becoming the place where the future begins.” When financial institutions partner with athletes, persuasiveness depends far less on raw name recognition than on whether the athlete’s real career arc aligns with the brand’s narrative.

hololive × Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) — VTubers Appear at Stadium for 60th Anniversary of Japan–Singapore Diplomatic Relations

On February 16, organizers announced a special event titled “hololive production Special Day with Albirex Niigata FC (S)” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Singapore. Scheduled for May 16 at Jurong East Stadium in Singapore, the event was timed to coincide with the Singapore Premier League match between Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) and the Young Lions. Scheduled appearances included Sakura Miko and Omaru Polka from hololive, Kobo Kanaeru from hololive Indonesia, and Mori Calliope from hololive English. The day’s program was slated to feature special video screenings on the stadium’s large screen, a halftime performance, and sales of collaborative merchandise including replica jerseys illustrated with the participating talents (Mogura VR (in Japanese), STRAIGHT PRESS (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Incorporating private-sector VTuber IP into the official framework of a diplomatic anniversary is a fresh approach. Separate from match broadcasting rights or standard stadium entertainment, multilingual virtual talents function here as cultural bridges. When a sports club wants to expand its fan base overseas, teaming up with IP that already commands strong fluency in local languages and social media culture is a viable strategic option—one that can sometimes deliver higher cost-effectiveness than running standalone paid advertising promotions.

Food Makers Turn Fan Voices into Products and Sales

Glico × Ketsumeishi — Collecting Snack “Crunch Sounds” to Remix a Song

On April 2, Ezaki Glico announced that it would launch the “Zaku-On Re-Cone-ding” campaign on April 6, a participatory project collecting the crunchy sound (“zaku-on”) fans make when biting into a Giant Cone ice cream snack. To participate, consumers uploaded a photo of a purchase receipt dated between April 6 and June 28 along with an audio recording of their crunch sound to the campaign website. The campaign offered 20 yen worth of PayPay points for the first 390,000 valid entries, while merchandise lotteries required three or five entries depending on the prize and featured collaborative goods with hip-hop group Ketsumeishi, who are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their major-label debut. The submitted crunch sounds were to be used to create a special remix of Ketsumeishi’s song “Doushiyou mo Nai Gurai ni” (released in January), with the completed remix scheduled to be unveiled in early June (AppBank (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: This campaign takes the physical sound of eating a product—an element rarely treated as a promotional hook—and makes it the starting point for fan participation. Even better, the audio contributed by fans is woven directly into a musical remix by the artist. Fans shift from merely listening to providing the raw creative material. Once the remix is released, participants naturally want to check the track and pick up the snack again just to hear whether their own crunch made it into the song. Making participation as simple as recording a quick audio clip on a smartphone is another factor that drives sustained engagement.

A collaboration fair between Otodama Tamako, a member of the VTuber group “Aogiri High School,” and the rich back-fat ramen chain “Kotteri Ramen Naritake” ran from April 16 to May 19 across all six of the chain’s domestic locations in Chiba, Tokyo, and Fukuoka. The limited-edition collaboration dish, “Tama-chan’s All-Her-Favorites Extra-Rich Back-Fat Soy Sauce Ramen,” was priced at 1,600 yen (tax included) per bowl. The campaign also featured a special milestone challenge: if cumulative sales across all stores reached 3,000 bowls during the event period, the collaborative ramen would be added to the regular menu for approximately six months (Mogura VR (in Japanese), V-Tuber ZERO (in Japanese), viviON (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Handing the decision of whether a dish becomes a permanent menu item directly over to fans’ purchasing behavior is the core mechanism here. By publicly sharing the numerical target and the exact condition for success, every fan visits the shop with a sense of personal ownership—feeling that “my single bowl brings us one step closer to making this a regular menu item.” Most limited-time collaborations end the moment the campaign period wraps up. In this project, the shared suspense over whether the goal will be reached becomes a powerful motivation to visit during the campaign window.

Ajinomoto — Developing “aminoVITAL ONE” from Scratch with a 1,400-Member Fan Community

On April 1, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. launched its new “aminoVITAL ONE” jelly drink, a product co-developed with the “aminoVITAL Athlete Club,” the official fan community of its sports nutrition brand aminoVITAL. Founded in 2024, the community brings together more than 1,400 members who enjoy sports with a central focus on triathlons. Development involved over 100 prototyping rounds. Community members highlighted three core needs: a “sustained energy source,” “electrolyte replenishment,” and “recovery support.” Responding directly to those insights, Ajinomoto formulated the drink with 10,000 mg of amino acids—the highest concentration in the brand’s history. On March 31, the day before the general release, Ajinomoto also hosted a special fan unveiling event titled “THE NEXT” at TRUNK HOTEL ONDEN in Shibuya (PR TIMES (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: For Ajinomoto, a company with more than a century of history, stepping into full-scale “fan community co-creation” for the first time is a landmark move. Product development began with direct listening and dialogue across a 1,400-person community that even included athletes with Olympic experience. There is a vast difference in post-launch fan ownership between merely collecting opinions through a one-off survey and building a product from zero alongside a dedicated community. Choosing co-creation following the aminoVITAL brand’s 30th anniversary in 2025 is also an investment in the brand’s next 30 years.

DIAGRAMThree Models of Fan Co-Creation and Long-Term Asset Building in This Issue

Participatory Product & Content Co-Creation

Ajinomoto: Co-developed aminoVITAL ONE across 100+ prototypes with a 1,400-member athlete community
Ezaki Glico × Ketsumeishi: Announced a campaign to collect fan recordings of Giant Cone crunch sounds to remix an official track
Naritake Ramen × Aogiri High School: Set a public 3,000-bowl goal to unlock a six-month regular menu spot

Experiential & Digital Venue Design

JFA: Used JFA Passport app lottery to host an intimate 20-student class at MIYASHITA PARK
ANYCOLOR: Turned Seibu Shibuya Department Store space into an advance-lottery pop-up showcase
SHIBUYA109: Recreated its real-world store interior inside Roblox with over 500 fashion items

Multi-Decade IP & Financial Infrastructure

Daikin: Nurtured Pichon-kun over 26 years and celebrated 10 years of Osaka’s giant LED signboard
Tachikawa Bus: Moved from 19 years of licensed character wraps to debuting its own original mascot
METI × MUFG Bank: Building valuation and completion guarantee frameworks for film and anime finance

Source: The Oshi Lab’s analysis of the week’s corporate announcements

Commercial Facilities and Retailers Build Store Foot Traffic Through IP and the Metaverse

On March 30, ANYCOLOR Inc. announced “NIJISANJI New Life POPUP ~~Semeyon & VOLTACTION~~,” a pop-up store featuring talents from its VTuber group NIJISANJI. Scheduled to run from April 7 to May 10 on the third floor of Building B at the Seibu Shibuya department store, the event was announced with original merchandise sales, purchase-amount bonus novelties, and venue-exclusive exhibits and photo spots. While admission was free, entry required a numbered ticket, with same-day admission possible subject to availability and advance lottery applications accepted from 6:30 p.m. on March 30 through 11:59 p.m. on April 2 (eeo (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Operating a corner of a traditional department store as a lottery-entry event venue is a notable approach. Even though admission is free, requiring numbered tickets allows organizers to manage crowd congestion while simultaneously creating a sense of scarcity through limited entry slots. For the department store, this brings in customer demographics that standard retail floors struggle to attract, even if only for a limited period. Rather than simply leasing out tenant floor space, department stores and IP holders are increasingly co-designing customer-drawing events together.

SHIBUYA109 — Launches Competitive Fashion Game on Roblox

On March 31, SHIBUYA109 Entertainment launched an original game titled FASHION RUNWAY SHIBUYA109 on the online gaming platform Roblox. Set in a virtual space faithfully recreating the streets of Shibuya and the interior of the flagship SHIBUYA109 Shibuya store, the game challenges players to put together outfits matching specific fashion themes and compete for high scores through a runway rhythm game, peer evaluations from other players, and AI grading. More than 500 virtual fashion items were prepared for launch, and players who earned a certain number of points gained access to the exclusive “SHIBUYA109 VIP Room.” The game was made available to play for free (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Turning the physical interior of a real-world shopping building directly into a game stage is the core insight here. By having players compete to assemble the best outfit in a virtual replica of the building, visitors naturally memorize which floors house what kinds of fashion brands while they play. SHIBUYA109 Entertainment recreated its flagship store right on a platform where young consumers are already spending their free time. Rather than buying ad slots urging people to visit the store, this design turns the time players spend in the game into an advertisement itself.

Why Long-Running Mascot Characters Remain the Face of Their Companies

Daikin — 26 Years Since the Birth of “Pichon-kun” and 10th Anniversary of Its Giant Digital Signage

Daikin Industries’ mascot character “Pichon-kun” was born in the spring of 2000 as the promotional character for the company’s “Ururu Sarara” residential room air conditioner. At the time, while Daikin held a high market share in commercial air conditioning systems, it faced low brand recognition among younger consumers and women—a challenge Pichon-kun was created to overcome. On March 16, “Dai-Pichon-kun” (Big Pichon-kun), the massive 13-meter-tall by 11-meter-wide LED billboard installed in Umeda, Osaka, marked the 10th anniversary of its illumination. To celebrate the milestone, Daikin rolled out a wide range of initiatives, including a public call for new display designs, screenings of special animations, and a cross-industry collaboration with UNIQLO UMEDA (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: It is important to recognize that Daikin spent 26 years nurturing Pichon-kun from a promotional mascot for a single appliance into a local landmark described as part of the city’s “environmental infrastructure.” Unlike short-lived campaign characters, Pichon-kun steadily built a presence beyond standard advertising slots through merchandise lines and even a CD debut. Collaborating with a different industry player like UNIQLO for the signboard’s 10th anniversary was likewise aimed at reaching audiences Daikin could not connect with on its own. A corporate character is a long-term asset, and cultivating one requires not just an advertising budget, but years of consistent commitment.

Tachikawa Bus — New Official Character “Nyachikawa-san” Debuts at Company Entrance Ceremony

On April 1, Tachikawa Bus held its entrance ceremony for new employees at its Fussa Sales Office, where it unveiled its new official character, “Nyachikawa-san”—created by San-X—for the first time as one of the incoming new hires. Nyachikawa-san marks the first comprehensive production case handled by “Chara-Pro Friends,” San-X’s corporate character development project. Beyond initial concept planning and visual design, Chara-Pro Friends oversaw end-to-end production including PR strategy design, website creation, and exterior livery design for electric route buses. Tachikawa Bus had previously operated wrapped buses featuring San-X’s “Rilakkuma” and “Sumikkogurashi” continuously since 2007 (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Moving from running wrapped buses featuring licensed third-party IP to developing an original corporate mascot marks a strategic turning point. While borrowing another company’s IP lets a business tap into existing awareness, the intellectual property rights never remain with the operator. After spending roughly 19 years since 2007 verifying how well character initiatives resonate with passengers, Tachikawa Bus is now investing in an original character created for the company. For regional transit operators, this case demonstrates that a character is not just a temporary promotional flyer, but a brand asset that can be cultivated over the long term.

Policy Makers and Electronics Manufacturers Move to Build Content and VR Industry Infrastructure

METI & MUFG Bank — Establishing “Valuation” Methods for Film and Anime Financing

On March 31, MUFG Bank announced that it had been selected as the operating contractor for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s “Content Industry Growth Investment Support Project (Research and Study Project on Improving the Financing Environment).” According to MUFG Bank, overseas sales of Japanese-origin content reached approximately 6.0 trillion yen as of 2024, making it an export industry second in scale only to the automotive sector. At the same time, the bank pointed out that live-action films and anime in Japan have very few cases of debt-based bank financing, leaving average production budgets smaller than those of major overseas counterparts. Through this project, MUFG Bank announced it will design IP “valuation” and “completion guarantee” methodologies tailored to Japanese production realities—two pillars positioned as the foundation of “film finance” supporting large-scale productions. Across the Japanese government as a whole, content-related budgets were slated to more than double from 25.2 billion yen to 58.9 billion yen (Reuters (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: The addition of research into financing mechanisms alongside direct production subsidies represents a major inflection point in government support for the content industry. Overseas, blockbuster animated and live-action films can secure massive budget scales on the premise of structured bank loans. Because Japan has lacked standardized completion guarantees and IP valuation methods, productions have historically relied on the multi-company production committee (seisaku iinkai) system to spread risk. Once these financial appraisal methods are established, the possibility of raising capital using an individual IP itself as collateral expands significantly—giving content-holding companies a broader set of financing options.

Sharp — Casts Miki Hoshii for “Xrostella VR1” VR Glasses and Launches Crowdfunding Campaign

On March 27, Sharp launched a crowdfunding campaign on the “GREEN FUNDING” platform for its “Xrostella VR1” VR glasses. Early-bird pricing started at 199,900 yen (limited to 40 units), with the funding window running through May 31. Featuring an eyeglass-style form factor weighing approximately 198 grams, the headset supports a resolution of 2,160 × 2,160 per eye, a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hz, and a 90-degree field of view. Simultaneously, Sharp opened a virtual showroom titled “SHARP Xrostella World” inside VRChat. On March 29, the company also aired a television commercial on TOKYO MX and other stations starring Miki Hoshii from THE IDOLM@STER, depicting Miki putting on the Xrostella VR1 after work to enjoy an immersive deep-sea dive (Mogura VR (in Japanese), innovaTopia (in Japanese)).

The Oshi Lab’s Note: Rolling out a crowdfunding campaign, a VRChat virtual showroom, and a television commercial starring an idol game character all at the same time is a calculated strategy. The product is a brand-new hardware device priced just under 200,000 yen. Before pitching the headset to the general public, Sharp is recruiting early backers directly from communities already familiar with VR spaces and anime characters. When consumer electronics manufacturers launch products in an entirely new category, integrating existing fan communities as their initial customer base is becoming an established playbook.

Editorial Reflections on the Week

This week was a week in which companies shifted their relationship with fans from one-way broadcasting to two-way co-creation.

Ajinomoto developed a new product from scratch alongside a 1,400-member fan community, while Glico unveiled a campaign weaving fan-recorded “crunch sounds” directly into an official song remix. Naritake Ramen shared a clear 3,000-bowl milestone condition with fans to unlock a permanent menu addition. Meanwhile, iBridge’s survey revealed that over 70% of fans experience a boost in brand favorability when a company collaborates with their oshi. Whether a business views fans simply as “people who buy things” or as “partners who build things together” fundamentally changes the shape of the touchpoints it prepares.

At the same time, METI and MUFG Bank’s financing support initiative, alongside Daikin and Tachikawa Bus’s character development efforts, speak to a much longer time horizon. Daikin spent 26 years nurturing “Pichon-kun,” and Tachikawa Bus is investing in an original character of its own after 19 years of operating licensed character wrap buses. What both companies share is a refusal to let their initiatives end as one-off campaigns. If either the immediate momentum of fan co-creation or the long-term sustainability of asset building is missing, oshikatsu marketing cannot endure.

As you consider how your own organization engages with its fans, we encourage you to review this week’s developments alongside our guides to the Design Principles of Oshikatsu Marketing and the Fundamentals of Fan Marketing.

Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a curated weekly roundup of the intersection between oshikatsu and business. You can browse past issues anytime in our Oshikatsu × News category.