A very interesting Reddit debate is going on right now.
Quick summary: Director of Anime Expo hosts a discussion on “why people download anime illegally, and […] what [you] would do to change the industry.” Receives 269 comments within 8 hours.
There are some very interesting comments here about the monetization of a very large, and growing, industry. But what I would like to focus on are the comments made by the original poster (OP):
The OP claims that anime titles and companies in Japan are not looking at social media sites like Reddit and MAL. If you’ve been following any of my recent posts, you’ll realize just what kind of an opportunity these companies are missing out on.
There is a gold mine out there.
Here we have a consumer from Indonesia who feels that s/he is forced into a position where illegal downloads are the only option, since legal options don’t exist or are unattractive. Through this one Reddit post, we’ve already identified a possible audience to cater an existing product to; the only difficulty is measuring the size of this market and profitability. But, if done properly, someone out there could capitalize on a potential high-margin market.
I’m a very big supporter of listening to the consumer through social media channels, and here I feel that this Reddit discussion greatly supports my point. There is a lot to be learned from these channels, and I’m on a mission to become a social media master.
Until next time, signing off.
-Chris
