The market share of Asahi has increased to 38% which means that it is currently holding the largest percentage of the beer market. The reason for the sudden increase in market share is because the NHK Channel (which is a popular public channel) has begun broadcasting a serial based on the life of Scotswoman Jessie Roberta Cowan, who married Japan’s founding father of whisky in 1920. Masataka Taketsuru’s Nikka whisky is owned by Asahi.  Though neither Nikka’s name nor that of its founder are used in the 150 TV episodes, “every Japanese knows that this is [the story of] Nikka whisky, so it is a very good advertisement for us”, says the CEO of Asahi. 

This article particularly interested me as I am a Japanese citizen and know how large the beer industry is in Japan. It also amazes me as to how much the series impacted the increase of market share for Asahi, even when it was not specifically advertising the brand. I believe that this is a very good example of market power as it has caused such an influence in the beer market in Japan.