Sports are experiencing a major surge in popularity, as Japan won the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March this year for the first time in three years. Sports are also a key topic in business. New ways to enjoy sports are gaining attention, particularly simulation games like "Fantasy Sports," where users create their own sports teams and compete based on real-world game results. Knowing the trending buzzwords of the moment is useful when considering future business development and marketing strategies. This article picks up and introduces five trending buzzwords currently making waves.
Fantasy Sports Expand in Web3.0 to Strengthen Fan Engagement
Fantasy sports, gaining attention as a new way to enjoy the sports industry. This simulation game involves assembling a "fantasy dream team" from real athletes and competing against other participants. While it's a long-standing game, it has continued to evolve and expand with the spread of the internet. Its defining feature today is that players' abilities and real-world performance are quantified, directly influencing the game's outcomes. Beyond the inherent fun of testing team-building skills, a recent appeal is the chance to earn prize money distributed based on performance when participating in tournaments and leagues held worldwide. In recent years, NFT games using digital player cards owned on blockchain have also emerged. In the United States, it has grown into a popular market worth over 10 trillion yen, with further expansion anticipated. While Japan faces the challenge of legally introducing prize money, it is viewed as a means to enhance fan engagement, suggesting new business opportunities are opening up here.
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Accelerating DX in Local Governments Ahead of the Looming " Government Cloud " Deadline
"Government Cloud" refers to an IT infrastructure that consolidates administrative business systems of national and local governments onto a single cloud platform, enabling shared use as a cloud service. Government policy mandates that local governments migrate at least 10 core business functions to the Government Cloud by the end of fiscal year 2025. Standardizing and unifying the systems currently built independently by many local governments is expected to bring benefits such as reduced operational costs, improved efficiency, and enhanced security. While this may seem unrelated to industries outside IT at first glance, challenges like the shortage of DX talent for the migration, and the fact that target operations include education and welfare, create business opportunities across various sectors, including human resources and welfare. Furthermore, standardizing the infrastructure is expected to allow for more flexible system expansion than before. This could potentially create new business opportunities by applying existing technologies and services. It is important to approach this not solely as "what local governments should do," but also from the perspective of "what value can we provide?"
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Could the " Physical Internet " be the cure for the 2024 problem?
The "Physical Internet" is seen as a promising solution to the previously discussed "2024 Problem." This logistics DX concept aims to achieve more efficient joint delivery of goods by sharing trucks and warehouses among multiple logistics companies. It's called the "Physical Internet" because it applies the packet-switching mechanism of the "Internet" to the transportation of "physical" goods. Beyond improving logistics efficiency, it is also expected to contribute to sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy savings. In Japan, discussions are beginning, involving not only logistics companies but also manufacturers as shippers, real estate firms, the IT industry, and various other businesses. Considering how your company can approach this, including collaboration with other industries, might be worthwhile.
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What are " Centaur Companies " that attract intense interest from investors and VCs?
"Centaur companies" are one of several startup classifications named after animals or mythical creatures, similar to "Zebra companies," "Unicorn companies," and "Decacorn companies." It refers to companies that meet the criteria for a unicorn (a privately held company valued at $1 billion or more) and also have annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $100 million or more. They are particularly common among companies adopting the SaaS model, which can yield returns of tens of times the investment. While there were over 1,000 unicorns worldwide at the start of 2023, there are only about 150 Centaur companies. Centaur companies, which use ARR—a metric representing a company's recurring revenue—as an indicator alongside valuation, are seen as more profitable than unicorns and offer greater potential for return on investment. This makes them a hot target for investors and venture capital firms. The growing presence of Centaur companies demands close attention.
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The new trend among Gen Z: What is " corecore," the concept gaining resonance on social media?
Generation Z, who create various trends by uniquely mastering social media. Recently, one type of content spreading on social media originating from them is "corecore." It refers to content that strings together fragments of unrelated videos or images, evoking melancholy or dark emotions in viewers and leaving them with an "indescribable" feeling. A similar keyword is "hopecore," which refers to content that gives viewers hope. It's described as content that calms the mind or reminds people of the joy of being human. Content tagged with "#corecore" garners a lot of empathy (likes), perhaps serving as a statement of intent from young people tired of the overwhelming "Instagrammability" on social media. Why not consider this as a marketing hint for Generation Z?
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This month, alongside sports-related keywords, we also introduced "Government Cloud" and "Physical Internet," which aim to solve challenges faced by local governments and society through DX and infrastructure. Since the establishment of the Digital Agency, the government has been actively promoting DX, and this momentum is expected to accelerate further. Exploring business approaches that address social issues in tandem with these movements holds significant meaning from a sustainability perspective. If you are considering business development with DX in mind or exploring new product and service models leveraging digital technology, please feel free to reach out to us.
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