Is it really true that "awareness is insufficient"?

Senior J took early retirement from his company a while back and now lives a leisurely life holed up in the Tateshina Highlands of Nagano Prefecture. When I visited recently, the autumn leaves were beautiful, the air was crisp, and the ingredients were superb. Away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, I spent a truly luxurious time.

Especially when I eat plenty of local vegetables, it refreshes both body and soul.

However, due to the erratic weather, produce is scarce and expensive. Even cabbages, which I usually buy in bulk for around 100 yen per head, were nearly triple the price. I couldn't even find the traditional Shinshu vegetable, Otaki turnips, so I guess I'll have to give up making pickles at home for a while this year. Matsutake mushrooms, which seem to be having a relatively good harvest, are completely out of reach. It can't be helped. Still, the rare "Shimofuri Shimeji" mushrooms I bought for the first time – which can't be cultivated artificially – had a robust flavor and were delicious. Even if their name isn't well-known, they have a unique character, and that's precisely why they made for such an appealing discovery.

But enough digressions. The other day, while talking with a marketing manager at a chain restaurant, we touched on the sluggish growth of their existing stores. As we debated, "Why can't we hit 100% year-over-year?" and "What's the biggest challenge?", they said this:

"It's a lack of awareness."

Hmm. The president of a local food manufacturer, the director of an NPO, and the agriculture and forestry officer at a certain city hall all said the same thing. Honestly, this kind of statement is a cliché that comes up with remarkable frequency, regardless of industry, whenever this topic arises.

And unfortunately, this phrase is quite problematic. Because when you ask, "If people just knew about it, would it sell?" the response tends to be something like, "Well, not necessarily, but it's better to be known than unknown, right?" There are certainly times when gaining recognition is crucial—like being "the only dentist in the neighborhood" or a laundry detergent that "needs to be somewhat well-known just to be considered." But it seems like many people jump to this answer too easily, without thoroughly examining the relationship between the target audience and the product.

Finding the true reason—the real challenge—why a product isn't selling is incredibly hard work. To do this, you must first clearly define the product's intent: "Who is it for?" and "What value does it provide?" For example, even with "Waru Nori Snack," we could have considered various values like "seaweed" (specification level) or "a beer companion" (functional benefit level). We selected "Hiroshima dialect playfulness" as the value most effective for "people overflowing with love for Hiroshima." We must thoroughly consider not just "awareness," but how the product must be understood by the target audience to drive purchase. (In the framework of my book, this involves moving back and forth along the "Communication Axis").

Another reason why hearing "insufficient awareness" makes me go "Ugh!" is the wording itself. Specialized terms like "awareness," or business jargon, are incredibly convenient. They appear quite a bit in this series too. But what exactly does "awareness" mean? How does it differ from "memory"? If we're talking about brand awareness, is what's needed now "recall" or "recognition"...? Using vague, seemingly plausible terms without clear definitions introduces a black box into our thinking, preventing us from pursuing the essence.

In business settings too, we should aim to use plain, relatable language that feels grounded in reality, rather than stringing together seemingly plausible jargon.

Advertising people probably love framing problems as "insufficient awareness." After all, making things widely known is advertising's specialty. But if we stop thinking there, we'll never solve the root cause of "products not selling." To think persistently, before saying "we just don't have enough awareness," I recommend taking a moment to reflect: is that really the biggest problem?

Enjoy!