世論 What Japan Thinks

No, not a free offer from me, but some research into 年賀状, nengajou, New Year Postcards conducted by iBridge Research Plus and reported on by japan.internet.com looking in particular at both free advertisement-plastered pre-franked postcards and the SNS mixi’s pay service for sending postcards to virtual friends whilst retaining privacy, a process which I wouldn’t be surprised if they have applied for a patent for.

Demographics

On the 25th of November 2008 300 people from the iBridge monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were female, 14.3% in their twenties, 37.3% in their thirties, 31.7% in their forties, 10.3% in their fifties, and 6.3% in their sixties.

Looking at the web site giving the cards away (too late, the closing date is past!) it’s actually rather a good idea. The cards have the adverts inside the postcard and can be peeled open, otherwise you get an almost completely blank card for you do draw or print on as desired.

I’ve already ordered and received my Year of the Cow cards; two styles, one with Hello Kitty in a field of cows, the other is just a generic cute cartoon cow design. Both were designed and ordered over the internet, but we’ll be printing out the addresses at home.

Research results

From the sample of 300, 251 people, or 83.7%, were planning on sending New Year postcards this year. They were asked the following questions.

Q1: What do you think about free advertisement-supported New Year postcards? (Sample size=251)

Want to use (to SQ)	25.9%
Don’t want to use	25.1%
Don’t know	49.0%

Q1SQ: Aren’t you bothered by the advertisements? (Sample size=65)

Doesn’t bother me	44.6%
Bothers me, but since it’s free…	55.4%

Q2: Do you want to use the SNS mixi’s New Year postcard service? (Sample size=251)

Yes	9.2%
No	25.5%
Don’t use mixi	65.3%