What is the business value of "Mahjong × Companies"?

This series explores mahjong's potential and business value as a brain sport. Last time, we examined why mahjong—once perceived as gambling—evolved into a sport, and the fervor surrounding the "M League," focusing on the phenomenon of "mirujan" (watching mahjong).

This time, we examine mahjong's business value, incorporating examples of collaborations between the M League and companies.

<Table of Contents>
▼Corporate Collaborations Leveraging Mahjong and Player Appeal
▼Three Business Values of the M League

What is the M League?……
A national professional team mahjong league launched in 2018. Eight major corporations, all household names, serve as owners, each assembling teams of top professional mahjong players. Teams compete for the championship after a six-month league season. All matches are broadcast free on ABEMA, making it a popular program that recorded 1.54 million viewers in 2021.

※1 ABEMA "Popular TV Program Rankings (Viewership) for October 4, 2021" as of February 16, 2022.

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Corporate Collaborations Highlighting Mahjong and Player Appeal

First, we introduce three content collaborations between the M League and companies.

Sony Insurance's "I Love Series," which became a staple integrated with the program

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Sony Insurance's infomercials air during M League broadcasts. By March 2022, they featured 20 players across 29 versions.

The creative approach skillfully blends the players' nicknames, mahjong play styles, and memorable moments with the features of Sony Insurance's auto insurance. This makes it not just a commercial, but content that M League fans can enjoy.

A key point is the player's slightly shy "I love it!" line at the end of each commercial. Fans appreciate this, saying, "We get to hear these precious lines from the players thanks to Sony Insurance," boosting its favorability. Furthermore, Sony Insurance's official Twitter account shares off-shot photos of the players and runs merchandise giveaways, successfully integrating into the M League's Twitter culture.

As a result, Twitter posts related to "Sony Insurance's 'I Love It!' CM" have reached 21,000 tweets (※2), while the total views for the latest video series uploaded to YouTube have hit 410,000 (※3). The image "When you say 'I love it' in the M League, it's Sony Insurance" has been firmly established. This has boosted brand awareness, particularly among young males—the M League's primary audience—and increased brand favorability.

※2 Data collected using Meltwater from 11/1/2020 to 3/21/2022. Keywords: #ソニー損保の大好きCM (Sony Insurance's 'I Love It' CM) and variations.
※3 As of March 21, 2022.

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Nissin Foods' "Men Count Video" skillfully leverages M League's Twitter culture

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Nissin Foods launched its "Thank You to All Men" Men Count video. Known for its fun Twitter campaigns, Nissin Foods spotted the buzz around the M League and collaborated with it.

Noticing that mahjong terminology often includes words ending in "men" (like "menzen" and "menzu"), the video counts every time Tatsuya Hiyoshi, the M League's iconic commentator, said "men" during broadcasts. Edited from these scenes, the video became highly addictive and viral, racking up over 400,000 views on Twitter.

Mr. Hiyoshi said "men" over 3,000 times during broadcasts. The sheer absurdity of counting every single instance drew praise like "Respect to Nissin Foods for going this far."

Nissin Foods also runs supplementary prize campaigns for the M League. For example, the "If You Get a Chi-Ho, We'll Give You U.F.O." campaign promises a lifetime supply of Nissin Yakisoba U.F.O. to any player who achieves the rare mahjong hand "Chi-Ho" (Chīhō), said to have a 1 in 100,000 chance of appearing. Other initiatives, like certifying players as "Mahjong Aliens" and gifting them original U.F.O. products, have also been launched, creating campaigns that even mahjong fans can't help but laugh at. As a result, Nissin Foods' approach to energizing mahjong has resonated, leading to increased brand favorability.

Daiwa Securities CONNECT's "Daily Investment Fund CM" Leaves an Impact by Leveraging Famous Scenes

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CONNECT produced a commercial utilizing a famous match scene from the actual M League. The company is a mobile securities firm within the Daiwa Securities Group, which serves as the title sponsor of the M League, offering services that allow users to start investing with small amounts.

The scene used in the commercial is a famous match moment that has been viewed over 4.4 million times on YouTube. Its compelling nature makes it a scene fans watch repeatedly and receive positively. The phrase "Everyday, Step by Step" featured in the commercial also resonates with mahjong, as it's a phrase often used and recognized by players and fans.

While securities firms often struggle to convey their product features in commercials due to their conservative image, this ad features actual match scenes and players, making it memorable for fans. It has boosted brand awareness and favorability, particularly among the M League's primary audience: young men .

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The Three Business Values of the M League

Next, we examine the business value of the M League. Its characteristics can be summarized in three points.

Feature 1: High Affinity with Social Media

Even before the M League's inception, Twitter was the primary platform for information dissemination within the mahjong industry. Only a small number of professional mahjong players are managed by agencies or organizations; most share information about their tournament appearances or guest appearances at mahjong parlors via their personal Twitter accounts.

M League players also share match impressions, interactions with fellow players, and personal updates on Twitter, creating content that grows their fanbase.

Another noteworthy point is that ABEMA, the broadcaster of the M League, encourages viewers to use its "comment linkage" feature with Twitter. This ABEMA function allows viewers to post comments on the live program's comment section, which then automatically posts the comment to Twitter along with a 12-second clip of the program. This means "exciting moments during the broadcast" spread with video attached, making them more visible to non-viewers.

Furthermore, information about the M League—such as the announcement of each team's starting players and live commentary by the league official—is also conducted on Twitter. Consequently, all M League-related information converges and spreads on Twitter.

Beyond Twitter, YouTube usage is also prominent. While the M League official account and each team post highlight reels and behind-the-scenes videos, "simulcasts" are also thriving. These feature mahjong pros and YouTubers watching the broadcast live alongside fans, providing commentary and cheering.

Data Collection Tool: Kamui Tracker, Keywords: Mahjong/M League, Survey Period: January 2016 - March 2022

With the pandemic preventing live attendance at stadiums and other venues, many sports content providers are struggling. Amidst this, the M League has built a content business model centered on online streaming and social media, achieving significant growth.

Feature 2: Every Player is an Influencer

M League players collectively have 1.81 million Twitter followers, rising to 2.16 million when including Instagram. It's fair to say every player is an influencer.

Furthermore, as professionals representing the entire mahjong industry, M League players actively engage in promotional activities. Players like Masato Hagiwara (actor), Saka Okada (model), and Risa Date (voice actress), who also work in other fields, actively share information about mahjong and the M League in their respective professional spheres.

YouTube activities are one such avenue. Many players maintain their own YouTube channels, posting and streaming videos where they explain their thought processes during matches or showcase aspects of themselves beyond mahjong play.

Among them, Pro Takaharu Tai stands out as a gaming streamer boasting 165,000 subscribers. He contributes to M League's growth by collaborating with VTubers (virtual YouTubers) and leveraging YouTube.

Pro player Naoki Setokuma, active in the M League, notes, "I'm like this myself, but many mahjong players have an otaku-like nature, meaning they tend not to hesitate to spend money on things they find satisfying or love." This shows that when the M League does corporate tie-ups through its programs or Twitter, it can reach this active, highly receptive consumer base.

The fact that every player is an influencer creates value for companies, enabling collaborations that fans also enjoy.

Feature 3: Viewers Focus on a Single Match

In professional sports leagues like pro baseball or the J-League, multiple games occur on the same day, dispersing fan viewership. However, in mahjong—a game contested by four players—four teams compete in a single match, concentrating fan viewership on one ABEMA broadcast. Consequently, communications tied to the program become a shared topic for all M League fans, generating excitement.

Furthermore, since mahjong lacks live stadium viewing, both core and casual fans cheer using the same ABEMA comment section and social media. This creates a virtuous cycle where passionate fans' comments fuel the enthusiasm of newcomers who recently started watching.

As introduced, mahjong possesses significant value in today's SNS-dominated era: it has the program content, talent, and media necessary to reach audiences with high-energy information. Companies are now recognizing this value and collaborating accordingly.

Mahjong fans are excited to see what kind of collaborations top-tier companies will bring next with mahjong. And they become fans of the companies that cheer alongside them for the mahjong they love.

By leveraging the unique characteristics of players and mahjong itself to create contextually relevant initiatives, collaborations between mahjong and companies will increase and continue to evolve.

While we used the M League as an example this time, there's no doubt this movement will accelerate not just for mahjong, but for mind sports as a whole.