Why did JAL succeed with vertical short dramas? Behind the 10 million views

In recent years, "vertical short dramas" on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have rapidly gained significant attention as a corporate marketing technique. These story-based vertical short dramas can be strategically "buzz-worthy" depending on the know-how, making them increasingly popular among companies seeking new approaches to convey messages to consumers.

Japan Airlines (JAL) also recognized this trend. By leveraging vertical short dramas to boost awareness of its Okinawa island routes, JAL increased flight ticket reservations by up to 400% (compared to the previous week).

This article details the JAL case study while explaining key design points and effectiveness in marketing vertical short dramas. Insights come from Yuichi Emura, Vertical Short Drama Business Producer at SEPTENI CO.,LTD (Dentsu Group's digital integrated agency) who led the project, and Keiki Nakaya, Business Producer at Gokko Club (operator of GOKKO) who also worked on the project.

<JAL Vertical Short Drama Results Summary>

<Table of Contents>

▼What are the 3 values vertical short dramas bring to companies as a marketing method?
　

▼Wanting to convey the appeal of remote islands! What was JAL's challenge?

▼Using "traveler relatable moments" as hooks, the drama conveys Kumejima's appeal

▼A mutual follower exchange campaign on X and TikTok, plus a giveaway campaign
　Generating synergistic effects

▼Official TikTok followers increased by approximately 9,000 in one day, significantly exceeding KPIs

▼JAL's internal evaluation also improved! Realizing the potential of vertical short dramas for marketing

What are the three key values vertical short dramas bring to companies as a marketing tactic?

Before explaining the JAL case study, let's review the background behind the growing attention on "vertical short dramas" as a marketing technique, as covered in the first article.

Vertical short dramas have gained popularity due to their "sense of speed" and "high information density." For younger generations who tend to prioritize time efficiency, short dramas that can be watched quickly and still deliver an "emotional impact" are highly appealing.

Furthermore, vertical short dramas deliver brand messages as "content users themselves want to watch," making them appealing to advertising companies as "ads that are actively viewed."

From a corporate perspective, the main benefits are the following three points:

• Achieve massive reach through organic viewing
• Ability to convey brand messages in longer formats compared to TV or video commercials
• Ability to freely incorporate relatable elements tailored to the target audience

Furthermore, since most TikTok viewing occurs on the "For You" feed, even a single video can go viral regardless of an account's follower count.

The case study we're introducing here isn't one where JAL relied on a short drama creator's account followers or influencer distribution. Instead, it's content posted directly from JAL's own account that went viral.

This background demonstrates how short dramas can generate high reach and engagement with consumers.

Want to convey the appeal of remote islands? What was JAL's challenge?

JAL's case study effectively leveraged the benefits of these vertical short dramas to achieve customer acquisition results.

In a collaboration between JAL, the short drama creator group "Gokko Club," and SEPTENI CO.,LTD, they produced a vertical short drama conveying the appeal of the remote Okinawan island "Kumejima." It was released in two parts in January 2024. Within just one month of posting, the total views for both videos exceeded 10 million.

JAL's decision to utilize vertical short dramas stemmed from two challenges: reaching younger demographics and the sluggish growth in bookings for its Kumejima route. However, even when targeting new demographics with digital ads, both reach and conversion (CV) efficiency remained low, and no new tactics were apparent.

The Kumejima route presented a particularly critical challenge. As a JAL-exclusive route, increased visitor interest should naturally boost JAL's customer base. However, its recognition as a travel destination lagged behind other remote islands like Ishigakijima, resulting in sluggish performance.

Therefore,

"We want to establish new promotional methods beyond advertising"
"We want to implement measures that resonate with new customer segments (non-members and younger demographics)."
"We wanted initiatives that the public would find fun and interesting"

These needs led us to the vertical short drama format.

Unlike ads passively viewed alongside other content, vertical short dramas are organic content that users actively choose to watch because they "want to see it." This was considered the optimal choice as a strategy that younger generations would find "fun and interesting."

Furthermore, the short dramas produced by Gokko Club and SEPTENI CO.,LTD always incorporate "story developments designed to boost viewer retention."

• an attention-grabbing hook (starting at 2 seconds)
• A "hook" to secure viewers (5 seconds in)
• and a "climax" (at 15 seconds) to reduce drop-offs and maximize full views.

These key points are incorporated.

This approach, building stories and video direction on such reproducible "logic," perfectly aligned with JAL's challenges and needs.

A drama using "traveler relatable moments" as a hook to convey Kumejima's appeal

For this initiative, we launched a vertical short drama (two-part series) on TikTok depicting a couple traveling to Kumejima.

To achieve the goal of "communicating Kumejima's appeal to a wide audience," we set the following key KPIs for the campaign. Since the vertical short drama was posted exclusively on JAL's official TikTok account (owned media), all metrics were based on organic views and resulting traffic.

The vertical short drama is titled "Tabi Suru Do" (Every Time We Travel). The entire work, including both parts, is about 4 minutes long. The fundamental premise was that the concept and script needed to be crafted to maximize the depiction of the appeal of Kumejima itself, the product being promoted.

■Ever Fought While Traveling? (Part 1) ※Click the image to watch the actual video
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■Ever Fought While Traveling? (Part 2) ※Click the image to watch the actual video
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Additionally, to bridge the connection with JAL, we featured a flight attendant as a key character in the story. She played a role in naturally guiding the narrative towards a positive conclusion.

For this project, we aimed to "go viral" by placing the theme "differing values on how to spend time while traveling" at the story's core—a relatable topic everyone can nod along to or feel compelled to comment on. This theme targeted maximizing engagement: likes, full video views, and multiple comments per viewer.

Synergistic effects from mutual follower exchange campaigns on X and TikTok, plus a giveaway campaign

Alongside the vertical short drama series, we ran two distinct campaign patterns aligned with their respective goals: "Awareness" and "Purchase."

One was an "Open Campaign" designed to raise awareness of the campaign itself. The other was a "Must-Buy Campaign" aimed at driving purchases.

For the awareness-focused Open Campaign, we simultaneously released the short drama and posted a quiz about its content via our official X account and the campaign site. Users could enter to win round-trip airfare to Kumejima by posting their quiz answers as a quoted repost with the designated hashtag and following the account.

Users who saw the short drama appear in their TikTok recommendations learned about the campaign and flowed to X. Conversely, existing X followers needed to watch the entire vertical short drama on TikTok to answer the quiz. This aimed to create a mechanism for mutually driving followers between X and TikTok.

This campaign successfully achieved its goal of reaching the target audience: non-JAL members and younger demographics.

<Example Quiz>

The Must-Buy Campaign was implemented to effectively convert this expanded awareness into purchases. Among those who purchased round-trip tickets for the Kumejima route, a set was given away via lottery. This set allowed the winner to experience the exact Kumejima travel plan followed by the two protagonists of the vertical short drama.

Official TikTok followers increased by approximately 9,000 in a single day, achieving results that significantly exceeded KPIs.

Through these measures, the campaign achieved results that greatly exceeded expectations in both qualitative and quantitative terms.

Qualitative results included receiving numerous positive comments from viewers on TikTok. Furthermore, featuring flight attendants within the story allowed for effective portrayal of the JAL brand.

Quantitatively, the vertical short drama video went viral beyond expectations, leading to results that significantly exceeded KPIs.

Furthermore, the proportion of younger participants and non-members among campaign participants increased significantly compared to past initiatives. The younger demographic ratio increased by 10%, and the non-member ratio also rose by 8%.

Furthermore, a notable aspect of this initiative was achieving multifaceted results that cannot be measured by single metrics like sales growth or reach. For instance, the account gained approximately 9,000 followers within one day of the video post.

The key to achieving these results likely lies in JAL prioritizing the creation of content that users "want to watch," rather than simply dramatizing the company's "message." Entrusting the design to "Gokko Club," specialists in vertical short dramas, resulted in an engaging story that resonated with users. This foundation then successfully integrated the charm of Kumejima Island and elements of the JAL brand.

Consequently, the success of the vertical short drama served as the core, with the drama-linked quiz campaign and integration with JAL's own TikTok and X accounts proving effective.

JAL's internal evaluation also rose! Realizing the marketing potential of vertical short dramas

JAL internally also highly praised the results of this campaign. While some members were skeptical about the effectiveness of vertical short dramas before implementation, witnessing this initiative and its outcomes has significantly shifted the internal perspective.

The person in charge has received feedback such as, "Since it's posted on our own account, there's no time limit on its availability, and the video keeps circulating organically, making it cost-effective," and requests like, "Please share the details of the strategy for future reference." Plans are already underway for a new campaign utilizing vertical short dramas.

Success stories like this are increasing, and the entire market is gaining momentum. It can be said to be an optimal approach for companies exploring ways to reach Generation Z or engage in empathy marketing.

SEPTENI CO.,LTD. and Dentsu Group companies support the production and marketing utilization of vertical short dramas. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.

[Interested in utilizing short dramas? Click here]
Email: septeni-movie-project@septeni.co.jp Contact: Emura

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