Up until this point we have been investigating more into the economic success of the products of the CSToys website in order to construct more research. As stated in the previous post, the translations are being targeted towards the current series that are airing, namely Kamen Rider Ghost and Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger, respectively. Because these are the series that are currently airing over there in Japan, there is a much higher demand for said products over the older products. In Japan, the toys that are being sold go hand in hand with the show they air alongside with. Unless there is a throwback to the original series later on in some way, once the show ends, its products will be discontinued, or made in fewer quantities than they were before. This is all to prepare the toy market for the new exciting products designed for the 2016-2017 run, and so forth.
If we break down our research as of now, we have currently studied the Japanese Fiscal reports for the Quarter 4 releases of all Super Sentai and Kamen Rider seasons from the years 1991-2016 (Super Sentai) and 2000-2016 (Kamen Rider), namely their "Heisei Era" runs. We have also highlighted the series which performed the best in regards to sales, as well as the worst ones. Interestingly, the 2015 run of "Shuriken Sentai Ninninger", although having a gimmick, performed the worst in regards to toy sales in the past 16 years since "Mirai Sentai Timeranger", which, in comparison, did not have a gimmick. We believe that by doing this, we will be able to discover exactly how these certain shows managed to perform better than others in regards to toy sales, the overall popularity of the show, and the years in which they aired.
The current series that are airing in Japan, and have released their products for sale, are "Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger" which is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the franchise, and "Kamen Rider Ghost", which is celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the franchise. The anniversary seasons in particular have a unique advantage over other series, because of the title they carry that gives them leverage to "make references to past seasons" in the forms of toys and gimmicks related to said toys. That being said, "Kamen Rider Ghost's" season gimmick are "Eyecons". miniature versions of eyeballs which have a rotating pupil in the center. The "Eyecons" can be inserted into other toys to activate specific sounds and effects.
On the other hand, although being an anniversary season, and having its 35th anniversary predecessor have a "Ranger Key" gimmick, the current season of "Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger", has no distinguishable gimmick. What it does have however, are small cubes called "Zyuoh Cubes"which can unfold into characteristic animals. The cubes can then stack on top of each other to form a giant robot. Although combinable in various unique ways to increase the appeal of the products themselves, they don't have any direct function with the other toys in the toy line as of now. We still do not know how well this series will do in regards to toy sales, but hopefully the 40th Anniversary title will give it some leverage.
The translations are progressing well, and we hope to have a significant amount of them completed by the deadline we have set for it. We have also kept our teacher sponsor informed of our progress, and how we plan to continue with our research, as well as our translations of the said products.
Learning Log #4
Through the CSToys website, we encountered that there was a special program that was exclusive to charity efforts led by UNICEF for the Tohoku Earthquake relief program in Japan. We wanted our project to benefit the community in some sort of way, so we figured that if we focused a lot of the attention to the indicated products for translation, then we could be able to provide a more widespread attention to the relief efforts currently underway there. CSToys at the end of every year, presents the regional manager of UNICEF in Japan with an envelope which contains a check with all the collected money from the toy sales to be sent to the foundation.
We figured that by focusing directly on translating the said Capsule Toys, at the same time we can bring greater attention towards the noble cause. As we are planning, we want to get the community involved, so we have decided that this way, it would be the most effective way to draw attention to it. The good news is, is that the current CSToys International website is already very popular, and over the years CSToys has managed to recollect substantial funds for UNICEF. We feel that if we are in some way able to continue this process, than the recovery of the Tohoku region can happen a lot faster.
Currently, we are focusing on translating current products, because those are the ones that get released sooner. CSToys also has a Used Toys section, which involves having toys that were previously used by owners being sold on the website. These are toys that come from past years and past seasons, yet there is still a large interest for said products because they are usually discontinued after the program's usual run. This makes finding products like these a lot harder, but thanks to the CSToys Used Toys initiative, people are able to find the original toys from that time, and at a fair price.
New products usually come out every 2 weeks, and with a new show airing just last week, it means that a lot of new products will be coming out in the following weeks. This means that we need to be pacing ourselves more effectively, because since the last show's run ended 2 weeks ago, so does the toy line from the said series. It would be more effective if we focused on the current products, and the used toys, so that thereon after, we can work our way to some promotional items perhaps. Just earlier today I found an old advertisement for CSToys that I thought expresses the goals of the business quite well.
As we move through the project, we are hoping to present a website that is current, so that people can find and understand the products that they intend to buy, and it processes correctly. Current as in products that directly focus on toylines that feature the "Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger" run, as well as the "Kamen Rider Ghost" current run. These are the shows that will air throughout 2016, so their toys will be coming out as the series airs. Halfway through the series, toys usually stop coming out, an it becomes easier to manage. We are hoping to continue our website development in the coming weeks!
Learning Log #3
At present, we are making good pace with our project. Before the break, we met with our teacher sponsor to discuss what the goals we accomplished were. The site for one has already been set up, and we are slowly incorporating the individual product translations of the website. Before the break, we each were in charge of finding three products from the site, and focusing on the translations of said products. Not only is this a good way to begin the startup of the website, but it is also a way to familiarize ourselves with each if the products being presented there.
By analyzing the website’s overall outlook previously, we were able to see that it was a very simple setup. It was very easy for people to navigate throughout the site, as well as get the information they were looking for. We decided on incorporating the same level of professionalism and organization in our website as well. The navigation of the site is something that needs to be clear, and run smoothly. We will also be taking a look at the unit conversions of the traditional Japanese Yen prices to the Colombian Peso value, so that those who view our site can have an actual understanding of what they are buying the products for.
Specifically, several of the products that are sold on the website are toys from a genre of Japanese television known as “tokusatsu” or “special effects”. This is the same genre that the Godzilla movies come from. The CSToys website itself has an interactive map that based on the tracking number on your product, the map indicates where in the world the person who bought the product is from. This is a smart and clever way to see just the amount of people around the world who are in the market for buying and selling such compelling products. Products that have multiple functions, as well as addictive gimmicks. These are the products that the consumer buys over and over again, and learning to identify which products are most commonly sold the most is something we wish to examine more as we go along.
Also during the break, I asked our professional sponsor about incorporating the website into the actual one, and he replied by indicating that CSToys is a business that is always looking towards the future, as well as innovation. For now, the translated website would act as a placeholder for the incorporation to happen once the year has passed. Moreover, I am more and more confident that this website would greatly serve to assist the customers, after I had a Spanish speaking customer ask me through Youtube how to navigate through the CSToys website. I told him how to do so, but he also told me how great it would be to have the website translated into Spanish.
Currently, we are examining the products of the site and we are translating each individually. We are also looking to receive additional advice and support from a Japanese business owner here in Colombia, who I am hoping to talk to in the following weeks to come. Progress is nice and steady, and it won’t be long before a significant amount of the website has been successfully translated.
We are looking forward to hearing the expert's opinions on the matter, as well as keep both our sponsors well informed on the progress we are making.
Learning Log #2
The second period of this project is when we really began to get into the core of our search. We met with our teacher sponsor and we informed him of the course we were planning to take with the website. We created a sample web page that acts as a marker for approval by our professional sponsor. We have been keeping our professional sponsor informed of our progress through e-mails. We began by breaking down the website into its various categories, such as: Preorders, Collectibles, Categories, Pro-Built and Painted, Customers, Media, as well as Super Sentai and Kamen Rider categories which are the most successful products that are being sold. We decided to split up the work so that each of us could become familiar with the products so that our translations would be entirely accurate. I am somewhat concerned over the fact that we might not get early confirmation about the CSToys website’s URL use. The time difference is quite significant, so we can’t usually get a hold of our professional sponsor in the most timely manner.
Our research has indicated that in order to be an appealing website, our theme must be a professional one. So we will be organizing the basic layouts of the webpage as we progress, because image is everything. This was also pointed out by our teacher sponsor as well, and he recommended a website developer that I have had some experience with in the past. The implementations will require extensive attention to detail. Throughout analyzing the basic structure of how CSToys describes one product, they break it down into factors: The supplier, the date released, the franchise, the show, the toy line, the medium through which each product is shipped, what the item includes, a short summary of the item and its basic functions, and finally its current status. (Price, availability).
As we move forward, our plan is to begin to discuss advertising techniques that will contribute to the success of the website. On option might be to create an ad on Youtube, one that could help to increasing the popularity of the site. We would need to make it really intriguing, and gets to deliver the purpose of the store in a short amount of time. We are going to go over various strategies that will help us best exemplify the essence of the company, as well as its intentions. I am learning a whole lot about marketing strategies through our research. By analyzing the CSToys website further, we can see that it contributes the basic factors to having a successful online store: it is visually appealing, the layout is simple, and it is easy to get your questions answered. These are ideas that we would like to see implemented into our own sample web page as it is getting developed. we would probably focus on the current season products, since they are the most frequently sought out for, in our web page. The prices, of course, need to be switched from the Japanese yen, to the Colombian Peso exchange, so that transactions can be as accurate as possible.
We will plan more meetings with our teacher sponsor, so that we can further develop our project's objectives, hopefully before we leave for break. Up to this point, I have been really excited about this project, and I feel that up to this point in time, we are making progress.
Learning Log #1
The first few weeks of our SIS project were somewhat productive. We mostly generally focused on improving the overall proposal before we submitted the final version. We then proceeded to break down how the project was going to be accomplished, beginning with ways to advertise as well as translations. These first weeks were more of an outline for how our project will be developed later on. We have met constantly and consistently with our teacher and professional sponsor, and we have informed them both about our intentions. In the next few weeks we will focus on developing advertising strategies so we can get a head start on that. Overall this week was fairly productive. I think we needed these weeks and meetings in order to organize our ideas better. We are looking forward to brainstorming ideas that can ultimately contribute to the advertising of the website. (CSToys).
Although the initial meetings were primarily focused on the development and betterment of our SIS proposal, we did meet extensively over the course of the week with our teacher sponsor, as well as our professional sponsor. Because our professional sponsor is not located in Colombia, we consistently update him on our progress. As our project continues to develop we hope to be more frequently in contact as well as begin developments of our website.
Although the initial meetings were primarily focused on the development and betterment of our SIS proposal, we did meet extensively over the course of the week with our teacher sponsor, as well as our professional sponsor. Because our professional sponsor is not located in Colombia, we consistently update him on our progress. As our project continues to develop we hope to be more frequently in contact as well as begin developments of our website.
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