Grow Your Newspaper Fanbase! (1) Boost Your Girl Power! Winter School Festival for Girls

~Newspaper Companies Are Now Launching Such Unique Projects~

Today, the communication domain of newspaper media is expanding beyond the confines of print pages, driven by free-thinking ideas. Initiatives targeting entirely new audiences and innovative reader engagement activities using unprecedented methods are flourishing. In this column, "Shinbun!", we pick one unique example from each of the five major national newspapers among these new movements by newspaper companies and interview the person in charge. We'll deliver this for five consecutive weeks!

Growing Newspaper Fans (1)

Collaborating Glamorously with Fashion Magazine 'JJ'
~ Asahi Shimbun's "Girl Power UP! Winter School Festival for Girls" ~

　Targeting "intellectually curious female university students," the Asahi Shimbun Company has run its annual cross-media project "Girl Power UP! Winter School Festival for Girls" since 2012. Collaborating with fashion magazine 'JJ' (Kobunsha), the event planning involved the "Hare Girls Committee," a group of female university student opinion leaders. On the venue stage, popular talents, models, and comedians appear, while Asahi Shimbun provides information useful for job hunting, such as a "Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Test." Sponsoring companies also introduce products and services targeted at female university students at booths and on stage. This diverse program draws a large crowd, attracting approximately 1,600 people each time.

Masayuki Yasuda of the Asahi Shimbun Tokyo Headquarters Advertising Department 3 reflected, "We wondered if we could leverage female university students' influence through the newspaper. While print features are standard, there were limitations because media and products targeting female university students didn't connect well. So, we decided to create a real-world event from scratch to introduce the newspaper to them." A collaborative team from The Asahi Shimbun, Kobunsha, and Dentsu Inc. (which operates the "Hare-Onna Committee") developed the plan. As a result, they successfully secured numerous sponsoring companies with products targeting young women and attracted participants.

The Asahi Shimbun also ran advertisements tied to the cover of JJ magazine.

 

Masanobu Yasuda

 

Regarding the success factors, Mr. Yasuda stated, "We've incorporated the voices of the college women from the Hare Women's Committee to an almost excessive degree—not only in the event details, but also in the design of the souvenir bags featuring sponsor products and the buzz generated through social media." He added that JJ's expertise and know-how were instrumental in guest casting.

 

As initially intended, the event attracted an audience with high intellectual curiosity, and attendee satisfaction was excellent. Sponsors spanning fashion brands, retail, food, and public interest groups highly praised the genuine feedback from their target demographic. Regarding future developments, Mr. Yasuda expressed enthusiasm for further evolution: "Through this project, we aim to deepen connections and familiarity with the Asahi Shimbun, while also enhancing the newspaper's presence on social media related to the event."