NTT DoCoMo

Introducing Osaifu-Keitai to Norway

By:

Krista Witherspoon

Kristian Arnesen

Pacific Lutheran University

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A. Executive Summary

B. Introduction

Company Profile

Abrev. DoCommunications Over the Mobile Network

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Do Communications Over the Mobile Network

Established in July of 1992, NTT DoCoMo is now Japan’s premier mobile communications

company. DoCoMo prides itself on advancing mobile communications technology on the

global level. As of March 2006, DoCoMo had one of the largest phone company subscriber

bases in the world, providing service to over 51 million cell phone users. The company

accounts for just half of Japan’s mobile phone market and has annual revenue of over $5

billion dollars.

With the launch of its first digital cellular phone service in 1993, DoCoMo was

poised to dominate the mobile telecommunications market. DoCoMo is focused on creating

“global industry standards and groundbreaking mobile services”

(http://www.nttdocomo.com/about/company/). This has been achieved through new

innovative services such as i-Mode, Mzone, and, the most recent one, “Osaifu-Keitai”.

Service Offering

Osaifu-Keitai is provided by an IC (internal circuit) card that can be implemented in

cell phones with 3G functions. Osaifu-Keitai is a service that allows users to basically utilize

their cell phones as their wallet “mobile phones can be utilized as electronic money, credit

card, electronic ticket, membership card, airline ticket, and more”

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(http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/service/imode/osaifu/index.html) 3G refers to the third

generation in the development in wireless telecommunications. It provides high-speed

internet access with data and text transmission of 384kb/s and upwards, which is the

equivalent to that of some high speed internet landlines. This enables cellular phones to

transmit mobile video, high quality sound, digital voice, and security protocols much better

as more data can be transferred per second.

The service of Osaifu-Keitai is what we will take international and attempt to

introduce to a different country. After doing research on cellular phone markets and cellular

phones per capita, the country we picked to introduce the service landed on Norway.

According to the CIA World Fact book, Norway has 1.03 cell phones per capita.

Country Description: JAPAN

Geography

Located just east of the Korean Peninsula, Japan is an Eastern Asian island chain

situated between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. With a total land area of

377,835 sq km, the country is slightly smaller than the state of California. The country

consists of mostly mountainous terrain, with climates varying from tropical in the south to

cool and temperate in the north. There are many dormant and some active volcanoes,

resulting in about 1,500 seismic occurrences per year. There is frequent earthquake activity

in the Pacific Ocean due to it major tectonic plate boundaries and ocean trenches, leaving

Japan vulnerable to large and destructive tsunamis. With its typhoon season lasting from

June to October, Japan is also subject to landslides (CIA).

Cultural

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Through years of evolution, Japanese culture has become a hybrid. The current

culture is a fusion of Asian influences as well as those of Europe and North America.

Traditional Japanese culture has been preserved through different art forms (craft and

performances), rituals, and cuisine.

Hofstede’s Indexes:

IDV 46PDI 54 UAI 92

With a score of 46 on Hofstede’s Individual/Collectivism Index, Japan’s culture

makes an extreme lean toward a “we” mentality. Japanese people from birth are

incorporated into strong, cohesive groups. This sense of homogeneity has long been an

integral part of Japanese culture. Traditionally, the Japanese tend to favor those things that

are tried and true, like making cash payments, and human transactions over impersonal

phone or internet transactions using credit cards. However, a change can be seen in this

preference in recent years. Their unquestionable loyalty to one another and traditional

disdain for “others” (notably Koreans and Chinese) may be a driving factor for the self-

sufficiency evident in their outstanding technological advances (Cateora & Graham).

Japan’s relatively low Power Distance score of 54 indicates that its social system

values equality between superiors and subordinates. Also, knowledge and respect are cited

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as sources of power. This power is not viewed as coercive, but legitimate, leading to a high

trust factor of those not considered a part of the group.

The Uncertainty Avoidance score of 92 provides evidence that the Japanese are

highly intolerant of ambiguity, and new ideas or behaviors tend to be distrusted. Historically

tested patterns of behavior are favored, which can subsequently become inviolable rules. In

practice, Japan does what is necessary to avoid taking large risks.

Economic

Population 127,463,611 (July 2006 est.)GDP Per Capita $31,600 (2005 est.)Labor force 66.4 million (2005 est.)Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37.9 (2000)

The Japanese economy is the third-largest in the world after the US and China.

Government-industry cooperation, strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a

small defense allocation (only 1% of GDP) have catapulted Japan’s economy to be one of the

most technologically powerful, second only to the US. The agricultural and fishing sectors

are the primary industries in the Japanese economy. With crop yields among the highest in

the world, Japan’s small agricultural sector is extremely subsidized and protected (CIA).

Japan produces sufficient amount of rice, but must import around 50% of its other grain and

fodder crops. Accounting for almost 15% of the global catch, it holds one of the largest

fishing fleets in the world (Japan Wikipedia).

International trade is an essential part of the Japanese economy. Its largest trading

partner is China. The main exporting partners include the US, South Korea, Hong Kong,

Taiwan, and Pakistan. The country’s most significant exports are transport equipment, motor

vehicles, electronics, electrical machinery and chemicals. Machinery and equipment, fossil

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fuels, beef and other food products, textiles, and raw materials make up Japan’s main imports

(Japan Wiki).

Communications & Technology

Japan’s communication network is state of the art, and highly developed. As of 2005,

there were over 58.78 million main line telephones in use. Japan makes great use of mobile

and wireless communications. There are over 94 million cellular phones in use and more

than 86.3 million internet users (CIA).

Japan is one of the leading nations in technology. Important technological

contributions were made in the areas of electronics, machinery, chemicals, and metal. Japan

also leads the world in robotics, possessing more than 50% of the world’s industrial robots

used for manufacturing. With major advancements in aerospace and space exploration,

Japan is the world’s third largest investor in research and development at $130 billion (Japan

wikipedia).

Transportation & Distribution Channels

As of 2004, Japan had 1,177,278 km of paved roadways, 173 airports, and 23,577 km

of railways. The country’s manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors work in closely-knit

groups called keiretsu (CIA). The Distribution channels are integrated horizontally across

many industries, becoming interlinked through share purchasing (Keiretsu Wikipedia).

Foreign firms have often been disapproved by these firms, causing market penetration to

become difficult.

Financial

Like many of Japan’s other economic sectors, its financial portion is one of the

largest in the world. Some of the chief financial services companies, banks, and business

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groups of the world call Japan home. Sony, Mitsubishi, and Toyota, a few of these large

multinationals, own one billion to one trillion US dollars operating banks, investment groups,

and financial services. Japan is also home to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the second largest

stock exchange in the world (Japan, Wikipedia).

Political

Japan is generally referred to as a constitutional monarchy. There are an Emporer

and an Imperial Family, however, primary power is held by the Prime Minister and other

elected officials. The political environment is by and large stable. Japan has kept close

economic and military ties with its chief ally, the US, and the US-Japan security agreement is

the foundation for its foreign policy (Japan Wikipedia).

Legal

Only a few years ago did Japan begin opening its market to foreign investors.

However, foreign companies could only operate under the condition that they formed a

partnership with or took over a Japanese company. The goal in this is to sustain the Japanese

economy by injecting foreign capital (Maciamo, 2003). Many regulations have been put in

action to protect Japan’s goods sector, there have been little to no regulations that would

affect the exporting of services.

Country description: NORWAY

Geography

Area: 385,155 km2 (mainland: 323,758 km2, Svalbard Archipelago and Jan Mayen: 61,397 km2)Capital: Oslo

Norway is situated on the northern edge of Europe, and occupies the western and

northern portions of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and borders the North Atlantic Ocean and

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the North Sea. In terms of area, the Kingdom of Norway is slightly larger than New Mexico

at 323,758 square meters of mainland area, and 385,155 square meters including its offshore

claims (CIA, https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html). Although Norway

has a small population of approximately 4.6 million, it is one of the largest countries in

Europe. Norway’s terrain is characterized by mountainous inland, forest, world famous

fjords and numerous coastal islands. The temperature, and the climate, varies dependent on

location and season. Along the coast, the climate is more moderate whereas the inlands and

north can experience extreme cold winters with temperatures down to negative 40 F.

Culture

Power Distance Index (PDI) - 25

The power distance index is the

extent to which less powerful

members of organizations and

institutions accept and expect that

power is distributed unequally.

(Geert Hofstede, http://www.geert-

hofstede.com/hofstede_norway.shtml) A low score on the PDI indicates that people in the

country are more opposed to unfairly distributed power. Norway has a PDI score of 25 and

this would mean that the power in Norway is distributed relatively fairly. Norway is a very

egalitarian society as reflected by their PDI score. Poverty is close to none, and the country

has extraordinary social benefits such as free public education, health care, and other

extensive benefits which are financed through their tax system.

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Individualism (IDV) – 62

Generally, countries that score high on the IDV index tend to reflect a lean towards a

mentality where each person looks after himself, and society accepts individual

inventiveness. (Geert Hofstede, http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_norway.shtml)

Because Norway is a socialistic democracy, it has aspects of a “we” mentality, but

that applies, if the individual is unable to provide for himself/herself. If you as an individual

are unable to pay for any service that is considered a “human right”, such as health care or

education, the government will step up and make sure that people will get equal access and

opportunities. This is also why there is no private K12 education in Norway, as it could

create prestige schools and unequal opportunities, as funding would be dramatically

increased. Although the government will provide for you if you are unable to, the Norwegian

culture does have a large “I” mentality. Compared to the American culture, Norwegian

teenagers are often given no curfew, less responsibilities, less chores, more freedom, and the

opportunities to do what they want, when they want to. Because of the stand the government

has towards social responsibility, Norway has the same IDV score as many European

countries where the government provides extensive social benefits. 

Masculinity (MAS) – 8

The masculinity of a culture refers to the distribution of roles between genders. Countries

which have a high score in the MAS index tend to be assertive and achievement focused, and

there are also clear roles for the women in the society.

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Norway is the world’s second lowest scoring country in masculinity at a score of only

8. Norway is one of the countries in the world with the most egalitarian society in the world,

only beat by Sweden, which has a score of 5 (Geert Hofstede, http://www.geert-

hofstede.com/hofstede_norway.shtml. There is no gender segregation, there are laws that

require company boards to be made up of at least 40% women, women are paid the same as

men, and are encouraged to seek professional jobs. If a woman has a child, she can also

choose to take up to 42 weeks of maternity leave and receive benefits of $16490, which is the

most generous benefit package in the world.

(http://www.rollercoaster.ie/pregnancy_birth/maternity_entitle.asp (2003)

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) - 45

Countries that have a high UAI score tend to be more resistant to change and new ideas.

The Uncertainty Avoidance score of 45 indicates that the Norwegians are highly

tolerant of ambiguity, and they tend to have an open mind to new ideas or behaviors. The

Norwegian political system is set up so that coalition governments are encouraged. This way

the government will get ideas and views from different parties in the coalition government.

When there is a change in government and a different coalition comes into office, there are

usually reforms and improvements in policies because of the new ideas brought in from other

parties. Historically Norway has experienced a lot of change, being in a Union with

Denmark, and then later becoming part of a union with Sweden after the Napoleonic war.

Norway was also close to a developing third world country, until the discovery of its vast

quantities of oil, which brought a lot of change to the Norwegian culture. In practice,

Norway tries to do what is needed in order to adapt to change, if it is deemed necessary or

beneficial.

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Norway has two main languages; Bokmal and Nynorsk. Bokmal is the written form in

most of the country, and created from the city dialects and how Norwegians used to talk in

the early 20th century. Nynorsk on the other hand is a collection of all the dialects found on

the countryside made into a language. These could be compared to a New York accent for

the Bokmal, and a southern accent for Nynorsk. The Norwegian culture is a mixture of old

traditions dating back as far as the Viking age, and aspects and influences from modern day

globalization and industrialization. Norwegians tend to be punctual, and appreciate the

beautiful Norwegian scenery, as well as having a tremendous appreciation towards the

natural resource that the modern day Norway was build on, petroleum.

Economic

Population 4,649,300 (2006)Labor force 2.4 million (2005 est.)GDP Per Capita US$42,500 (2005)Distribution of family income 25.8 (2000)

The Norwegian economic system could best be explained as a mixed economy with

both market economy and planned economy working for it, but free enterprise is still

encouraged and the government controls the main industries such as oil and health care. A

large part of the total cost for Norwegian companies is labor. Yet, Norwegians enjoys one of

the highest standards of living, an inflation rate of 1.6%, and unemployment is fairly low at

only 4.6%, which is competitive with other European countries. The Norwegian tax rates

might seem high at 24% value added tax, and an income tax of 28%, but the government

provides extensive social benefits which cuts large costs for Norwegian citizens. Norway

also has a low inflation rate at 1.6%, and a low unemployment rate at 4.6% (CIA,

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html).

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The Norwegian government has in the later years opened more for foreign

investments in Norway, and has kept this position regardless of what political side is in

power. As for trade blocs, Norway is an associated member of the EU and a member of

EFTA which includes Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein. Being an associated

member of the EU, Norway is granted permission to trade within the EU through EFTA, and

adopts the rulings of the EU’s European Court of Justice towards trade.

In the future, the Norwegian economy will face three main issues. Continuous

globalization, an expanding European Union, and the necessity to come up with new ways to

create value, due to shrinking petroleum and gas reserves. Although Norway has a relatively

small national GDP compared to other European countries, the GPD per capita was

US$42,500 in 2005, a GDP growth rate of 3.7%, and is one of the highest in the world.

The Norwegian economy is based off the petroleum reserves which are located

offshore, and accounts for approximately half of all export earnings (CIA,

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html). The other main exports

includes fish and processed fish products, ammunition, heavy machinery, metals, lumber, and

naval vessels. (SSB, http://www.ssb.no/muh/arkiv/art-2006-01-16-01.html, 2006) As for

imports, Norway imports more than 50% of its food needs, manufactured goods, machines,

weaponry, and chemicals.

Communications & Technology

The Norwegian communications network is modern in all respects. In fact, Norway

has one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in all of Europe. There

were over 2 million telephone main lines and 4.755 million cell phones in use in

2005. In that same year, there were 3.14 million internet users (CIA).

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Transportation & Distribution Channels

As of 2005, Norway had 92,513 km of paved roadways, 99 airports, and 4,077 km of

railways (CIA World Fact book). The most lucrative retail markets are located in Oslo,

Stavanger, Bergen, and Trondheim. There are not as many intermediaries as you would

normally find in a larger country, and wholesalers operate with smaller profit margins.

Norwegian companies often create purchasing groups, because the volume many Norwegian

companies order doesn’t require truckloads. As for goods that have to be imported,

companies usually purchase them from wholesalers that are controlled by chain stores.

(FITA, http://www.fita.org/countries/norway.html?ma_rubrique=marche, 2005)

Distribution channels are integrated horizontally across many industries, becoming

interlinked through share purchasing, which allows for a more efficient distribution system.

Major retailers such as ElKjop and Expert, get their products from international distribution

centers, which purchase their products directly from the manufacturer abroad, due to the

quantity of units these chains handle. (Elkjop,

http://www.elkjop.no/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/store-elkjop-Site/no_NO/-/NOK/

El_GetCMSContent-

Start;pgid=oyCz6oZK.LxSR0EjcIZBwx1e0000_eJxEZBu;sid=QROwufm1_UKxubw1Te95

vxh2EqaOWEWgHdA=?MenuId=1114&ContentType=content&ContentKey=2513)

Financial

Norway’s financial sector seems to be well managed, although this has not always

been true. Improved macroeconomic conditions and historically low interests rates have

contributed to the country having low overall short term vulnerabilities. The capitol of

Norway, Oslo, is the home for the country’s stock exchange, the Oslo Stock Exchange.

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Norway is also home to the oil company Statoil, in which the Norwegian government owns

66% of the shares, and is one the largest Norwegian corporations. (Norway,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway)

The government takes surplus from sales of oil and gas, and invests it in what is

commonly know as the “Oil Fund” in Norway. The capital of the fund is being used for

investments outside of Norway, by some of the brightest economists and stock brokers in

Norway. The main focus of the fund is to support retirement plans for Norwegians, and be a

buffer for the Norwegian economy and unforeseen events. As of January 2006, the fund had

grown to a value of about $200 billion, which is the equivalent of 70% of Norway’s GDP.

(Norway, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway)

Political

Political System: Constitutional MonarchyGovernment: Centre-left "red-green" majority coalition of Labor, Centre Party and Socialist Left. Head of State: His Majesty King Harald V Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg (Labor Party) Foreign Minister: Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party)

Norway is a politically stable country, and is currently being governed by a coalition of

center left “red-green” parties. Norway could best be describer as an industrialized,

socialistic, democratic monarchy. There is a King and a Royal Family, however, the King has

no real power. The primary power in Norway is held by the prime minister and the elected

government in power. Norway has a parliamentary system with representatives elected from

each voting constituency, and there are currently 7 parties with seats in parliament. The

parliament then selects the government, which is the “Kings council”, which is usually made

up by a coalition of parties to form a majority in the parliament. By having a coalition, the

parties that make up the government can expect to pass legislature with less resistance.

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Although there can be changes from left to right in parliament, Norway’s political

environment is relatively stable. Just because the opposite side makes up a government, does

not mean that radical changes will be made in the country, because parliament still has to

vote for the policies. If there is a proposed policy which will have a major impact on a part of

the Norwegian culture or economy, it will be met with heavy questioning, and must be

proven to benefit the society. Norway has kept close economic and military ties with its

chief ally, the US. Most of Norway’s weaponry is supplied by the US, and Norway relies on

its military exports to supply the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the army. Norway also has

close ties with its Scandinavian neighbors, and the EU at large, although Norway is still not a

member.

Legal

The Norwegian government has gone ahead with privatization and is now promoting free

enterprising. There tend to be no difference in the way domestic and foreign investments are

taxed and close to no restrictions as what to FDI is concerned. If a company

In industries such as finance, and air transportation, foreign ownership is

limited to 33.3% of the shares, and in fisheries this amount has been raised to 40%. As in the

telecommunication industry, companies in the oil sector need to be granted licenses to be

allowed to establish, operate and develop their business. (Oslo Revisjon AS,

www.rowbotham.com/knowledgenet/countryprofiles/norway.pdf, date unknown)

The Norwegian government has implemented various quotas and high taxes on

certain products in order to protect home industries such as the agricultural market. The

government also has to provide enormous subsidizes to keep the agricultural industry alive,

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which costs the average tax payer around 20,000NOK annually (In favor of membership,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_and_the_European_Union.) Companies can also send

back profits, because there is no foreign exchange control that is currently in effect in

Norway, but companies do have to pay corporate tax of 28% on earnings.

Environmental Challenges

There are not a lot of challenges in the Norwegian business environment. Norway

does have an aging population, but for our company this would be more of an opportunity.

The people who will be exiting the market did not grow up with cellular phones, and were

therefore unable, or unwilling to adapt to change towards a mobile technology. The market

will thereafter be renewed with young blood who will be growing up with mobile

telecommunications, and automatically adapt to this technology. Therefore an aging

population could be a benefit to us, as the older generation might be reluctant to change, now

that they finally know how to use the basic cellular phone.

The government has limited the number of 3G licenses to 4 initial companies. These

licenses are expensive at around $100 million, and a 3G network will have to be created in

order to fully be granted a license. The reason we chose a joint venture with Telenor is

namely to address this issue. Not only would it be expensive to purchase a license and

develop a 3G network, but it would also be hard to be approved with a direct foreign

investment, because the government might want to protect Telenor’s interests as it is

government controlled.

A problem which could surface during initial negotiations with Telenor is the extreme

difference in the MAS scores on Hofstede’s cultural values index. With Norway being at one

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pole with a close to low of 8, and Japan on the other with 95, this could create problems

during the negotiations if Telenor decides to send a negotiation team consisting of women.

To deal with the possibility of this problem, we will have our delegation undergo cultural

sensitivity training, and try to improve their perception of a female businesswoman. In

addition we would like to make Telenor aware of this cultural difference, and ask that they

try to be understanding of the situation.

C. Competitive Market Analysis

Service Suitability/The Market

With about 4.8 million cell phones in use, about 1.03 cell phones per capita according

to the CIA World Factbook (2006), Norway is an extremely attractive market for DoCoMo’s

Osaifu-Keitai. With this service, the cell phone becomes more useful than a wallet, giving

the ability to use it as electronic money, an electronic ticket, a debit or credit card, an ID or

membership card. The key benefit of Osaifu-Keitai is that it conveniently allows the

consumer to consolidate bills. In that, a purchase history may be viewed electronically,

virtually eliminating the use of paper bills and even cash. When Norwegian banks began

charging customers for the use of checks and the first universal payment card system was put

into place in 1992, the country witnessed a steady increase in card transactions. This number

rose from 100 million transactions in 1992 to 700 million in 2005 (Tumpel-Gugerell, 2006).

With Osaifu-Keitai, the number of items that an individual must carry is decreased

significantly. The possibility that Norwegians will readily accept this new technology is very

high.

Competitive Offerings

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The main mobile telecommunications market in Norway consists of 2 major players,

Telenor, NetCom, and a handful of smaller companies. Due to government regulations, there

are only four licensees available for the 3G network. This means that only four companies

can be operating the 3G network at any one time. Our service of Osaifu-Keitai requires 3G,

and in the Norwegian market segment of 3G there are only two companies that can provide

service, Telenor, and Netcom (Ryvarden, 2006). However, unlike DoCoMo, neither of these

two companies provides a service for phones that compares toOsaifu-Keitai.

D. The Strategic Marketing Plan

Telenor/NTT DoCoMo Joint Venture

As one of the world’s fastest growing mobile communications service provider,

Telenor is Norway’s premier telecommunications company. Like DoCoMo, Telenor is one of

the largest mobile phone operators in the world. At the end of 2005, Telenor had ownership

in 12 mobile operators dispersed throughout Europe, giving its subscriber base a total of 82.7

million. Telenor also operates in some of today’s fastest growing markets of.

Currently, Telenor’s data service offerings are limited in comparison to DoCoMo.

The company offers Short Messaging Services (SMS), which allows mobile phones to send

and receive short text messaging. All operations also offer Multimedia Messaging Services,

which gives the user the ability to transmit graphics, video clips, sound files, and short text

messages over wireless networks via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). These limited

offerings provide DoCoMo the perfect platform to help expand Telenor’s offerings through a

joint venture (“Telenor” 2006). This is because DoCoMo actually has a better technology in

its i-Mode, which is a successful kick off from WAP. While WAP only transmits general

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page description code, i-Mode can implement programs such as Java to create a full

multimedia service. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-mode)

Since its creation in 1855, Telenor has been either wholly or partially government

owned. Recently, the Norwegian government has gone through with privatization of parts of

the company, but the government has made the portion of shares available to the public 49%,

as the government is interested in keeping the majority vote. Currently, the state owns 53%

of the Telenor shares (“Telenor” 2006). This seems like a good company to do a joint

venture with, because it offers both the advantage of having a stable government as a

stakeholder, as well as the general public who owns the shares.

Specific Marketing Objectives

The long-tern mobile communications vision for NTT DoCoMo is called “DoCoMo

Vision 2010." It provides the foundation for the firm’s mid- and long-term growth. With the

Norwegian Telenor/NTT DoCoMo joint venture, the objective is to advance DoCoMo’s

international operational expansion while aiding Telenor in its expansion of its service

offerings. Through its close relationship with Telenor, DoCoMo will potentially gain wider

market exposure throughout all of Europe (“Corporate Strategy” 2006). Telenor has a

subscription base of approximately 83 million in Europe and Asia, which will allow a further

partnership with Telenor, and entry into the European market.

Product

Promotion

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Because Norway is nowhere near the population size of the United States or Japan,

purchasing space through the mass media is much more affordable. In contrast to the U.S.

there are also far fewer television stations available to Norwegian customers, due to

government licensing of domestic television channels. There are only 4 stations available

without having a premium cable or satellite service, and stations with a license from the

government can be received by everyone, due to a licensing fee to own a television set. This

makes television advertisements much more effective, because advertisements can be aired

during an episode of a popular show such as “Lost”, which had up to 700,000 viewers per

episode last year, or “Heia Tufte” which had close to a million viewers. (Knut Kristian

Hauger, http://www.kampanje.com/medier/article49508.ece?service=print 2006). By

focusing television advertisements around shows with high ratings, we can also target

specific demographics. Shows such as “Lost” will obviously be watched by the younger

groups, and popular shows that are aired on NRK1 tend to have a different audience due to

its programming being subsidized by the government, and it is targeted at people over 50

years. Telenor already has advertisements in publications, such as newspapers, teen

magazines, radio channels, websites, and on television.

Because we will be adapting our DoCoMo phones to the Norwegian market, we will

offer them subsidized through Telenor’s subscription plans. This will allow for the creation

and market penetration of our phones, and the Osaifu-Keitai service, as it will be a

requirement to include it when you purchase your subsidized phone. The service fee for the

Osaifu-Keitai could also be waived for the first month as a sales promotion, and this would

allow for customer adaptation to the service.

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During the course of the summer, Norway also has an annual major music festival

called “Quart”. This festival attracts people from all over Norway, and goes for 7 days in July

with thousands of visitors. The ticketing system is usually inefficient, and DoCoMo could

promote events like this with sales promotions by letting customers use their service free of

charge, when you use your phone to buy the ticket with it.

We will also try to work with the companies that have a sales ratio to provide sales

promotions such as discounts, or a point system equivalent to frequent flyer miles. This could

help market penetration, because there are other rewards than the usage of the service.

Product

Place/Distribution

Pricing

Process

The process of our service will all be done electronically. A customer will purchase a

phone with an Osaifu-Keitai service integrated in the phone on an ICC card. Thereafter the

customer will have to register through our web portal, and decide if they want to add a credit

card or personal information. An encrypted profile with all the needed information will then

be downloaded to the customer’s phone, and the phone will be ready to use. Because pay as

you go cards is an extremely popular choice in Norway among teenagers with 84% of

teenagers from 17 to 18 years using them (Nikolaos Farmakis, http://www.newswire.no/?

melding=6247&left=1&right=1

2003), we will allow for payment through these services as well.

We will also adapt our process to accept pay as you go cards as a deposit to your

account. In 2002 the total sales for pay as you go cards were about $400USD which is a

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substantial amount, as it was all spent on air time. Allowing these cards to be reflected as

deposits to your account, Telenor’s pay as you go cards will have additional market

utilization, and be used to target a segment of our market which we would have been unable

to target due to credit card policies that holders must be 18 years. By allowing for the

adaptation of pay as you go cards, parents can limit their kids spending, distribute allowance,

and provide tickets for events, or traveling arrangements without having to worry about their

kids losing their ticket.

Attempting to improve and adapt the process to the Norwegian market, we also made some

extended optional security measures to the process.

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/service/imode/osaifu/index.html

To use the service, a customer holds the cell phone above a pad with an IR

transmitter, which will request a transaction with the cell phone through wireless

communication. Customers can accept or decline the transaction on their cell phone at

payment terminal customers can choose between different methods of verification, as to how

concerned they are about security. One option is to simply click “accept charge”, another to

enter a personal pin code, or using a biometric fingerprint scan, a feature which is enabled on

many new 3G phones. These options also depend on your desired usage of the phone. A

customer who would be interested taking full advantage of the technology would want to get

a phone with biometric authentication, as it would basically have every function of his wallet

and unlock the door to his house.

Resource requirements & timeline

http://www.nttdocomo.com/about/strategy/index.html

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenor

http://www.promethea.org/Misc_Compositions/CollectivisminJapan.html

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan#Financial_services_sector

http://www.jref.com/society/socio-economic_situation.shtml

http://www.cmis.brighton.ac.uk/Research/ITRG/Factors%20of%20success%20of%20m-

commerce.pdf

http://www.ecb.int/press/key/date/2006/html/sp060920.en.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTT_DoCoMo

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