NTT Docomo's Short Drama Case Study: Boosting Awareness of Gen Z Initiatives

Generation Z, who don't own TVs and skip ads as a matter of course. How can companies and brands deliver their messages to this generation and build favorable relationships? Rapidly expanding "short dramas" are offering a new solution to this challenge.

NTT Docomo's successful case study utilizing short dramas will likely serve as a benchmark for future content marketing, demonstrating effective Gen Z targeting and brand lift.

On January 16, 2025, a joint webinar was held by SEPTENI CO.,LTD and GOKKO (Gokko Club). In this article, Yasusae Oguchi from SEPTENI CO.,LTD and Kazuma Murata from GOKKO explain NTT Docomo's TikTok short drama case study discussed there, from the perspective of marketing strategies for Generation Z.

 The Potential of the Short Drama Market to Capture the Hearts of Gen Z

Short dramas are short-form drama content featuring interactivity with users, deployed on platforms like TikTok.

By 2025, over 70 corporate PR short dramas had already been posted, and including those from corporate accounts, the number easily exceeded 100. This growth stems from Gen Z's value of prioritizing "time performance" (TPA) and the normalization of entertainment consumption on social media.

According to Z Research Institute's survey, 85.9% of Gen Z respondents reported a positive impression of short drama ads, while 83.7% stated they had recognized products or services through short dramas. This suggests short drama ads are being accepted not as "intrusive," but as "enjoyable content," offering crucial insights for marketing to this generation.

The Challenge: "Indifference." NTT Docomo's Strategic Decision

The challenge facing NTT Docomo, a major telecommunications carrier, was not "aversion" but "indifference" – a problem unique to mature brands. Having become too seamlessly integrated into daily life as telecommunications infrastructure, it struggled to be recognized as a distinct brand, particularly among younger demographics. To address this, the company chose TikTok short dramas as a method to create new emotional touchpoints with Generation Z.

The chosen partner was a creator with approximately 5 billion cumulative video views (as of February 2025) and 4.6 million total followers across official social media accounts, short drama creator collective " Short drama creator group " Gokko Club ," which holds Japan's top position with approximately 5 billion cumulative video views

The core strategy was not to directly showcase products, but to cultivate the brand image of "docomo, always close to youth" by appealing to emotions through dramas themed around "realistic youth." In planning, content was created to indirectly evoke recognition of docomo, such as incorporating docomo's corporate color "red" into the characters' uniforms.

This strategy yielded remarkable results.

• Followers: Increased approximately 16-fold from 18,000 to 300,000 in six months

• View Count: Average views reached approximately 2.7 million (as of July 2025 / average of 183 videos) ※

• Brand Lift Effect: The campaign awareness rate among Gen Z, the most critical KPI, reached a maximum of 49%※, up from around 21% during web ad campaigns. This achieved a dramatic brand lift of over 30 percentage points.
  (All figures based on NTT DOCOMO's proprietary market research data as of July 2024)

These figures prove that short dramas are not merely a way to generate buzz, but an effective solution for solving corporate branding challenges. They created an ideal engagement cycle where "favorability toward the content" converts into "favorability toward the brand."

NTT Docomo's Case Study: The Future of Brand Communication

The success of this case stems not merely from riding a popular format. Behind it lie three crucial perspectives that hold the key to future brand communication.

1. From "Intrusive Ads" to "Seamless Content"

Generation Z particularly avoids having their time disrupted. NTT DoCoMo's initiative, using short dramas tailored to this characteristic, was implemented to cultivate youth-oriented accounts that spread organically through organic reach.

By respecting the platform's context where users are the protagonists and providing the entertainment they seek, it solved the challenge of being too seamlessly integrated into daily life as a telecommunications infrastructure, to the point of being unnoticed as a brand.

2. Shifting from "Communicating" to "Making Them Feel"

Rather than "communicating" specs and functionality, it's about "letting them feel" the brand's worldview and values through the narrative of a drama. This emotional approach resonates with Generation Z and moves their hearts. Finding a friendly intersection between the message a company wants to convey and the content users want to see is the key to engagement.

■Fateful Class Change (Part 1) ※Click the image to view the actual video

■Fateful Class Change (Part 2) ※Click image to view actual video

What is a Full-Funnel Strategy to Maximize Content Assets?

In the joint project between SEPTENI CO.,LTD and GOKKO, short dramas are now being utilized beyond just the upper funnel (awareness).

High-quality drama content that organically generates buzz becomes a "content asset" that can be repurposed as advertising creative for the middle and bottom of the funnel (interest/acquisition).

The webinar also presented case studies where using short drama assets in ad campaigns improved CPI and billing CPA (Customer Acquisition Cost*). This perspective is crucial for maximizing the ROI of content marketing.

*Customer Acquisition Cost: The marketing expense incurred to acquire one customer
 

For marketers struggling to reach Generation Z, NTT DOCOMO's case demonstrates that short dramas are not merely a trend but can be a means to solve brand challenges. Their importance in future marketing activities will only grow.

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: sss@septeni.co.jp　Contact: Oguchi